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The phenomenon of delaying marriage has begun to take dangerous dimensions as the circles of spinsterhood and bachelorhood are expanding, indicating that the situation is out of control. While some link it to social conditions, others attribute it to intellectual and cultural changes, and some see psychological reasons.

Moving away from customs, traditions, and folk heritage

The phenomenon of abstaining from marriage among young people is growing year after year, affecting both men and women equally. While the average age of marriage for girls has risen to their thirties, boys no longer think about the 'strong covenant' at all, creating a new situation in the composition of society, especially since most members agree that 'marriage has lost its sacred meaning'.

Decline of family values and its social role

Society is moving towards a stage far from customs, traditions, and folk heritage, amid competition to delay marriage under various justifications—some realistic, others to avoid repeatedly being asked: 'When will you get married?' or 'Why haven't you married?' But sociology professor Ben Mustapha Dahou believes the reasons are multiple: sociological, economic, and personal. He added, 'Recently, we have noticed a decline in family values, even a reduction in its size and its social, economic, and educational role, along with low income and high prices. The phenomenon of unemployment also has an impact, especially if the girl is working and the man is jobless.' He explained that social change has contributed to abstaining from or delaying marriage, especially as society has become more accepting of relationships outside marriage, in addition to the liberationist tendency of both sexes. He highlighted another factor: girls entering university and finishing their studies at a later age, then moving on to securing a job before thinking about marriage, while young men do not seek work to obtain exemption from military service. Thus, there are personal, economic, and social reasons, not to mention the housing crisis.

Discrepancy between official and popular figures

Although the Algerian government confirmed that the phenomenon's rate is five percent of the total population, figures indicate 12 million spinster women and more than five million bachelors. This is the result of the worsening delay in marriage, which the head of the 'Nour Association for Women and Children,' Dalila Hocine, warned about, stating it threatens the social structure with collapse and extinction unless rapid measures are taken and discussed by private and public bodies. She explained that the social change in society's composition through the shift from the traditional extended family model to the modern nuclear family model has led to changes in marriage criteria and family formation among young people. She stressed that women's financial independence versus men's unemployment has significantly contributed to the spread of the phenomenon.

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The Ministry of Health and Population considers that the average age of marriage is now between 29 and 30 for women, and about 33.5 for men. This has raised the spinsterhood rate to the announced figure of five percent. Taking into account demographic growth, the difference amounts to 100,000 women outside the marriage pool. However, the ministry qualified this by reassuring everyone that the rate will not rise further in the future due to the recent increase in the number of male births, which will help reduce the spinsterhood phenomenon later.

Transient virtual relationships

Furthermore, human rights activist Samia Hamici believes that for about 20 years or more, the view of marriage and the idea of starting a family has changed for many young people, both male and female. This is due to various reasons, some related to the individual's personality, surrounding circumstances, or the motivation for the idea itself. She noted that the phenomenon is not unique to Algeria but exists in all countries, especially the Arab world. She said that with the abundance of social media, young people have found it easy to engage in transient virtual relationships, which provide them with a kind of emotional gratification, and they no longer think about marriage. On the other hand, economic reasons that have led to a decline in individual income have increased dowries and made it difficult to obtain housing. She added that globalization has negatively affected society, as women now think they can be 'equals' to men in all areas of life, and since they are working, they do not need his presence in their lives.

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More about: Virtual emotional gratification, Spinsterhood phenomenon, Bachelorhood, Age of marriage, Algerian government