Dubai: A mass wedding was held free of charge for 45 Emirati bridegrooms employed in the Dubai government sector, with each one receiving a cash gift of Dh20,000 at the event on September 21.
The ceremony was held under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council.
The event was attended by Shaikh Majid Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority.
The Awqaf and Minor Affairs Foundation (AMAF) concluded the mass wedding at its first “endowment hall” in Dubai, in Al Mizher area.
The bridegrooms were employees at Dubai Customs, Dubai Municipality and Dubai Police, and included AMAF-raised minors that “have achieved marriageable age”, AMAF said in a statement.
Each groom received a cash gift of Dh20,000 from the Al Baraha Quran Learning Centre, the main partners for the event.
Also attending were the bridegrooms’ families, top AMAF officials and representatives of various government departments.
AMAF secretary-general Tayeb Al Rais thanked the leadership of Dubai and the UAE, adding “their keenness in supporting such community events enables the UAE youth to create cohesive and stable families”.
Al Tayeb said: “AMAF’s primary objective in hosting such initiatives is to help young UAE nationals cope with the excessive cost of weddings.
“We also wish to give minors who have been raised under our care a head-start in leading normal lives and building enduring marriages. Through such efforts, we aim to contribute to the UAE’s ambition of shaping stable future generations.”
He told Gulf News many young Emiratis wanting to get married are under financial strain as wedding costs can run into hundreds of thousands of dirhams.
“Just the flowers for one night can cost tens of thousand of dirhams. We want grooms to start their life in a positive way, without going into debt which later on often leads to fights between spouses,” Al Tayeb said.
Bridegroom Adil Saleh, 27, said he was grateful for the opportunity. “We encouraged each other to participate in this mass wedding, which made getting married easy for us. We’re all very thankful, this is something that should happen more often.”
The ceremony was held in an endowment hall that AMAF has set up in collaboration with Al Baraha Quran Learning Centre. The dedicated venue spans 40,000 square feet and includes three sections with a capacity to accommodate about 700 people.
The proceeds of the AMAF-managed asset will be used in supporting future endowment projects run by the organisation.
The director of Al Baraha Quran Learning Centre, who is the wife of UAE national Obaid Al Helo, said mass weddings promote solidarity and deepen religious values among the youth.
AMAF is considered the primary reference for endowments in Dubai and is the authorised body for the welfare of minors.
