The number of unmarried women in Saudi Arabia is rising at an alarming rate, mainly because of social norms that treat women above 24 as too old to be married.
There are about 1 million unmarried women above the age of 24 and their number is set to leap to 4 million in the next five years, a report in Arab News said.
The daily published from Jeddah said other reasons contributing to the phenomenon include the absence of social gatherings, allowing boys and girls to meet and get to know each other.
"A girl becomes a hostage to house and wall," the report said.
There is also the problem of dowry and cost of marrying, which a young man is unable to bear at so early a stage in his life, the report said.
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