As if being young and jobless - trapped by the stagnant Egyptian economy - wasn’t bad enough, now young people are facing an unexpected social consequence of poverty. Young Egyptians can no longer afford to get married and are engaging in secret “urfi” marriages - essentially, a Sharia version of common law marriage. Now, you may be wondering why Egyptian couples don’t just put on their Friday best and go to town hall for a marriage certificate. If so, you obviously don’t know Arabs.