By Hanan Fayed, The Cairo Post “There is dishonesty and perfidy from both men and women in relationships, while in salon marriages the bride or the groom says ‘no’ from the first or second meeting if they do not like each other,” Cairo matchmaker Cherine Adel, 34, told The Cairo Post. In Egypt, arranged marriages are usually referred to as “salon marriages,” because couples usually meet for the first time in the sitting room of the bride’s house, under the supervision of her family. In a culture where even premarital friendship between men and women can be frowned upon, salon marriages can be a way to satisfy family pressure to get married, while preserving one’s reputation. Adel, who has arranged around 15 marriages, said there is a sense of safety in salon marriages because the groom is usually an acquaintance of the matchmaker’s, whom women trust. There is no waste of time in this kind of “respectable marriage;” the couple could get married in a matter of six months, said Hajja Kawkab, 63, who has been the matchmaker of approximately 50 marriages. The marriage trade For Mona Fath el-Bab, 33,…
