Soha Hossam, a 33-year-old pharmacist, had been too discouraged by her first marriage to think of marrying a second time. Hossam divorced in 2015, and although she has received marriage proposals since then, she could never bring herself to take the plunge a second time.
But a recent government program called Mawada (Affection) may help change her mind. The program, which aims to prepare would-be couples about challenges and difficulties of matrimony, will provide 30 hours of courses to young people on the problems of adaptation they may encounter as they try to harmonize their lives and on possible ways to cope, communicate and understand each other.