'Wrong' jobs can spell disaster for men

(MENAFN- Arab News) ABHA: Women have contrived several reasons to reject a man's proposal. Being in a 'wrong' profession could well be one such reason that can shatter men's dream of marrying their loved ones.
Despite some women's preference for good financial and social status the husband-to-be's choice of profession can be a deal-breaker.
Saudi women put some jobs on a black list because of economic social and cultural reasons. The reasons given by Saudi women involved the husband's absence from home or simply the nature of his job.
Medical professionals airline stewards plastic surgeons plumbers mechanics and workers in the military topped the list of rejected professions in favor of businessmen teachers engineers and government employees.
Abrar Naser 26 has made her rejection list and it includes plastic surgeons and gynecologists; she cites fears of being betrayed. Men in those jobs she says are constantly dealing with women which may lead them to be less loyal to their wives.
For Farah Saleh 25 seeing her future husband interacting with lots of women and seeing their good looks is not easy to accept. She observes that the husband might end up comparing the women he sees at work with their wives. She wants her husband to have an administrative or engineering job so that he doesn't have to deal with women.
Marwa Ayed 22 puts pilots and stewards on her list saying that these people can be less loyal and faithful.
She says 'Nowadays it is very hard to guarantee the loyalty of a regular employee in administration or accounting. How about plastic surgeons pilots and stewards who deal with different women on a daily basis and travel for weeks at a time?'
Men in such jobs however disagree with them. Mohammed Halwani 25 is a steward who has been working for Saudi Arabian Airlines for more than a year; and he sees his job to be a positive factor in the marriage.
'I believe my absence creates something refreshing in the relationship because both parties long to see one another' he said.
Halwani's married colleagues say they enjoy stable and healthy relationships and a good working record where some were promoted to be supervisors.
Unlike pilots he says it is very rare to find a polygamous steward since his income is not sufficient for a second wife. He explained that the problem can be resolved in many ways such as having the wife live close to her family so she can have someone available in an emergency.
Writer Susan Al-Mashhadi said many women hear stories and unfounded rumors about men in these professions and this makes the women fear betrayal.
She said a lot of the stories women heard were not true and she warned against believing them without proof and without considering morals and core issues.
'The decision to marry somebody should be based on assessing the individual's personality cultural knowledge and moral values instead of his profession' she stressed highlighting that some professions such as jewelers or obstetricians frequently deal with women as a part of their job. 'It's strange that many women insist on being treated by a male doctor because of his competence while at the same time they would refuse to marry him.'
She mentioned that the same thing sometimes occurs with men who refuse to marry women doctors or journalists.
Dr. Mazen Abed Bishara an obstetrics and gynecology consultant said society could never eliminate the differences between men and women. 'The female is not to be blamed if she feels jealous especially if her husband's job requires frequent mixing with women' he said.
'The man should choose a responsible wife who can take responsibility for the house and the children as well' he stressed.