KNZ NEWS DESK
Around 10,000 girls in Srinagar district have crossed the marriageable age, a survey conducted by a Kashmir based Trust has revealed.
Abdul Rashid Naik, secretary of a Kashmir based Tehreek-e-Fahalluh-Muslimeen Trust told Greater Kashmir that the number of unmarried over-aged women in Srinagar district is around 10,000.
“In 2016 and 2017 , our trust in collaboration with local civil society members conducted an extensive survey to ascertain the number of unmarried poor girls in the Downtown Srinagar. We were astonished to find out that around 10,000 girls have attained or even passed marriageable age.
They couldn’t get married due to their poverty,” Naik said. “Our motive was to help them. We had planned to seek funds from the well-off persons in order to get them married.
However due to huge number of unmarried girls, we could not fulfill our task. But we have all the details,” Naik added.
Meanwhile, the civil society members blamed “extravaganza” and unwanted “ostentations” for making marriage a most difficult task in the Valley.
Civil society member Shakeel Qalander said that growing number of unmarried girls in Kashmir “is a grave concern which needs social introspection.”
“It is a social issue; there is a need that wealthy families should abstain for extravaganza in marriages as it becomes a trend which others have to follow helplessly. It increases burden on the poor families who find it difficult to get their daughters married.”
He said that mohalla committees need to come forward and help the poor families to get their daughters married. “There is a need to encourage youngsters to solemnize marriages in austere way,” he added.
He said, “Unnecessary customs invented by the people on their own have made marriage a costly affair. These traditions need to be shelved.”
