Grueling costs make it difficult for youths to get engaged, married

KABUL (Pajhwok): Some youths in Afghanistan cannot get engaged due to high Walwar (an amount of money given to the bride by the groom also known as mehar) and marriage costs and some have to work in other countries for years to arrange these expenditures.

This comes that the Prophet (PBUH) said that better Nikah is the one which is simple and not costly.

Badshah Amin Hazon, 27, a resident of Nadir Shah Kot district in southeastern Khost province, said he got engaged seven years ago but he was unable to get married because of high cost.

He said his father-in-law set 450,000 afs Walwar, 17.4 grams of gold, 700 kilograms of rice, 160 kilograms of meat and other essential items.

Mahzon said his total wedding cost 800,000 afs and the arrangement of this amount is very difficult.

He said most youths in the region were unable to get engaged due to high costs and if they got engaged then they could not arrange the costs of marriage and they had to go to Iran or other countries for work.

Ahmad Shah, a resident of Kabul’s Charkhi City, engaged his son three years ago but was still unable to perform the marriage.

He said: “They demand 250,000 afs Walwar and 200,000 afs are the other expenses, from the past two and half years my son has been in Iran for work, his brothers told him to go to Iran and arrange the amount required for his wedding.”

He added there are some unfavorable customs in Afghan society for which one has to arrange money to prevent public shame.

Ahmad Zia, 31, a resident of Kandahar’s Dand district, said he got engaged seven years ago, the Walwar is 500,000 and he paid half so far.

He is a farmer and said still, I don’t know that the arrangement of money for a wedding will take how long.

“When the Walwar is very high then some you go to foreign countries illegally and choose illegal ways to earn money.”

Ahmad Sahak, 30, from the Khost district of Baghlan province, is unable to get engaged due to the high Walwar cost so far.

Sahak said in their areas the cost of Walwar is up to 500,000 afs and generally the cost of a wedding is 800,000 afs which is difficult to arrange.

Hayatullah, a resident of Kabul City, said he got married three years ago and paid 400,000 afs Walwar, bought 250,000 afs of gold, 600,000 for the cost of reception at the hotel and around 200,000 afs were other expenses.

He said he arranged 800,000 afs for the wedding.

He is a government employee and has 12,000 afs of salary and said his brother worked in Iran and so far he was able to waive off 200 afs of debt.

They said ulem, tribal elders and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) should stop unfavorable customs and promote things that are in line with the teaching of Islam and that people could afford it.

Walwar also known as Mehar is the legal right of the bride but some people take this amount but did not give it back to the bride.

Religious Scholar Qari Abdul Malik Rashid, said Mehar was the right of the bride and nobody could share it with the bride, the Prophet (PBUH) on different occasions encouraged brides to charge a small amount of Mehar but she had not be forced to do so.

“If the amount of Mehar is high then youth could not tie the knot and Nikah is the need of youth, when youth cannot make Nikah then it leads to crimes and adultery in a society and the best way to prevent crimes and adultery is reduce the amount of Mehar.”

Shaikh Mohammad Khalid Al Hanafi, acting minister of the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Voice (MPVPV), earlier said: “Mehar is the bride’s right, it is not her father or her brother’s right, efforts should be made to eliminate unfavorable custom if it prevails in any place or ours.”

Mawlavi Abdul Ghafar Farooq, the Information and Broadcast head of the MPVPV, said Mohtasebin of the MPVPV advised people nationwide to charge a small amount of Mehar.

nh

Visits: 21