125 couples tie the knot in Balkh mass wedding ceremony

MAZAR-I-SHARIF (Pajhwok): A mass wedding ceremony took place in northern Balkh province on Thursday, with 125 couples tying the knot.

The ceremony was arranged by Husnia Dar-u-Uloom, in which hundreds of relatives of the couples participated.

Marzia Hussaini, cultural section deputy head of the Dar-u-Uloom, said that a total about 40,000 afghanis were spent on each couple.

She said it was for 10th time that such mass wedding ceremony was being held by the Dar-u-Uloom.

Hussaini said the mass joint marriage ceremony was aimed at promoting this culture and helping young people who could not meet their wedding expenses alone.

One of the grooms, Syed Muhammad Hussaini, told Pajhwok that he had been engaged for two years, but could not get married due to economic problems.

He was happy and said: “It made me very happy that we have people who arrange such ceremonies for couples to avoid high expenses”.

Razia Afzali, a bride, said: “Today we participated in this joint wedding ceremony, I am very happy to see unnecessary expenses are avoided”.

Another groom, Syed Hadi, asked other young people to participate in such joint wedding ceremonies if they could not arrange their weddings alone.

He expressed hope that the mass wedding culture would be further promoted in the country.

Due to wrong customs and high bride prices, many young people stay single or go abroad for years to meet wedding expenses.

hz/ma