Sadaf Khursheed
SRINAGAR: Late marriages in Kashmir are on rise and many causes may be responsible for it -dowry system, obtrusive marriage functions and demand of costly gifts by both the sides.
A research study conducted by the Department of Sociology, University of Kashmir, revealed that 55 percent of the total population in Kashmir never gets married even after attaining marriageable age which has negative implications on the society. And most of the people who now get married are beyond 35.
Some decade back it was nearly impossible to imagine that anybody would get married after 28 but now the trends are changing which cause a great harm to the individual as well the society.
Infertility which is a major concern for the couples nowadays is also related to late marriages. Dr Zahida a gynecologist says that “age is the major reason of infertility in Kashmir and many women here suffer from PCOD(Polycystic ovarian disease) which obstructs the chances of conception and women with such problem takes a lot time to conceive and if they start late then it becomes somehow impossible”.
National Health Profile 2015 compiled by central Bureau of Health intelligence, under the Ministry of Health and family welfare shows that the mean age of marriage for females in JK is higher than any other state.
Also children born to couples who get married at a late age have higher chances of congenital abnormalities and preeclampsia.
Another study by the department of Sociology, University of Kashmir titled ‘Emergence of late marriages in Kashmir reveals Poverty, caste considerations, generation gap, Modernization, Inflation ,and irreligious behavior as some of the main causes.
Another reason as stated by a research Scholar in Sociology, Kausar Jabeen is career preference “people nowadays prefer to be stable in terms of job and money and a lot of time is wasted looking for good government jobs by both males and females. Furthermore these people prefer saving money even after getting a good job and even waste time on it. Some of the parents even start looking for the same profession as their son or daughter is having, which is again time consuming”. She further said that by the time someone gets selected for the marriage she or he already had crossed a mark of 35.
Caste system is also becoming an obstacle where people prefer to marry in their own castes only which cause many hindrances in the marriages of some girls.
It’s high time for us to introspect about the ill effects that late marriages are giving to our society and parents also need to think twice otherwise it will be too late for us to lament. (KNB)
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