All hail Manzar Sehbai and Samina Ahmed

F.P. Report

KARACHI: When was the last time you saw someone you know, over the age of 45, getting married? If that seems a bit of a stretch, let’s make it 35? Not to say that it doesn’t happen by any means at all, but it does sound a bit odd in our immediate circles, isn’t it? That’s because it is, or at least used to be.

Earlier this week TV personalities Manzar Sehbai and Samina Ahmed made headlines as pictures of their intimate wedding went viral. The moment was one for the books. But, the wedding was not only special because it was two celebrities – it was special because the two celebrities shattered glass ceilings with their decision to tie the knot at the age of 70.

In a country where women are routinely subjected to rishta aunties’ glaring stares starting young, and where if you hit 30 and haven’t snagged a rishta for yourself yet, you’re pretty much cold turkey, choosing to get married at 70 seems like a breath of fresh air.

The alarm associated with late marriages in Pakistan isn’t as dumbfounded as it may seem to a Twitter commentator today. An early marriage is preferred for various reasons such as the moral value associated with chastity and the stress on the years when the woman’s fertility is at her prime.

According to a paper published by the NUST Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, “An early marriage is preferred and is seen as the best security for a girl in Pakistan – chastity is highly valued for girls and is a reason for preferring early marriage.”

This ultimately leads us to the glaring fact that over 50% of marriages involve a girl barely over the age of 18 because “Pakistani society takes marriage as a natural and expected part of being a grown-up, and they continue to get married at early ages for family formation and childbearing.”