Shadi or Parhai – or BOTH?
Sara Masood- Nov 28, 2023
- 2 min read
In Pakistan, females have been married at early ages, which has resulted in them not pursuing their education further. Once married, their educational journey tends to halt, as marriage takes precedence, leading to a life trajectory centered around marital responsibilities, including starting a family. Marriage as an idea becomes a phenomenon superseding all other events of the female’s life. This has led to the formation of an opinion within people’s minds that marriage means no more education, and young individuals who want to get married are asked why they wish to discontinue their education.
While it is understandable that marriage is a huge responsibility to bear and becomes a massive part of one’s short-term and long-term plans, it means you are not studying anymore, which takes the notion too far. Before marriages occur, in countries like Pakistan, the strict environment leads to a lack of healthy blooming of relationships that have yet to turn into marriage. The lack of options regarding getting married early creates a last resort – to have a secret relationship. This causes the children to, therefore, move away from their parents in most cases and become an alienated entity to foster their relationship. Perhaps the notion of education being possible and attainable during marriage should be spread so more individuals get married early and are not forced to hide their relationships from authority figures such as parents.
In countries such as the USA, marriages between young individuals have been normalized. However, the subcontinental belt promotes marriages where the female may be younger (even a minor), but the male needs to be settled. Furthermore, the expectations attached to the female hinder her growth, especially regarding her educational aspirations.
Young couples, therefore, are forced to finish their degrees before they can let their parents know of their love interest. Is having at least an undergraduate degree an excellent prerequisite to set for children? Past 18, young females and males should be able to decide whether they want to get married, finish the degree, and get married later, or do both simultaneously. This freedom allows for higher rates of accountability, the production of fewer males who are man-children, and an increased feeling of agency and authority.
Upon being asked the average age for the female getting married, Chatgpt says, “In urban areas and among more educated or affluent families, the age of marriage tends to be higher, with women marrying in their early to mid-20s or even later, as they pursue education and career opportunities” which reaffirms how deeply rooted the ideally of the pursuit of education and marriage being mutually exclusive is.
