Head Selab Foundation:
Haji Sayed Ahmad Selab (20231225)

Background:
 

Fifty couples married Monday Dec 25, 2023 in a joint ceremony in Kabul -- a growing practice to reduce the astronomical cost of traditional weddings in Afghanistan. For the mass wedding, 500 couples applied.

The couples were joined in matrimony in one of the dozens of glitzy wedding halls that punctuate Kabul, but the ceremony itself was somewhat austere.

Since the return of the Taliban in August 2021 weddings have become low-key affairs, with dancing and music effectively banned after authorities deemed such activities un-Islamic.

Donations to each couple from the Selab Foundation, who organized the event, are equivalent to $1,600 -- a huge amount in one of the poorest countries in the world.

They will also leave with a cake, a kit containing toothpaste, shampoo and moisturizer, and a carpet, blanket and a few household appliances to start married life.

Sayed Ahmad Selab, the institution’s head, revealed that 500 couples had enrolled for the program. Following a meticulous evaluation, 50 couples were deemed eligible, and their wedding ceremony took place on the designated day.

Selab further elucidated the eligibility criteria, specifying that couples should be free from drug addiction or mental health issues. Moreover, they must be gainfully employed, earning between 300 and 500 Kabuli rupees. It is imperative that they are not burdened by debt and have resolved any familial conflicts. While group weddings have been organized in other provinces, this initiative seeks to address the challenges faced by young couples in Afghanistan, where a significant portion of the population resides below the poverty line.

Crucially, it should be emphasized that a substantial majority, around 97%, of the Afghanistani population grapples with poverty. This stark reality often hinders young individuals from celebrating weddings in the manner they aspire to. Consequently, many families and young people perceive collective wedding ceremonies as a positive initiative and harbor hopes for their continuity in the future.