The guests at an Afghan wedding tend to wear new clothing with traditional forms. The female guests wear all their finery and jewels. Brides traditionally wear red or green clothing, although many modern brides wear white dresses based on Western fashions.
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Who pays for an Afghan wedding?
Weddings are hugely expensive affairs in Afghanistan, with excessive costs for wedding halls, lavish meals and usually a bride price. The bride price is the money paid by the groom’s family for the bride to her family.
What color do Afghan brides wear?
In the amazing Afghan culture, women must wear either a green or red dress on their wedding day. The one that is most often seen is green which symbolizes wealth and good fortune. Green is also the main color of the fields surrounding Afghanistan due to its vividness and abundance throughout all seasons.
What happens at an Afghan wedding?
After gifts are exchanged, the groom presents the bride with her engagement ring. And then the couple shares their first dance. After this special moment, the Attan takes place. The Attan is the national dance for the Pashtun peoples in Afghanistan – their traditional dance.
What gift do you give for an Afghan wedding?
Family members tend to give money and gold, while friends give household items, cloth etc. If you are like a sister or brother in the family, and so expected to give a gift, then you should give gold on the night of the wedding.
How long is an Afghan wedding?
Afghan weddings last 4–5 hours or longer because many traditions have to be observed. First, girls wait at the hall entrance for guests to arrive and greet them as they enter. As is customary at weddings, the guests arrive before the bride and groom.
How many wives can a man have in Afghanistan?
The country, which is an ‘Islamic emirate’ governed under Sharia laws, allows for men to have up to four wives. Polygamy is widely practiced in Afghanistan. The absence of offspring from the first marriage is believed to be the primary reason Afghan men take multiple wives.
How much does a Afghan wedding cost?
The ministry estimates that the average Afghan family spends up to $15,000 in wedding costs. In the social sphere, the cost of the dowry and the lavishness of the wedding parties can affect each family’s social standing.
What is the average age of marriage in Afghanistan?
In Afghanistan, 57% of girls are married before they are 19. The most common ages for girls to get married are 15 and 16. Factors such as gender dynamics, family structure, cultural, political, and economic perceptions/ideologies all play a role in determining if a girl is married at a young age.
What is a traditional Afghan wedding?
Nikah usually takes place on the wedding day. It is a religious ceremony where the two families agree on the marriage contract. It takes place during the day, and the bride is supposed to be in green clothes. It is a private ceremony where only the couple’s immediate family and the mullah, Islamic clergy, get involved.
What is Shirni Afghan?
Shirini — literally means “sweets” in Persian language (“shirin” = sweet). In Afghan culture shirini (sweets) are given in celebration. For example engagement parties are called “Shirini Khori” which is when the woman’s family accepts the suitor and provides an engagement sweet tray to the grooms family.
What is a Shirnee?
When a guy’s family comes to ask for the girl’s hand in marriage, his family is constantly asking for the “Shirnee”. This signifies the unity between the two families. It’s a way of saying “Yes, she agrees to this proposal and will take his hand in marriage”. This is what we Afghans call the “Shirnee”.
What is most important to Afghan families?
One’s family is the single most important aspect of life in Afghanistan. Afghan culture is very collectivistic and people generally put their family’s interests before their own. This means that family responsibilities tend to hold a greater importance than personal needs.
What are some Afghanistan traditions?
Some of the most important include Eid al-Fitr (end of Ramadan), Eid al-Adha, Ashura, and Mawlid, while the religious minorities of Afghanistan celebrate holidays unique to their respective religion.
What is a Khastegari?
Khastegāri (Persian: خواستگاری) is the first step of the traditional Iranian courtship process. In olden times, when it was time for a young man to get married, his family would look for potential brides who came from families of similar standing in the community.
How do marriages work in Afghanistan?
Commonly, the relationship between the husband and wife is endogamous (with parallel and cross-cousin marriages preferred). However, while marriage between kin is common, families may also try to marry outside of their family to diversify their assets. People tend to marry within their tribe or ethnic group.
How many events are there in Afghan wedding?
In parts of Afghanistan like Kabul, it’s traditional for families to hold three events: first, a pre-wedding party for the women; then the giant wedding party; and last, a smaller party for the bride’s family.
Does Afghanistan have arranged marriages?
Most marriages in Afghanistan’s segregated society are arranged by parents and family elders between consenting adults. But traditions involving bride price, dowries, and using marriages to settle disputes results have turned many arranged marriages into forced unions.
How is bride price decided?
Several factors, such as the groom’s wealth and status, and the bride’s level of education, determine how much a groom pays as bride price. Although bride price custom has significant cultural and social functions, there are latent, unrecognised and unintended consequences of the practice.
How old are Afghan child brides?
Most girls reach puberty between the ages of 11 and 13, according to Nadia Akseer, a scientist at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. Under the Taliban’s interpretation of Islamic law, the marriage of an 11-year-old girl, considered middle childhood in most countries, is allowed.
Can a woman have two husbands?
polyandry, marriage of a woman to two or more men at the same time; the term derives from the Greek polys, “many,” and anēr, andros, “man.” When the husbands in a polyandrous marriage are brothers or are said to be brothers, the institution is called adelphic, or fraternal, polyandry.
Why are there child brides in Afghanistan?
Child marriage in Afghanistan is common but illegal. The minimum age for marriage is 15 or 16 years old for women and 18 years old for men. In the past, many families opted for child marriages to pay back any personal debts, settle disputes, or create friendships with rival families to decrease their enemy count.
Who pays the dowry?
A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride’s family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower.
Is there dowry in Afghanistan?
Dowry does not exist in Islam. The interpretation of mahr as a dowry is a purely cultural practice that is not rooted in Shari’a. Nevertheless, in Afghanistan, a mahr rarely makes it into the hands of the bride herself.
What is the youngest age a girl can be married in Afghanistan?
The Afghan Civil Law sets the minimum age for marriage at sixteen for girls and at eighteen for boys. A fifteen-year-old girl may however marry with their father’s approval or with a positive ruling from the competent court. Marriage of girls under fifteen is not allowed under any circumstances.