Celebration

In Afghanistan, there are many tribes with many cultures, and each tribe has different traditions at the time of the wedding. Child marriage is a formal marriage or informal union before age 15 and it affects more girls than boys. In Afghanistan up to 60% of girls get married before they are 19. The most common ages for girls to get married are 13 to 15. In big cities of Afghanistan, a large percentage of people generally get married after finishing college and university. It is mandatory to have a job as well, but in small cities, towns and villages it is not common to have a job or education.

In Afghanistan parents play an important role in choosing a bride; it is the parents’ duty to find a good and nice girl who is acceptable, is from a good family, has an education and good behaviour with the community. There is no rule for boys to find a girl. It is a big problem for educated girls or divorced women to find their future husbands. Educated Afghan want those around them to understand that their girl has chosen her own husband. This fear always makes girls to either forcefully marry someone or commit suicide.

In my opinion, the best age to get married is from 24 to 30 because in this age both boys and girls are more mature, have finished their education, and have suitable jobs.

During the wedding ceremony brides usually wear three kinds of dresses. The pink colour means the blossoming of your tree in spring, the green colour means to yield, and the white colour means peace, compassion, wealth and prosperity. The groom wears three types of clothes. First, they wear traditional clothes. During Nekah (marriage ceremony) they wear white clothes. After Nekha the groom wears black clothes. About 400 to 1200 guests are invited. Close relatives of the bride and the groom wear three types of clothes. Whenever the bride changes her clothes, their relatives also change their clothes, and the rest of the guests wear local or traditional clothes. The wedding ceremony lasts from 3 to 8 hours, but it depends whether the wedding ceremony is at home or at a hotel. Different types of foods are prepared for guests to eat like different types of Kabuli palaw (rice), Mantoo (beef), different types of meat, different types of kababs, different types of salad, different types of fruit and non-alcoholic drinks. Nowadays it is not allowed to listen to any kind of music and dance and the groom is not allowed to enter the women's saloon. There is no honeymoon.