Mansoor Bhatti, a 70-year-old rickshaw driver, makes enough to feed his family. However, he will have to borrow a large sum of money for this daughter’s wedding just a couple of days ahead of Eid. He has managed to educate all three of his daughters who are all ‘BA pass’ and now one of them is to be married. General inflation and income gap are making it impossible for him to arrange funds for a decent wedding function. Borrowing is his only option. Irrespective of their socio-economic stature in the society, people prefer to hold their weddings in winter because of the bearable temperature and this year, with the wedding season comes the high prices.
Costs for the wedding dress, flowers, tables, tents, lighting, seating arrangements, food and the ancillaries have sky-rocketed, taking them completely beyond the reach of the poor and the middle-class.
Gold, which is a necessity in Pakistani weddings, is expected to rise to Rs 60,000 to Rs 70,000 per tola between the months of November and December. “By next year gold prices can go up to Rs 100,000 per tola,” says Khwaja Asad, a gold dealer based in Lahore’s Anarkali bazaar. “But this year although rates have varied, I can easily say that due to the weddings, and other events at the end of the year, gold prices will definitely rise.” Though gold is imported from Dubai, Malaysia, and Europe mostly, and rates are determined by the dollar, the local demand also sets the prices for gold jewellery.
Farzana Jacob, a house maid also complains of the similar issues as Bhatti. “I have to travel to my village for a wedding and the travel costs are over-bearing,” she says pointing out that thanks to the lack of infrastructure people belonging to the lower economic strata cannot even travel for such occasions to their home towns or villages. “Besides that,” she says, “the clothes for our children cost so much that afterwards we forget all about ourselves.” Rising fuel prices, inflation, and devaluation of paper money has resulted in serious price hikes. The gap between the moneyed and the mediocre has widened to such an extent that as one side fails to make ends meet especially for such festive occasions, the other side unashamedly splurges money on trivialities, sometimes only to flaunt their social status. Consistent norms which are deep-rooted in society also continue to cause serious concerns for people.
“My daughter was rejected twice because we could not afford to give her dowry,” says 60-year-old Mehmood, who works in a mechanic shop. “How will I ever collect so much money to send expensive gifts with her?”
“I did not have enough money to marry my daughter so she ran away with a neighbour,” said Rashida bibi who works as a maid in the Cantonment area, “her father says he will kill her if I express my desire to go meet her.” She said her other 4 daughters had also reached the ‘wedding age’ and she still had not been able to save enough to marry them off. “What do I do? I work in 4 houses but it is still not enough. It is never enough,” she said with tears in her eyes. This issue however does not affect the other side. The wedding season seems to bring joys for many, but this ‘many’ does not include the majority.
Not everybody gets to be happy in the wedding season
