Organization sponsors mass wedding for 240 couples in Afghanistan

A charity organisation on Wednesday sponsored mass wedding for about 240 grooms and brides in western Afghanistan’s Herat province.

Mawlawi Abdul Sadiqi, head of the organisation said each newlywed couple’s were gifted household appliances, including carpet, blanket, and kitchen tools valued at 100,000 afghani (about 1,460 U.S. dollars).

Young people may have to wait for years to have their wedding ceremonies due to unemployment, the economic crisis, the high cost of lavish dowries and expensive gifts in the poverty-stricken country.

Earlier, a mass wedding event was held in northern Sari Pul province, where 100 couples got married.

The Afghan caretaker government has repeatedly called on people to prevent irrational marriage customs and avoid wasting money on wedding ceremonies.

dpa/NAN