10/06/2025
|| The Impossible Standard of Marriage ||
They want her soft-spoken, fair-skinned, wise like an elder,
Pretty like a doll, but cooks like a caterer.
Educated with a degree, yet never questions back —
Hijab on point, but still stylish on the ‘gram.
This is what the rishta market sounds like these days.
One-sided interviews — no questions allowed from the girl’s side.
They walk in like royalty, sit like judges, and leave without a trace.
Not even a basic courtesy text.
And the girl’s family? Just left sitting there,
Still wondering: “Was the chai not warm enough or is her skin tone too warm?”
You know what’s funnier?
Some of them do Istikhara before the girl's parents even meet the boy.
And then came back saying “We’re sorry, we saw a sign.”
A sign of what, exactly?
You didn’t even let the girl's parents see the guy’s face, let alone his nature.
Why is it always the girl's side being scanned under a microscope,
While the boy’s side stays behind a curtain of assumptions?
Does anyone ever ask if the groom-to-be can hold a mature conversation?
If he knows what responsibility even means?
If he can afford to live without clinging to his mother’s apron at age 30?
No.
Because “Larkay walay hain, unka haq banta hai sawal karna.”
And still — the girl must be everything:
Beautiful, chaste, house-trained, degree-holder, sabr queen, degh queen, akhlaaq queen,
With just enough modern edge to not be “boring,” but not enough to be “too bold.”
They want her to check all the boxes.
But won’t even give her the right to tick one.
No chance to reject. No chance to ask.
She’s expected to sit there with a forced smile —
While they decide if she’s worthy of their son,
Who, let’s be real, might still be figuring out how to iron his own shalwar.
This isn't marriage.
This is madness.
And everyone’s too used to the noise to hear how wrong it sounds.
We were told marriage is half of our deen.
But no one told us that in this society, it’s also half your dignity —
Lost in the process of being measured, judged, and priced like a product.
So here’s the real question:
When will we start asking the same questions back?
And when will they be ready to answer?