Veteran actress Atiqa Odho is going viral on the internet for criticising the custom of arranged marriages. The host of the popular show ‘Kya Drama Hai’ spoke about the custom places a lot of pressure on both men and women, who are forced to be intimate with one another despite never having interacted before.
“Pressure is painful for anybody,” said Atiqa, “Any kind of pestering is not good for anyone, regardless of whether its a man or woman. I think there is a lot of pressure on men regarding arranged marriages on how they perform. Any kind of forced relationship is wrong and is traumatic because you have to adjust a lot.”
The ‘Sitara Aur Mehrunisa’ actress said she was against arranged marriages because in a conservative society like Pakistan, men and women weren’t allowed to interact or get to know each other on their own terms. But when they are pushed into arranged marriages, they are pushed into becoming intimate with one another on the wedding night, having not known each other properly before.
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Atiqa Odho further revealed that she often spoke to people who had gotten arranged marriages to ask them how does the wedding night go for them. “I am shocked by this because you haven’t met before and only got to know each other after your engagement…I am fascinated with this concept. Because if you had kept a woman under pardah her entire life, and never allowed her to interact with men. Suddenly she is married and on her wedding night she is supposed to be intimate with a stranger.”
Atiqa Odho revealed she got mixed responses from both men and women. She said men often felt nervous about the wedding night as they have to prove their masculinity to others. But some men had told her that they decided to get to know each other after their marriage before getting intimate.
Listen to her complete statement here
