What is the process of the continuation of the generations? The answer is very simple and well understood by even a layman. Marriage is the basic or primary institution for the continuation of humans and to protect the social fabric of the society.
But, have we ever given a thought about the marriage of persons with disability? Take two minutes and continue reading.
There is little doubt that persons with disability are a minority in the so called abled society therefore we don’t have much time to talk about their rights and their livelihood.
The question of marriage of persons with disabilities to the writers knowledge has not been given much attention in the society of Kashmir which claims to be of high values and esteems.
The first and foremost problem with the marriage of PWDs is that the society thinks that these persons will not be able to shoulder such a big responsibility and hence no one is or will be ready to marry her/his daughter or son with a person with any form of disability.
This kind of attitude is witnessed even in the highly educated sections of the society.
So, are the persons with disability so incapable that they cannot sustain a family of their own?
What does a father or mother look for in his/her son-in-law or daughter-in-law? In the modern times, family sees if the person is holding a good job, is the family background good, etc. but when it comes to the marriage of differently abled, the question bank changes. The most surprising question is that Do these persons also marry? How will be they able to produce their offspring? As for the question of job and family is concerned, the author knows many persons who are earning good amount of money and are holding a very respectable job. Even the family background is very nice. Despite all these qualifications, getting married is a distant dream.
It is not the incapability of a person with disability that is preventing her/him to fulfill the religious obligation of getting married. Rather it is the attitude of the society which thinks otherwise.
The people of Kashmir lookdown on the persons with disabilities and they are forced to remain alone or to choose next option available to them.
What is the next option? It is very simple and quite easy. Persons with disability marrying with one another. Yes, don’t be surprised. There are number of persons with disabilities who have married with the persons who have any form of disability and are living a beautiful life.
But these couples have to not only sustain their life but also answer the every steering eye that poses question 60 times in a minute. Of course there will be some difficulty in managing some of the issues but they will be having greater understanding of each other and are able to work the things out in every respect. But as I said there are people who pose question every now and then, therefore marrying such couples is not an easy task in Kashmir.
Hence the PWDs are left with only one option which is available to all those who are not able to marry in Kashmir. To go outside the state and get married. This is happening and will remain so unless society thinks that disable persons can!
The story doesn’t stop, the last option is available to only the men and women cannot even think about this option. So what will a girl do if she is not able to marry anyone? This question needs to be answered by the readers.
What can be done? Again the answer is very simple. Wakeup before it is late, recognize that persons with disability are and will be capable of shouldering the responsibility of marriage and start thinking about this. If you are a parent at least give it a thought of marrying your boy/girl with a PWD. And if you cannot do this, let them marry with one another so that they don’t have to live and die alone. There should be someone who will take their name and offer fatiha in his/her name.