Forced marriages are not a new issue in Pakistan, which in recent years have been highlighted on social and electronic media and press. Rida Shah is an aspiring photographer from Islamabad, who has captured the ordeal, one has to under go while getting married against one's wish, through her lens.
Rida has a versatile portfolio ranging from random photography to theme based layout, and shoots for clothing lines.
Since civil society has now started to raise their voices to create awareness about ‘forced marriages,' a number of people have come out to take a stand against it in their own way, and Rida Shah uses the power of her lens to highlight the issue of “forced marriages.”
In a recent spread on the Social Media site Instagram, she has shown how 21pc underage girls are being forced into marriage as given on the site 'Girls not Brides'. The theme shows how a woman cannot speak her mind or give her opinion in such a scenario.
In one picture the model is shown with her feet tied with a rope depicting her forceful tying in a matrimonial relationship. The background of the spread have slogans in Urdu saying, Larki jawan hogai (the girl has matured), Larki to parai hai (parents’ home is a temporary abode for girls).
One of the picture shows the girl wearing a red wedding dress with braids and laces, but in chains standing like a puppet.
Another picture shows her hand forcefully held by a relative while the groom puts on a ring by on her finger.
A picture that really moves the viewer shows blood trickling down the brides’ eye instead of the tears of a shy bride!
Rida Shah says that these 'un-Islamic' practices are being practiced openly in an Islamic society.
“In this so called Islamic society of ours, it is surprising how so many false and unfair practices are followed even by our most educated families. One of those is forcing your child to marry someone absolutely without their consent. 'Abhe nae pasnd tou kia hua, aik bar nikkah krdo sb theek hojaega;' (if you don’t like him now get married it will be alright later).
'Bacha hai tou kia hua, prhae likhae shadi k bad krlega'” (what if she is a kid, she can complete her studies after marriage).
Rida said that she respects parents' right to find a life partner for their children but Islam does not give them the right to force their decision on their children.
“I completely respect the fact that parents have the right to 'suggest' to their children who they should marry or not, but Islam does not give them the right to take this decision all by themselves, especially when their child is not willing to.”
Stats given in the post too show that an estimated 21% girls in Pakistan are forcefully married before the age of 18.
She went on to say that such marriages do not last long and the children blame their parents forever. She also believes that not only women are forced to marry but men also have to face such aggression in the family; however females have to bear this trauma more than males.
“These marriages either end up in divorces or children blaming their parents all their life.”
Speaking to The Nation, Rida Shah said, “I know a couple of people who have gone through this ordeal and how messed their life became after it. Parents need to realise that they are doing no good to their children by forcing them into marriage with someone they don’t want to marry.”
To a question as to why her model’s face is covered she said, “The face of the person is not important but the cause is. This is an issue which men and women face. My point was to highlight the issue and raise awareness about it.”
When asked if this project was supported by someone she said, “I have done this shoot all myself and used different places in my surroundings.”
In conclusion she said, “I know this practice will not end overnight, but I hope to have educated people about it so they can understand the importance of the issue and take a stand against it.”