Pakistan's novel attack on poverty: ban wedding feasts

December in Pakistan is known as the Season of Weddings. It is a time that brings young hearts closer, and saddles some families with lifelong debt.

A Pakistani wedding is much more than a single event. It stretches over days of songs, dances, meals arranged for hundreds of guests, and a heavy dowry presented to the bridegroom. This lavish social custom is expected even among the poor, which make up more than 30 percent of Pakistan's 140 million people.

Now, in a novel effort to help the poor, Pakistan's Supreme Court has upheld a ban on serving food at wedding receptions held in public places. The move has cheered social workers, but it has also spurred elaborate efforts to circumvent the prohibition.

"People are at liberty to celebrate marriage.... What is prohibited is extravagance and ostentatious display of wealth," the Supreme Court observed in last month's verdict. "It is an important step to prepare the society as a whole for a change in wasteful expenses so as to relieve the poor segments of the society of the undue burden."

The government initially attempted the ban in 1997, allowing only tea or drinks to be served to guests. However, the prohibition was largely ignored, and now the Supreme Court ruled that it should be enforced across the country.

The scope of Islamabad's undertaking makes it the Taj Mahal of social engineering.

For starters, the cultural practice is deeply rooted. The Indian subcontinent was ruled for centuries by Hindu maharajas, Muslim khans of the Mogul Empire, and then nawabs of princely states, who spent an enormous amount of money on weddings. These ceremonies were emulated by common people.

Now a major portion of Pakistan'seconomy revolves around wedding functions. There are wedding management companies operating in Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi responsible for the decoration of the venue, dance rehearsals, and arranging laser and fireworks shows. A bridal dress can cost half a million rupees ($8,380) and the whole event sometimes runs 20 million rupees ($335,200). Gold and silver are literally handed out to the guests as presents.

An apartment or a furnished house, as well as cars and cash, are given to the bridegroom as dowry. In some wedding functions, the dowry items are displayed and announced by the bride's family elders.

The events are as numerous as a nervous bride's rapid heartbeats.

Usually the celebration starts two months in advance by arranging the dholkis, a function where the couple's friends sing and dance. A few days before the wedding is the mayun, during which the bride is massaged with herbs. Then at the mehndi ceremony, guests and friends put henna on the palms of the bride and bridegroom. The wedding reception is the responsibility of bride's family. On the next day, the bridegroom's family hosts another reception, the valima.

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