阿富汗擬明令禁止奢華婚禮

在人均年收入不足400美元的阿富汗，奢華的婚禮和攀比之風卻隨處可見。爲此，阿富汗政府計劃頒佈禁令，禁止人們不顧實際經濟能力舉辦過於奢華的婚禮。在阿富汗的傳統中，婚禮要在豪華的宴會廳舉辦，新郎的家人要爲所有開銷買單，同時還要答應新娘及其家人提出的任何要求。阿富汗司法部長表示，人們辦婚禮就像在比賽，誰也不甘落後，每家都會在花費不菲的婚宴上招待數百賓客以炫耀自己的財力；而其實每個家庭都是這個錯誤傳統的受害者。據悉，該禁令的具體方案還在商討中，因奢華婚禮之風已成氣候，禁令執行將面臨困難重重。不過，阿富汗部分地區的部落長老已達成一致，禁止舉辦豪華婚禮、置辦豪華嫁妝，鼓勵年輕人早日結婚，不因物質條件拖延婚期。

Extravagant weddings with music and dance were banned by Afghanistan's Taliban as un-Islamic and now the government plans to again rein in lavish marriage celebrations, but this time to stop grooms going broke.

Since U.S.-backed Afghan forces ousted the strict Islamist Taliban in 2001, Afghans have revived the tradition of holding big weddings, costing thousands of dollars, in a country where the average annual income is less than $400.

Afghan weddings are celebrated by hundreds of guests in luxurious wedding halls with the groom and his family expected to foot the bill and agree to every request of the bride and her family.

"Wedding ceremonies among people are like a competition, no one wants to come last, people like to show off their wealth by feeding hundreds of guests in costly wedding halls," said Justice Minister Habibullah Ghaleb.

"Families are the victim of such a wrong tradition and have to accept these heavy burdens," he said.

Details of the planned ban on expensive weddings were still being worked out, said Justice Ministry spokesman Farid Ahmad Najibi, and he acknowledged it could be difficult to enforce because lavish weddings were so ingrained in Afghan culture.

The government's bid to reguLate weddings follows similar moves by some tribal elders and provincial officials.

Late last month, elders from several villages in northern Jawzjan province banned expensive weddings and dowries in a bid to encourage young people to marry instead of postponing their nuptials because they could not afford it.

Under the rules, the cost of a wedding must be in line with the economic status of the groom, and if someone violates the ban then they will not be invited to any other weddings in the village.

"Marriage is everyone's right and it must not be presented as a huge burden for the bride and groom," said Azaad Khwa, an elder from Jawzjan. "Making the groom's family pay for everything and feed hundreds is a big sin."