Elite 'sexist' matrimony ad draws flak: Past participant recalls questions on virginity

A posh hotel in Bangalore is all set to host a high-profile matrimony meet titled The Grand National Young Achievers Matrimony Meet on August 12. An advertisement has come up of the same, and has already become a subject of criticism for the requirement it has set for girls to participate in the event.

The ad displayed a number of qualifications for men and women under the category of "young achievers" to be able to participate in the lavish event. The first three categories of aspiring brides and bridegrooms include – successful entrepreneurs, eminent professionals (IAS, IPS, IRS, Scientists, etc), youngsters graduated from top universities (IIT, IIM, CA, etc) and highly recognized young achievers.

And then the ad mentions "beautiful girls" as one of the criteria to register for the matrimony meet. Another criteria mentioned in the ad is "ultra-rich families".

While the concept itself appeared weird to many, people on social media have been slamming the organisers of the event for setting something like "beautiful girls" as a criteria to register. Calling the idea to be sexist and regressive, people have been criticizing the meet left, right and center.

"It's 2018 and there's a young achievers matrimony meet that promises beautiful girls. This whole thing is regressive on so many counts. [sic]," tweeted author Nandita Iyer.

There are scores of such reactions on social media, ridiculing the elite matrimony meet. Some are enraged to see the idea of putting just "beautiful girls" under the category of young achievers, some others just have been making fun of the event, also for its vegetarian lunch affair.

Another author named Sreemoyee Piu Kundu made a long post on Facebook, lambasting the same event, and also narrated an experience she had faced while attending a similar matrimony meet long back. In her post, she said that she was asked about her virginity, fertility quotient among some other outrageous questions.

"One pedigree asshole, asked me if I was a 'virgin,' on my first meeting with him at a 5-star in Bangalore. He was heading one of the verticals of SAP, and when I got up, saying goodbye, he had said, 'you can be frank. I am a modern man!' Needless to say, I exited within a few days, after fights with Ma, who herself was shocked that despite such highly qualified 'boys,' this was the prevalent mindset. [sic]," she said in the post. Read the full post below:

This elited matrimony meet ad indeed appears to be insensitive on various grounds. Is being "beautiful" an achievement? And what is their parameter to judge if a person is "beautiful" or not?