In an attempt to ward off wrong customs in the society, Naila Shamal hailing from Pakistan's Mardan city made a unique demand on her Nikaah which has gone viral.
In a rare incident, the Pakistani bride sought books worth Rs 1 lakh as 'Haq Mehr' from the groom's side and has been winning praises for placing the unique and thoughtful demand.
Haq Mehr ( or Mehr) is the gift that Muslim women get from the groom's side as a gift on their wedding and is usually given in form of cash or gold jewellery. In the clip, Shamal, a writer by profession gives a strong message to eliminate wrong customs from society as she speaks in front of a bookshelf as she is seen in her wedding outfit.
"As you all know, I have demanded books worth Rs100,000 for Haq Mehr. One reason for this is that due to rising inflation in our country, we cannot afford expensive gifts. On the other hand, it is also important to eliminate wrong customs from our society."
She said even though taking jewellery or cash as Mehr is as the custom, but she decided to ask for books as she felt that it was important to show reverence to books.
"If being a writer we don't value books, how can we expect a common man to do so?" she says in the video. "If I, as a writer, do not attach value to books then how can we expect the common man to do so?"
"A progressive thought": Netizens react
Netizens lauded her for inspiring others to make such changes. The video went viral on Twitter, as it garnered more than 30,000 views and was retweeted many times.
A Twitter user said, "A bride Naila Shamal in Mardan KPK, Pakistan demanded books in haq mehr, worth 100k. The bride and the groom both are writers. How much do you love books?" she had captioned the video.
"It's a progressive thought. The couple is lucky enough to have each other and they will definitely enjoy writing in each other's company. More power to them," another user wrote. "That's something we don't often see in our culture. That's great thinking," wrote yet another netizen wrote.
Watch video here:
A bride Naila Shamal in Mardan KPK, Pakistan demanded books in Haq Mehr, worth 100k. The bride and the groom both are writers.
How much you love books? pic.twitter.com/zTQAVncYkF
— Mona Farooq Ahmad (@MFChaudhryy) March 16, 2021