A girl from Gujarat married herself becoming the first case of Sologamy in India. She has paved the path for those women who wish to marry themselves in a country where a successful marriage is a parameter of a woman’s character.
Source: kshama bindu – Bing
By: Shreeyashi Ojha
Sologamy or Autogamy is the act of marrying oneself in a public ceremony. Though such a marriage holds no legal sanction, it is a symbol of self-love and independence. The first case of Sologamy in the world was identified in 1993 when a dental hygienist Linda Baker in Los Angeles married herself.
She was followed by Dennis Rodman, an NBA player who married himself in 1996. In Kyoto, Japan, a travel agency began offering packages for women who were marrying themselves in 2014. Another case reported was that of a British photographer who married himself in 2014, followed by an Italian fitness trainer who married himself in 2017.
Many movies and TV series have also popularized this concept, however, Sologamy is not legal in India as per The Hindu Marriage Act which incorporated monogamy and strictly prohibits bigamy and polygamy. The act specifically mentions the term “either of the spouse” which explicitly means that marriage must include two people.
Speaking about her decision, the 24-year-old said, “I never wanted to get married. But I did want to become a bride. So I decided to marry myself”. Though she identifies herself as a bisexual when she was asked if she would marry someone else Kshama refused and said that she would stay married to herself forever.
Kshama always wanted to become a bride but did not want to get married due to which she chose Sologamy. She had booked the venue and the priest for her wedding. She had also written the five vows for herself and had planned to go on a solo honeymoon to Goa. Kshama said,“Self-marriage is a commitment to be there for and unconditional love for oneself. It’s also an act of self-acceptance. People marry someone they love. I love myself and hence this wedding.”
Source: kshama bindu – Bing images
Though she was set to marry herself on the 11th, the news of her marriage did not go well with the conservative social norms due to which she had to prepone her wedding to 8th June. The priest refused to perform the ceremony after which she played the wedding mantras on a blue-tooth speaker for the wedding ceremony that lasted for 40 minutes. She performed all the rituals including the mehendi ceremony and the pheras, and was wed to herself in the presence of family and friends. She looked radiating in a red fallalery with sindoor and mangalsutra.
In a country with stringent beliefs and a strong cultural backbone, this is an audacious step towards self-love, a concept devoid of in India. However, it will be interesting to see how this pans out for those who wish to tread this path.
