A 24-year-old girl in Gujarat's Vadodara is all set to marry herself on June 11 in what is being claimed as India's first sologamy wedding. Kshama Bindu will tie the knot with herself and the wedding will be done following all traditions, inlcuding 'pheras', a report in TOI said. The only thing missing from this unique wedding will be the groom.
"I had this idea in my mind for a long but didn't think it'd be possible. Then I read about 'sologamy'. That's when I thought let's marry myself," ANI quoted Kshama Bindu as saying.
Bindu, who works at a private firm, said her marriage might mark the first instance of "self-love" in the country.
The 24-year-old said she had tried to look for a woman who had married herself or practiced sologamy in India but couldn't find any.
"I never wanted to get married. But I did want to become a bride. So I decided to marry myself," TOI quoted her in its report. Not just this, she has also planned a two-week Goa honeymoon for herself.
Explaining the meaning of 'self-marriage', Bindu said it was a "commitment to be there for yourself and unconditional love for oneself". "It is also an act of self-acceptance," she further said.
While some people might see the marriage as 'irrelevant', Bindu said she was trying to portray that "women matter".
So, What Is Sologamy?
Sologamy or self-marriage is one of the growing relationship trends that means the act of marrying oneself. It implies a symbolic ceremony where one commits to a loving relationship with oneself. It does not necessarily mean singledom or celibacy.
The idea was first introduced in an episode of "Sex in the City", telecast in 2003, where the show's main character thinks about marrying herself. The idea came to the mind of the character, Carrie Bradshaw, after she saw that her married friends never celebrated her decision to be single.
Sologamy is being practised by more and more women in the UK, Australia, Japan, Taiwan and the US.
So far, sologamy is not recognised by law of any country. Usually, a self-marriage ceremony is mostly symbolic and not legally binding. This means one doesn't need to change his/her marital status on any legal documents.
Is Sologamy Is Legal In India?
Legal experts said sologamy does not have any legal backing in India.
"As per Indian laws, you cannot marry yourself. There has to be two persons in a marriage. Sologamy is not legal," senior High Court advocate Krishnakant Vakharia told PTI.
Another senior lawyer, Chandrakant Gupta, told PTI, "The Hindu Marriage Act uses the terminology 'either of the spouse', which simply means that there must be two persons to complete the marriage. Sologamy will never pass the legal scrutiny."