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Dia Mirza broke some barriers at her recent wedding, having a woman priest officiate, and her groom’s daughters from an earlier marriage walk her to the dias.
Dia Mirza recently got married to businessman Vaibhav Rekhi in a traditional Hindu ceremony. A true feminist that she is, Dia made yet another bold statement by a unique gesture on this occasion.
The wedding was an intimate event amidst family and close friends at Dia’s Mumbai residence. What caught the paparazzi’s eyes in the wedding photos shared by the actor on Instagram was that the ceremony was presided upon by an elderly female priest.
Dia is half German on her biological father’s side, half Bengali Hindu on her mother’s, and half Muslim on her step-father’s side, whose name she uses. She is also one of those Bollywood celebrities who is known for giving befitting responses to any voices raised upon her for making unconventional choices in her life.
She has never feared the questions or judgements.
Our patriarchal society has always had rules to conveniently suppress the women in our culture. It is the outcome of this orthodox mindset that even though Hindu holy books do not explicitly ban women from becoming religious leaders, we rarely find women conducting any auspicious ceremonies in our country, though it is something that is happening recently in pockets.
There are a few institutions in Pune that have started offering courses to female Hindu priests. Examples of women who have taken up priesthood as their occupation have been making the news lately.
By having a woman priest for tying the knot of holy matrimony, Dia has also busted the age-long dominion of the male-concentric society. She also is a divorcee, and her husband is also a divorcee with daughters from an earlier marriage, who walked Dia to the wedding dias.
Women are often judged on the decisions which they make or do not make, in a hypocritical society that is excessively discriminatory towards women.
Dia Mirza has opened up to media many times and shared her experience on how women tagged as being a divorcee face social censure, and often given titles like ‘home-breaker’, who can never hold the ends together.
Men and their choices being considered the default, a remarriage for a man does not raise as many eyebrows; in fact, they are often expected to remarry – whether a divorcee or widower. If he would like to remarry, good for him and his children if he has any from the first marriage. After all he needs somebody to take care of him and his family.
So do the same judgements that Dia faces apply to Vaibhav Rekhi as well, since he is also a divorcee who is getting remarried to Dia Mirza?
Well divorced or not, married once or more than once, is an individual’s decision to make. It is high time now that our society stopped poking its nose into a woman’s life for living life on her own terms.
Dia Mirza is a living example of how you should not cease to take a second chance post divorce, if life gives you that chance for happiness.
To quote her words on her Instagram posts, “Love is a full-circle that we call home. And what a miracle it is to hear its knock, open the door and be found by it. May all puzzles find their missing pieces, may all hearts heal and may the miracle of love continue to unfold all around us”.
We wish her all happiness with her new family!
Image source: Instagram
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