DOHA: To address the persistent problem faced by Pakistani and Indian expat families in finding suitable matches for their children, an online matrimonial service is set to be launched next week.
“There exists an obstinate problem in the otherwise easy-going lives of expatriate families from Pakistan and India and that is a difficulty in finding a suitable match for their adult children. In a bid to address this, the Pakistan Women’s Association (PWA) is launching an online matrimonial facility next week,” said Rahat Mansoor Ali, President of PWA, Qatar.
Discussions with a number of Pakistani expat families reveal that this problem is being faced by almost all families who are settled here for long.
“Finding a life partner for my girl from Pakistan is not a difficult job. But, in this case, our daughter will have to move to Pakistan to live with her spouse as shifting her husband here without securing a job is impossible. And those children who were born and brought up here feel uncomfortable in relocating to Pakistan,” said a Pakistani father who didn’t want his name in print.
He said that the most appropriate option for parents was to find matches from the same community settled in the same country.
“But, here too finding a suitable match for a boy or girl is not an easy task. Every family lives in a small acquaintance circle and therefore knows very little about suitable available matches,” he added.
The Peninsula has found that there are many women both from Pakistani and Indian communities who are providing match-making services to willing parents in an apparently unofficial manner. They also charge a fee for the services which worried families pay with smiling faces.
Rahat Mansoor Ali said that she has been receiving requests for help from parents for a long time. “They ask us for help which we have always been providing from the PWA platform. Now PWA has introduced a dedicated section “Matrimonial” on its existing website to address the problem,” she added.
She said the online facility would be fully functional in a week. “It will not be open for all to go through the profiles of potential matches as we have to maintain secrecy and respect of families. Interested people have to fill in criteria-form and we will provide them information about the best possible match from the data available with the PWA,” she added.
Rahat said that unlike other traditional services being currently offered against exorbitant fees, PWA’s online service will be free. “But, for enjoying the service and other services at PWA, one should be a member of the association,” she clarified.
Endorsing the gravity of the problem being faced by overseas Asian families, an Indian expat said that there was no Doha-based online matchmaking service for them and most of the people were seeking help from matrimonial websites operated from India.
It is to be mentioned here that according to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India, the online matrimony business is expected to be a $250m business by 2017.
According to some other estimates, there are over 1,500 matrimonial websites in India.
