Marriage

Hartalika Teej 2024: Know about history, significance and ritual timings

Hartalika Teej is an auspicious Hindu festival that celebrates the heavenly union of Shiva and Parvati, reflecting the desire of women for marital prosperity. This year, it will be marked on Sept 6

Himachal Pradesh raises women's marriage age from 18 to 21: What's next?

The Bill seeks to eliminate the age distinction between men and women in the definition of a child, ensuring that both genders are treated equally under the law

Himachal Assembly passes Bill raising marriage age for women from 18 to 21

The Himachal Pradesh Assembly on Tuesday passed a bill raising the marriage age for women from 18 to 21 years. The state assembly passed the prohibition of child marriage (Himachal Pradesh Amendment Bill 2024) seeking to raise the marriageable age of women by voice vote. Introducing the bill, Health and Women Empowerment Minister Dhani Ram Shandil said that provision of Child Marriage Act 2006 was enacted to provide for prohibition of child marriages, adding it has become necessary to increase the minimum age of marriage for girls in order to provide gender equality and opportunities of obtaining higher education. Moreover, early pregnancies also have adverse effects on the health of the girls, the minister said. It is proposed to amend the Child Marriage Act 2006 and related acts in the state and increase the minimum age of marriage for girls to 21 years, he added.

China's marriage registrations to fall record low in 2024, says expert

China's marriage registrations in 2024 were set to register a record low since 1980, a demographic expert has warned after the marriage registrations in the first half of this year fell by 4.98 lakhs, heightening the country's looming demographic crisis. The fall in marriage numbers was expected to add to the declining birth rates, which have been steadily falling over the years amid the rapid rise of the ageing population. The latest statistics from China's Ministry of Civil Affairs show that 34.3 lakh Chinese couples got married during the first half of 2024, a drop of 4.98 lakh couples compared to the same period from last year, state-run Global Times reported on Monday. It said that 1.27 million couples also got divorced. He Yafu, an independent demographic expert who tracks marriage registration data, predicted that based on the present trend, the annual figure of marriage registrations in 2024 will drop to a record low since 1980. The decline in the number of marriage ...

Chinese university launches marriage degree amid declining marriage rate

This programme, launched by China's Civil Affairs University, comes at a time when policymakers are grappling with a decline in new births, closely tied to falling marriage rates

Financing weddings, luxury weddings: Top personal finance stories

This week we write about the money planning you need for a wedding and how to illuminate your home

Anant Ambani-Radhika Merchant wedding: Check guests list, date, and more

Anant Ambani-Radhika Merchant wedding: Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former UK PM Boris Johnson will also be part of the grand wedding. Check the full guest list here

Is marriage loan a smart financial move or a debt trap? Find out here

After the wedding, you'll be paying the EMIs and not the guests you aimed to impress with a grand celebration

ICC issues verdicts in trial of alleged Islamic extremist charged in Mali

The International Criminal Court is delivering its verdict Wednesday in the trial of a suspect accused of playing a key role in a reign of terror unleashed by al-Qaida-linked insurgents on the historic desert city of Timbuktu in northern Mali in 2012. Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud could face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if convicted on charges including involvement in crimes including rape, torture, persecution, enforced marriages and sexual slavery committed from April 2012 until the end of January 2013 in the city once known as the Pearl of the Desert. Prosecutors say he was a key member of Ansar Dine, an Islamic extremist group with links to al-Qaida that held power in northern Mali at the time. Women and girls suffered in particular under Ansar Dine's repressive regime, facing corporal punishment and imprisonment, the court's then-chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said at the start of Al Hassan's trial nearly four years ago. Many were forced into ...

Sonakshi Sinha-Zaheer Iqbal married; couple grooves to Chaiyya Chaiyya song

Sonakshi-Zaheer shared a joint post after their marriage sharing some precious moments from the wedding. In one of the viral videos, the couple performed dance moves on Chaiyya Chaiyya song

Sonakshi Sinha-Zaheer Iqbal to register marriage on June 23; details here

Sonakshi Sinha and Zaheer Iqbal are reportedly going to register for marriage on June 23. However, there is no official confirmation

Anupam Mittal's 'dowry calculator' raises eyebrows but there's a twist

Shaadi.com founder Anupam Mittal told his audience that his team has "simplified the process to calculate dowry" by launching an artificial intelligence-based dowry calculator

Most expensive divorce cases in the world that surprised people

Unfortunately, some couple ends their wedding mid-way due to different reasons, but here is a list of some of the most expensive divorce cases in the world

Married man living with unwed partner not guilty of bigamy: Rajasthan HC

Courts in other states have expressed varying opinions on the matter of what can constitute as 'bigamy'

'Ab jaldi karni padegi': Rahul Gandhi replies to question on marriage

Addressing a rally in Rae Bareli parliamentary constituency for the first time after his nomination, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday faced a familiar query. When is he getting married? Soon, he assured. As he ended his speech, Gandhi called his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to the front of the dais. Putting his hand on her shoulders and fondly touching her face, Gandhi expressed his appreciation for her efforts in the Rae Bareli campaign. "I am touring different parts of the country in the election and my sister is spending time here, a big thanks to her for this," he said. Priyanka Gandhi then told him to answer the question somebody from the crowd had asked. After a few moments as he tried to find out what the question was, Gandhi assured it will have to be soon now. "Ab jaldi karni padegi," he said in Hindi.

Everyone in Japan will be called 'Sato' by 2531 unless marriage law changes

A study led by Hiroshi Yoshida, a professor of economy at Tohoku University, challenges a civil law from the 1800s in Japan that requires married couples to choose a single surname

Thailand lawmakers overwhelmingly pass bill to legalise same-sex marriage

Lawmakers in Thailand's lower house of Parliament overwhelmingly approved a marriage equality bill on Wednesday that would make the country the first in Southeast Asia to legalise equal rights for marriage partners of any gender. The bill passed its final reading with the approval of 400 of the 415 members of the House of Representatives who were in attendance, with 10 voting against it, two abstaining and three not voting. The bill amends the Civil and Commercial Code to change the words men and women and husband and wife to individuals and marriage partners. It would open up access to full legal, financial and medical rights for LGBTQ+ couples. The bill now goes to the Senate, which rarely rejects any legislation that passes the lower house, and then to the king for royal endorsement. This would make Thailand the first country in Southeast Asia to pass such a law and the third in Asia, after Taiwan and Nepal. Danuphorn Punnakanta, a spokesperson of the governing Pheu Thai party a

Taapsee Pannu-Mathias Boe get married in an intimate event at Udaipur

Taapsee Pannu and Indian badminton coach Mathias Boe's decade-long relationship finally turned into a marriage. The couple married in an intimate event at Udaipur

Who is Deepinder Goyal's second wife, Grecia Munoz? Check details here

Deepinder Goyal married a Mexican model Grecia Munoz who now lives in India. Get to know more about her

More Chinese tied knot in 2023, lifting marriage rates 1st time in 9 yrs

The number of newlyweds rose to 7.68 million last year, according to data released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs last week