BharatMatrimony encourages girls to choose education over marriage

Through ‘Pehle Padhai Phir Shaadi’, select girl students from Jaisalmer in Rajasthan will receive scholarships to pursue their college education.

BharatMatrimony, the leading online matrimonial service, has announced a social initiative, titled ‘Pehle Padhai Phir Shaadi’, to empower girls to choose education over marriage.

Through this initiative, BharatMatrimony is encouraging parents to empower their daughters with the freedom to think, choose and take this life-changing decision between education and marriage.

Select girl students from Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, who will complete 12th standard this year, will receive scholarships to help them pursue their dreams through college education.

The campaign stems from a tragic insight. Jaisalmer’s walls are decorated with beautiful paintings of wedding art. But behind this, is a stark reality. The city is a part of a state that has low adult literacy rates among girls in the country. The reason is simple – the girls are often made to choose marriage over education.

Murugavel Janakiraman, founder and CEO, Matrimony.com, said, “As a brand in the forefront of empowering women, BharatMatrimony is constantly trying to break new ground and change the social perspective about women, relationships and marriage. We believe ‘Pehle Padhai Phir Shaadi’ will drive social change by encouraging girls to choose education first. Let’s not forget that educating a girl is like educating the family.”

MS Dhoni, former captain of India’s men cricket team and BharatMatrimony’s brand ambassador, added, “I’m very proud to be associated with BharatMatrimony’s #PehlePadhaiPhirShaadi initiative to transform the future of girls, by empowering them to make the choice between education and marriage.”

The initiative has been executed in collaboration with the Dentsu Group. Aalap Desai, national creative director, Isobar India, said, "When we saw the problem, the solution didn't call for cutting-edge tech to be employed. Rather, simply asking parents to hand the decision to their daughters and celebrate it no matter what, was what the campaign called for. For us, Dhoni was the perfect spokesman to appeal to these parents. And, that's exactly what we did."