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Marriage apps in Pakistan a digital rival for traditional matchmakers

In a country where dating is seen as dishonourable and arranged marriages and matchmaking are common, marriage apps promise ‘love matches’

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A group of “rishta aunties”, as matchmakers are known, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. In a country where dating is considered dishonourable, marriage apps have emerged that promise “love matches”. Photo: AFP

Pakistan’s traditional matchmakers play a central role in moulding daughters into potential brides, but marriage apps are offering women a new route to finding a husband.

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“When I saw my colleague happy after being married to someone she met online … I thought, since we have tried rishta aunties for four or five years, let’s try this too,” Ezza Nawaz, a textile designer in the city of Lahore in Pakistan, says.

“Rishta aunties” – traditional matchmakers – polish up women and present them to the families of potential suitors, in a country where dating is considered dishonourable.

But in the past few years, marriage apps for Muslims have emerged in Pakistan promising so-called love matches.

Ezza Nawaz with her husband, Waseem Akhtar. They met on marriage apps Muzz. Photo: AFP
Ezza Nawaz with her husband, Waseem Akhtar. They met on marriage apps Muzz. Photo: AFP

Some offer a “chaperon” option – which provides a weekly transcript of sent and received messages to a chosen relative, satisfying families wary of their son or daughter connecting with strangers.

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