Raghad’s wedding date coincided with Newroz. She dreams of a big celebration, of being in a decorated car, singing and clapping, going from the salon to the celebration hall, as is customary. But the pandemic will not allow it.
Raghad had reluctantly delayed her wedding date to the month of Ramadan due to the COVID-19 containment measures.
“In Ramadan, conditions became worse. That’s why I delayed the wedding one more. And we all know how things are right now, and we weren’t able to make preparations for the wedding, so, the wedding is delayed once again,” 25-year-old Raghad said.
Like dozens of other youths in Kirkuk, Raghad doesn’t know when they can celebrate their weddings due to the pandemic.
Like other places of gathering, all the party halls are closed.
The pandemic has caused the crippling of the economy and many people are financially harmed.
Safa Imad works at a wedding hall which has been closed since 14 February 2020.
“Since then, 23 of us are jobless, because our work was completely stopped,” Safa said.
She adds that their job was based on daily wages, that’s why they have had no income for five months, while most of them have families they have to provide for.
Some of the wedding hall businesses have been asking the authorities to allow them to reopen with the condition of following health instructions, so that the young get the opportunity to have their weddings and the employees can resume their work again.
The pandemic has also caused the rise of the price of gold, which plays an important part in the traditional marrying process.
Khalid Sahib, a jeweller in Kirkuk city, told KirkukNow that since the start of the lockdown, the number of weddings has gone down.
He says that the price of gold has gone up by about 35%.
Unemployment rate has also risen and the young cannot afford getting married.
The government has stopped publishing marriage statistics since the outbreak of the Coronavirus.
Khalid says that on some days they don’t sell anything at all, and that some jewellers have sacked some of their employees.
KirkukNow has looked into the prices of household articles, and found out that the prices have not changed much.
Raghad keeps following the news on the pandemic and hopes that she can have the wedding she has been dreaming of since her childhood.
And if the pandemic prolongs, Raghad is prepared to take the difficult decision of limiting her wedding to a small celebration with close members of her family.
