KOCHI: With one sweeping move, the Union Cabinet has made marriage makers rework their clients’ list. If the local marriage bureaus were forced to remove women between 18 and 21 years from their clients’ list, matrimonial sites are forced to refund registration fee.
If the decision finally becomes a law, many sites will be forced to erase the database of women aged between 18 and 21 years. Nearly 8% of total registrations are of women in this category, an official of a leading matrimonial site told TNIE.
“Don’t get me wrong. We wholeheartedly welcome the government’s decision. But we are worried that we will be forced to remove a large database from our servers,” said a senior official of a Kerala-based matrimonial site, which has over one lakh registrations.
“It was after several follow-ups that we convinced parents to opt for the paid membership facility from free service. Now, we will have to refund them. This will definitely put us in a crisis,” he said. This is because some matrimonial sites make money not just from registration but also from the commission they get for the successful marriage alliance.
‘Database on women aged below 21 will be removed’
Once the whole chunk of clients are removed from the list, they will surely feel the pinch, said another official. Murugavel Janakiraman, founder and CEO of Matrimony. com, India’s leading matrimonial site, said the subscription fee would be refunded if women’s marriage age is increased to 21 years. The site runs a state-centric section called Kerala Matrimony.
“We are a serious player in the sector. We hardly have any female user aged below 21 years. We will definitely refund those who belong to the 18-20 age bracket,” he said. “Raising women’s marriageable age to 21 years is a progressive step. It will help them take a more mature view of choosing a life partner and participate better in the matchmaking process,” he said.
The Kudumbashree Matrimony, an all-woman self-help group under the state government, has decided to take this as an opportunity to spread awareness about education and the ill effects of early marriage. Sindhu Balan, founder of Kudumbashree Matrimony, said the site has decided to remove entries of all women aged below 21 years.
“Since we only offer free registration, we don’t have to bother about the financial impact of such a move. However, we have some responsibilities and commitment towards the parents who have registered their wards on our websites. We will meet or call them to convince them about the government’s decision. Database of women aged below 21 years will also be removed from the server,” she said.
Payback time