They Fell In Love After Their Arranged Marriage
When Shaheena Khalid first saw a photograph of the man her family had chosen for her, she was not impressed. The picture was poor quality and made his maroon shalwar kameez appear almost purple. She even joked with her mother about why they had chosen him.
It was an arranged marriage, and Shaheena said she barely knew Khalid before their wedding in 1978. There was no long courtship or years of romance leading up to their nikah. She trusted her parents and agreed to the marriage.
But the man she eventually met was very different from that unfortunate photograph.
Four decades later, Shaheena remembered their relationship very differently from those first impressions. She said Khalid had loved and cared for her, while she had done the same for him. Together, they built a family and raised three children.
Their relationship did not begin with the kind of romantic connection people often associate with marriage. Instead, affection developed through years of sharing responsibilities, understanding each other and being present through the ordinary experiences of family life.
Their story shows how a relationship can evolve after the wedding.
When Dawn Images spoke to the couple after 40 years of marriage, Shaheena pointed to qualities that had helped them stay together: patience, understanding and communication. She acknowledged that couples will naturally have disagreements and different personalities.
For Shaheena, the answer was not pretending those differences did not exist. It was learning how to accept each other, communicate through disagreements and avoid allowing resentment to become part of everyday life.
After 40 years together, Shaheena's reflections were less about a perfect relationship and more about the small things that sustain one. Love, in her account, was closely connected to care, patience and the willingness to understand another person even when their views differed.
The couple's story also puts the idea of an arranged marriage into a very personal context. Shaheena did not begin the relationship with a romantic attachment to Khalid. Their connection developed through the life they built after their wedding in 1978.
When Shaheena Khalid first saw a photograph of the man her family had chosen for her, she was not impressed.
When Shaheena Khalid first saw a photograph of the man her family had chosen for her, she was not impressed. The picture was poor quality and made his maroon shalwar kameez appear almost purple. She even joked with her mother about why they had chosen him.
It was an arranged marriage, and Shaheena said she barely knew Khalid before their wedding in 1978. There was no long courtship or years of romance leading up to their nikah. She trusted her parents and agreed to the marriage.
But the man she eventually met was very different from that unfortunate photograph.
Four decades later, Shaheena remembered their relationship very differently from those first impressions. She said Khalid had loved and cared for her, while she had done the same for him. Together, they built a family and raised three children.
Their relationship did not begin with the kind of romantic connection people often associate with marriage. Instead, affection developed through years of sharing responsibilities, understanding each other and being present through the ordinary experiences of family life.
Their story shows how a relationship can evolve after the wedding.
When Dawn Images spoke to the couple after 40 years of marriage, Shaheena pointed to qualities that had helped them stay together: patience, understanding and communication. She acknowledged that couples will naturally have disagreements and different personalities.
For Shaheena, the answer was not pretending those differences did not exist. It was learning how to accept each other, communicate through disagreements and avoid allowing resentment to become part of everyday life.
After 40 years together, Shaheena's reflections were less about a perfect relationship and more about the small things that sustain one. Love, in her account, was closely connected to care, patience and the willingness to understand another person even when their views differed.
The couple's story also puts the idea of an arranged marriage into a very personal context. Shaheena did not begin the relationship with a romantic attachment to Khalid. Their connection developed through the life they built after their wedding in 1978.
