When Marriages become rare, sex becomes common

Mushtaq ul Haq Ahmad Sikander
Only Kashmir Desk
The stains of Sumbal minor rape case are yet to vanish,  the video of Molvi Bilal Ahmad Kumar has gone viral wherein stating that more than 18,000 unwed girls are consuming oral contraceptives in Sumbal, Sonawari area of district Bandipora. He stated that some medical practitioner confided him the details.
The claim may be wrong or right but undoubtedly points out the epidemic proportions of premarital sex prevalent in the area.
Islam debars any physical relations between men and women except the marriage. But due to various reasons marriage age has increased to 30s in the Kashmir valley.
It has become a new age reality that our society is trying to brush under the carpet. The marriage as an institution is under constant strain so youth are exploring other options. Most of Kashmiris marriage is a rare option given the issues associated with it from caste to career.
So to decry about sex before marriage is futile, as youth have not been trained in Islamic ethos, even if they are trained the environment prompts them to indulge in the same.
Further given the patriarchal character of our society, only emphasis is that girls and women have been led astray, they are promoting men to sin. While talking about female oral contraceptives, Molvi could have quoted about male contraceptives too about their sale or distribution in a certain area. A physical relationship is an act that needs a partnership of two people and both are blameworthy in eyes of Islam except in wedlock.
Moulvi Bilal has followed Justice (Retd) Bashir Ahmad Kirmani who a few years back claimed in a similar manner following street statistics saying that more than 25,000 girls of Srinagar are working as prostitutes and Intelligence Bureau is paying cell phone bills of most of these ladies.
I encountered him on this issue but he did not divulge the details. But there were no protests against Kirmani like we witness in case of Kumar. It either means Sumbal people are more emotional and conscious about the honor of girls and women than Srinagar ones or it speaks of the power that Kirmani wields and Kumar lacks.
To end the issue, we need to acknowledge the fact that premarital sex is a reality, so is misogyny, Patriarchy and the fact that marriage in Kashmir is a cumbersome task. Also, most youths are not morally so upright and trained to guard their virginity until marriage.