Doha: The Family Consultancy Centre needs to organise marriages between blind women and male prisoners, blind women were quoted as saying by Al Watan recently.

Blind women do not seek any monetary benefit, which is why it is the best option for us, 39-year-old Wadeha Al Mazrohi said, who lost her eye sight at the age of 27 after an accident.

Marriages of blind women is a taboo subject in most Qatari families, where families feel ashamed of speaking about the issue. For blind men, the situation is different altogether. Many of these men have as many as three wives while their female counterparts have no marriage prospect in sight, many complained.

“Government should give some sort of incentive to men such as accommodation for marrying blind women,” said Al Mazrohi, who went on to study business from UK despite the loss of sight.

The European communities are more understanding about the needs of blind people than the communities in Qatar, Al Mazrohi said. “Marriage is a legal right of every person, and Islam encourages the right of having a family and sees it as a part of continuation of life. But this idea is not accepted by many communities where marriage of a woman is forbidden if she is blind,” said Mariam Al Kuwari, supervisor of activities at the Cultural and Social Centre for Blind.

Sometimes this rejection comes from the blind woman herself, and at other times, from the family or the community because they presume that the marriage is bound to fail, she said.

Young men in Qatar feel that they do not need to sacrifice their lives because a blind wife will prevent them from enjoying their life, 30-year-old Al Kuwari added.

Blind women can live independently today, and even if they do not have sight, they dream to have a family, said many women who feel misjudged by the society.  

“It is hard to understand why the community refuses the idea of marriages of blind women. There are many good examples of successful marriages between blind women and normal men in the Gulf, but you will not find these examples in Qatar,” Al Kuwari said.

This rejection from the Qatari community is encouraging blind women to accept being the second or third wife, which is a very disturbing reality for many.

The government should raise awareness among people and work out on issues of marriages of blind women, said Mona Al Kuwari, member of the cultural and social centre, who at the age of 31 feels that the bias from society makes it impossible for blind women to lead a normal life.

“We should not punish the blind for a crime they did not commit. A blind woman could be a wife, daughter, sister and a friend,” she said while adding that the media needs to play a big role in creating awareness so that blind girls are not neglected. The Peninsula