What is sologamy? Why is a 24-year-old Gujarat woman choosing it?

A 24 year-old woman from Gujarat, Kshama Bindu, is set to marry herself in a wedding ceremony on June 11 in a temple in Gujarat's Vadodara. This practice of marrying oneself, called Sologamy, is the first of its kind in India, though it is common in western countries.

It will be a wedding as per the Hindu rituals, with the seven rounds around the sacred fire. Pre-wedding rituals such as haldi and sangeet before the marriage will also happen.

After the wedding, Kshama will also travel to Goa for a two-week honeymoon.

WHAT KSHAMA SAYS ABOUT MARRYING HERSELF?

Kshama calls this an act of “self-love”. Talking to BBC, she said, “It’s my way of showing that I’m accepting all the different parts of me, especially the parts of myself that I have tried to deny or disown such as my weaknesses- be they physical, mental or emotional. What I am trying to say is that I accept myself-all of me, even the parts that don’t look pretty.”

She said that for her, this marriage is really a deep act of self-acceptance. She added that her family is completely fine with her decision and they will be attending the ceremony along with her friends.

WHAT IS SOLOGAMY?

Sologamy is the act of marrying oneself in a public ceremony. It is also called self-marriage. But this marriage has no legal and social sanction. It is done by people to emphasize self-love to them.

The first time it started was in 1933 when a dental hygienist from US, Linda Baker married herself. The wedding was attended by 75 friends of Baker. In the wedding, she promised to herself she will honour herself in sickness and health until the day she’s not there.

Since then, hundreds of women have married themselves. In a bizarre event, a 33 year-old Brazilian model divorced herself, three months after her wedding.

A MESSAGE FROM KSHAMA

In India, Kshama will be the first woman to marry herself. To her critics, who called it a strange act, Kshama said, “It’s my decision to marry who I want- whether it’s a man or women or myself. And by marrying myself, I want to normalise sologamy. I want to tell people that you come into the world alone and you leave it alone. So who can you love more than yourself? If you fall, it’s you who is going to pick yourself up”, Kshama told BBC.