According to a 2017 study, almost 99.9% Parsis within the age group of 18-25 said they wanted to marry within the community
Parsi youth can now find a match within their community with the help of a newly-launched mobile application, Parsi Shaadi.
The app was launched on Saturday by the Parzor Foundation, in collaboration with shaadi.com, a popular matrimonial website, at the Banaji Atash Behram in Girgaum.
The initiative is part of the Centre’s Jiyo Parsi scheme to increase the rate of marriages within the community and subsequently, their population.
Parsi Shaadi, according to its makers, will contain 17,000 profiles of eligible Zoroastrian-Parsi youth.
“Youngsters these days do not like their parents interfering with their matrimonial decisions. With the help of this app, they can make their decisions with the assurance that their data is kept safe,” said Sam Balsara, chairman of Madison World, who is a part of the initiative.
Balsara said that around 30% of Parsi youth marry outside their community, according to available data.
A spokesperson from shaadi.com, who created the app, said that of the total number of registered people on the app, 25% are from Mumbai and Pune, 8% from Gujarat and 5% from Delhi. Of the total users, 60% are men and 40% are women.
“Currently, the app is in its beta stage, but we will create a mechanism to conduct background checks of those registered after suggestions and changes,” said the spokesperson for Parsi Shaadi.
Dr Shernaz Cama, director of the Parzor Foundation, said although there are events organised to help Parsi youth find a match for themselves from within the community, the use of technology would make it easier.
“According to the census, 30-40% people from the community, within the age group of 20-40, are unmarried. There has been an 18% decline in our population as recorded during the last census in 2011. To increase the population of our community, it is necessary that people marry within the community. This is a reason why the government asked us to concentrate on matrimony,” said Cama.
According to a 2017 study, said Cama, almost 99.9% Parsis within the age group of 18-25 said they wanted to marry within the community.