As many as 60 couples have tied the knot in a mass wedding arranged by a charity foundation at a cost of more than three million afghanis in Kabul.

Organizers said they wanted to avoid extravagant spending that often happens in wedding ceremonies and to fight bad traditions.

“We gave a dowry of around 55,000 [AFN] for each couple, and today the wedding ceremonies of 59 families are held here,” said Mukhtar Ahmad, an organizer of the ceremony.

“In total, about 33,00000 [AFN] have been spent on these weddings.”

In addition, a number of couples who are included in this mass wedding are happy with this ceremony, saying that they could not hold their wedding due to economic problems.

“I ask all the youth of the country to participate in this process,” said Ali Hayat, a groom.

“Others should also participate in this program, this is a celebration that avoids extravagant spending, and has an Islamic way and social justice,” said another groom.

Some religious scholars meanwhile also welcome the holding of such ceremonies.

“My suggestion is that these ceremonies should not be held only for the poor families, the rich families should also participate to such weddings so that it becomes a culture in our society,” said a cleric.

The participants in this ceremony also ask the families to reduce the wedding expenses due to the economic situation of the country.

The organizers have also said that in this mass wedding, couples from ten provinces of the country, including Kabul, participated, who were unable to hold their wedding ceremony alone due to economic problems.