Marriage under peer pressure is disastrous: Manisha Koirala

It might be a month or so before she arrives in Mumbai again, but perched in Kathmandu, actress Manisha Koirala doesn’t mince any words saying that she hates it when a girl gets married under peer pressure.

“We can differ on whether marriage is an overrated institution or not, but it is always a disaster when you get married under peer pressure. When a girl is young, there is pressure about excelling in studies, then about getting a job and the moment she is 25, the intense pressure from friends and family to get married begins. Once you get married, people nudge you about babies. I think girls always live under this immense pressure all the time, which makes it difficult to live life your way. I strongly feel that it should be an individual choice because anything done under pressure is a recipe for disaster,” says Koirala over phone from Kathmandu.

Nevertheless the actor, who has been in the news recently over an alleged break-up with her husband Samrat Dahal, clarifies both of them are together at present. “We go through our shares of ups and downs. There were some problems, but we’ve made up now and everything is fine,” says the Nepali royalty.

Interestingly, even though she abhors domestic abuse of women, Koirala says that there have been incidents of men getting abused too. “Both men and women may get abused. It’s all about partnership and mutual respect that keeps the relationship going,” she says, adding that men do dominate in most societies.

“Women tend to get dominated even in the most developed and richest of countries. I think it will still take a while to see the gender equality that we keep talking about,” says Manisha, who will be seen in the film I Am after a gap of four years.