Essay about Arranged Marriages

Arranged Marriages have been around since time can remember. An arranged marriage is a marital union between a man and a woman who were selected to be wedded together by a third party. Historically, arrange marriages were the main way to marry. In certain parts of the world, it is still the primary approach. There are two types of arrange marriages. The first is a traditional marriage where the children can, with strong objections, refuse to marry their soon to be spouse. In a forced marriage, the children have no say in the matter. Bread Givers shows an excellent representation of the pressures on children from their parents to be married against their will.

Arranged marriage is found in various cultures and countries around the world, including Afghanistan and other parts of the Middle East; having an arranged marriage is thought of as an Afghani tradition and has been a part of life for many families. The practice of arranged marriage has advantages and disadvantages; it can create more family power and give more financial security. Sadly being forced into a marriage can disrupt the independence of the engaged, most women stop their education when they become engaged resulting in many women being illiterate. This makes it impossible for them to be successful without depending on their husbands. Arranged marriage is found in many cultures throughout the modern world, though in a lot of cases it results in a happy family it can also be very limiting on women and often girls are married before they can give consent.

In our society, we wouldn’t consider arranged marriages as a normal thing we are, use to consensual heterosexual serial monogamy. But in some countries, they do consider arranged marriages normal. In India, arranged marriages have been apart of the Indian culture since the fourth century and many consider it a central fabric of Indian society (Arranged Marriages, Matchmakers, and Dowries in India, 2000). Pakistan also considers arranged marriages as normal in Pakistani culture elders of the family are considered wise and they are the ones who help pick out a spouse a family member (Arranged Marriages are the Part of Pakistani Culture, 2012). Japan still practices arranged marriage but now less than ten percent of marriages are arranged compared to half a century ago when about seventy percent were arranged(Tying the Knot, 1998). In China, they have marriage markets where parents line the pathways share with other parents their clippings they have on their child, hoping to find a good match for their child (Epatko, 2015). Still, today many countries consider arranged marriages normal.

ReferencesAugust, P. (2005, October). Arranged Marriages in the Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arranged_marriageBowman, H. & Spanier, G. (1978). Modern Marriage. McGraw-Hill Book Company.

Within Afghanistan, parents organize marriages between their daughter and her future spouse before the relationship between the couple has formed. The two types of arranged marriages consist of traditional marriage and forced marriage . In a traditional marriage the parents choose their daughter’s spouse and she can deny or accept her future husband. In a forced marriage, the parents pick their daughter’s spouse and do not let her have any say at all in whom they chose. Some main factors the parents consider for arranged marriages include reputation, vocation, wealth, appearance, and values.

During the early 1800s, marriage was seen as a fortification of wealth and power through the unification of two families instead of a declaration of endearment, as reflected through the materialistic marriage customs in the Antebellum South. Generally, a man’s parents designated a future spouse for their son, based off of a woman’s familial ties and financial stature, due to the economic ramifications that the marriage had upon each party involved (O’Neil). Although financial characteristics of the bride’s family were primarily the deciding factor, men typically prefered to marry a compliant woman with “piety, purity, submissiveness and domesticity” (Fontin), considering that the gender roles at the time denounced women with ambitious or assertive

In the nineteenth century, the marriages were arranged by the parents. The parents would arrange the marriages by wealth. The women and men do not have the chance to start the relationship as friendship or girlfriend and boyfriend, so they are able to see if they love each other. Instead they go straight into man and wife, they do not have the love for each other until later on in the relationship. Once the women get married their wealth also belongs to the husband. If the women worked later in the marriage, the earning she received will belong to her husband. The women do not have a say in their marriage. The women do as their husband tells them. The husbands had the control over the wives. The man had the power in everything the wife did

Love is portrayed in society as a perfect bond between two people and that they live happily ever after but that is not always the case. In the story “Once upon a Time in a Tent” written by Tim Neville talks about his time living in a tent in his backyard and his journey through his three relationships. In the story “The Arranged Marriage” written by Mira Jacob she talks about how her parents are in an arranged marriage and never showed any affection towards each other.

Arranged Marriages: is defined as marital union the bride and the groom is chosen by their families. The couple have no say in the decision-making progress. My Perspective of marriage is a man and a woman should have that right to choose who they would like to Marry. Nevertheless, I feel it is vital to have the support of both families. I believe people don’t embrace the similar bias for arranged marriages, like they do for polyandry.

The simplest and most basic foundation of a sociological civilization or group begins at the core center of sociology; which is marriage and the inner-fabric creation of a family. It is said that matches are made in heaven, however finding and defining your “soul mate” differs from one social group to the next. The social institution of marriage changes and adapts consistently through time, religious practice, and national beliefs. Many people believe they lead happy and satisfying lives without a marital partner, as others highly value and desire a life-long marital partner as the pinnacle achievement of their life.

What does marriage mean? By definition, marriage is “the legal union of a man and a woman as husband and wife” (Webster’s Dictionary). Most people claim that they want their marriage to last a lifetime. Because over half of all marriages in the United States end in a divorce, most people lack the understanding of what it takes to stay married. I believe that couples should become more aware of the commitment that they are making when they enter into marriage.

This essay will discuss the issue of arranged marriages. According to Webster, an arranged marriage is “a marriage planned and agreed to by the families or guardians of the bride and groom, who have little or no say in the matter themselves.” I will be discussing this according to the following ethical theories: Utilitarianism, Rights Theory, and W.D. Ross’ Theory. Under these theories I will discuss whether or not they would view arranged marriages as ethical or unethical and under what circumstances one would find an arranged marriage ethical or unethical.

Sub-Point: Arranged marriage was so popular an option as history moved on, that many royals took part in the option such as: Louis XVI and Marie Antionette, Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain and Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon

In the same way as arranged marriages are an established and expected part of Islamic culture, arranged marriages are very common also in India, where Hinduism is the leading religion. Most marriages here are arranged, but importantly with” the consent of the bride and the bridegroom and the blessings of the elders” (http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/h_marriage.asp). Also here the question of consent is very important to provide a distinction between arranged and forced marriage. This focus on consent has been a modern development of this ancient tradition. In the past, consent from the spouses was not necessary for them to be married (http://www.culturalindia.net/weddings/arranged-marriage.html HHHHHjjlafdkdk.)

Marriage is the socially recognized union of two or more people. Selecting a marriage partner is very much a culturally defined process. The rules governing selection vary widely from society to society and are more often complex. How would you go about selecting a mate? Where would you begin? What criteria would you use? When we look around the world to see how other societies deal with these questions, it is clear that the ways of selecting a mate or a marriage partner has been changed from generation to generation.