Arranged Marriages Within Modern Society Generally speaking, the words arranged marriage evokes fear or even anger in one’s heart. For various amounts of people, especially those with a western mindset, the liberty to choose one’s own spouse remains utterly important and even a human right in our society today. While I strongly believe that every human owns the freedom to choose whether they want to marry someone, I also believe misconceptions form in some mind’s when the words, “arranged marriages” are spoken. While not all arranged marriages remain sincere and fair in the world today, marriages guided by parents with willing children often produce healthy and lasting marriages. Although weak arranged marriages occur as well, strong arranged marriages also exist. I believe that arranged marriages often stay robust considering admirable parents know their children well, since arranged marriages often reflect two people with the same values, and lastly because these marriages often start with solid foundations. Honorable parents know their children well and hold the potential to find loving spouses for them. When someone dearly loves their child, the child will accept this love and express trust in their parent’s wisdom and choice for spouses. I have witnessed various situations where parents suggested and set up couples, and these so-called arranged marriages endured successfully. Even last night, a friend retold a story about her friends who set up their
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 marriages are traditional in Africa, South-east Asia, The Middle East and Latin America. Due to migration the practice has been extended today to western world countries. Many families choose their daughters’ husbands according to wealth, so converting the woman into a tradable good. Arranged marriage is a marital union where a third party matches the bride and the groom; arranged marriages were common globally until the 18th century.
Arranged marriages are very popular amongst many countries and cultures. It is the tradition of someone’s spouse being chosen for them, usually by their parents. Unfortunately, a decent amount of these marriages occur with the person being forced against their will, or the bride being a child. Arranged marriage, as seen in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” is an important topic in literature and modern-day culture.
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.
Arranged marriages occur all over the world and in some parts it is popular or compulsory and in others not so admired. Most
The author begins with the basics of marriages in India, explaining that arranged marriages are so common that marriages not setup have a special term. She goes on to speak of how the couples set to wed usually do not meet before the ceremony and that if they do, it is for only a momentary conversation after the decisions have been made. However, she points out, that if one person objects to the match that the parents agreed to, they do not have to wed.
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.
Those individuals who are proposed of the idea of arranged marriage ask the question “whether a parent can be trusted to find the right partner for a child” (Kolker, 62). These days parents and children argue about almost every single topic let alone finding a spouse for them. It sounds weird when a mother looks for brides for her grown son. But, marriage “as we understand it,
One of the main reasons that Indian parents firmly believe in arranged marriages is because they find these marriages to last the longest and be the most satisfying. Their argument is that in an arranged marriage “it takes time and effort to know, understand, accept, and love each other; a whole lifetime” (Marriages in Heaven). A study was done in 1996 with twenty-five Indian couples in arranged marriages, twenty-five Indian couples in love marriages, and twenty-five American couples in compassionate marriages. They asked these couples to score how satisfied they were with their marriage and relationship.
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.
Marriage is a union that has been around for as long as humans have walked the earth. The human race depends upon the union of its members, and as such, the subject of marriage has been an issue that receives more intense scrutiny and attention than many would likely believe. In today's day and age, with humanity continuing to move in a modern direction, many argue that marriage is a union that should be entered into freely and should be based exclusively on the love between two people. However, I argue that arranged marriage, which has taken place throughout the ages and throughout the world, is a union that offers its observers a marriage based in support, longevity and love, and is an institution that should not be frowned upon.
Arranged marriages are set up by friends and family, and sometimes by a matchmaker that sets up the marriage. But the bride’s father has the most responsibility in arranging marriage for his daughter, and is the one who approaches the father of a potential bridegroom. Important aspects when considering a possible match are financial status, caste, and the bride and bridegrooms horoscopes matching. The role of astrology is important, and if a Hindu priest finds that the horoscopes of the potential spouses do not match, they will not marry, and must begin the search all over again (Livermore, 2009). India’s view of marriage first and then love is very different from the Western view where love comes before marriage, seems to be successful. The
“Made in heaven, found on earth - marriages are a new beginning according to some and the final end for others” (“Arranged Marriage”, 2009). Marriage is religiously and socially a huge responsibility and its failure could affect societies negatively. Arranged marriages are planned by families, when the bride and the groom are chosen either randomly from a wedding or by family relatives. Especially in the Gulf countries, certain families consider such marriages of high social importance. Arranged marriages in this region have a low expectancy of success. Forced marriages, short engagements and incompatibility between potential couples are the main causes of divorce in arranged marriages in the Gulf region.