Stop Under-Forced Marriage

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.

In certain communities in South Asia, the low status of girls has to be compensated for by the payment of a dowry by the parents of the girl to the husband at the time of marriage. This has resulted in a number of dowry crimes, including mental and physical torture, starvation, rape, and even the burning alive of women by their husbands and/or in-laws in cases where dowry payments are not met.

Arranged marriages have been a practice that has been around for a long time. It has been predominantly common in third world countries where the income gap is significantly obvious between the wealthy and the poor. By definition, arranged marriage is a marriage that is arranged by the parents of the man and woman getting married, instead of the man and woman choosing to date and marry each other. Shafer-Landau states that cultural relativism claims that the correct moral standards are relative to cultures, or societies, where as ethical subjectivism claims that the correct moral standards are those endorsed by each individual. The practice of arranged marriages and similar scenario of forced marriages alike are both controversial and up for discussion.

In the article, Child Marriages in Sub-Saharan Africa, states the reasons and crazy expectations of child marriages. In Sub-Saharan Africa 39% of girls are married before the age of 18. Child marriages has spread throughout all of Africa. In West and Central Africa 42% of girls are married before age 18 and in Eastern and Southern Africa it is 36% of the girls (Child Marriages in: Sub-Saharan Africa). These number vary throughout the year yet they never drop to zero. It is a mass dilemma to outsiders yet in the depth of Africa, it a tradition that is hard to break. Daughters may be married off due to poverty or fear of safety. It is a custom in which the daughter does not have much control and marriage can be used as a leverage in a heated

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.

One way is to educate students, teachers and religious figures who are able to conduct marriages about forced marriage and its impacts. By educating people, there is a lesser risk of victims of forced marriage suffering silently and there is also a higher chance of detecting forced marriage victims amongst both school and religious communities. Religious figures, such as priests and imams, will also be able to understand the consequences of conducting a forced marriage and will also aid in preventing it.

Kingston, many girls are forced into marriages by being told it is the right thing to do. In summary, underage arranged marriages are very dangerous and unfair to the children who are placed under those circumstances while they haven’t even reached the capacity to comprehend what they want.

Agreements such as this can lift the burden of paying for a girl’s education, thus making it easier for parents to choose to educate their children, instead of marrying them off. In rural areas of underdeveloped countries, the practice of child marriage is on the rise due to the fact that most of the girls being married off are not educated enough to know there are laws in place to protect them. Being oblivious of their rights, children are being married off before they are able to comprehend the harm brought upon them. Having knowledge of laws that protects them from being married before they are ready can assist them in taking steps to prevent the occurrence of early marriage. Educating young girls about their rights is one way of ensuring that one child may be kept safe from having to face the atrocities of marriage with mostly older men. We can accomplish this by setting up organizations that can go to different villages and provide information on how marriage at a young age can have negative effects on the health of young wives. These organizations could even work with the government to provide shelters for girls who are trying to escape the wickedness of early marriage.

In Afghan society, a forced marriage is when either the man or women is married against one’s will. This includes childhood brides and young women who are sold from their family in order to pay off debt. Adolescents that are forced into marriages in Afghanistan are consistently mistreated and abused in their households. In the article “Afghanistan: Women, Socially Bound

Forced and arranged marriages are often confused, the main difference between them is that in arranged marriages the couple is allowed to decide, but in forced marriage, they do not have the option to choose at all. Most of the time we believe that this is an issue only affecting people in the Middle East, but that is so far away from reality. The reason I chose this subject is to make people aware that this is happening everywhere, consequently we need to find a way to stop it. I also found out that in America they are not strict laws against it, because it is not considered a threat against people. “In New York State the data shows that 3,853 children were married between 2000 and 2010.” This is alarming, considering that in most of the cases

Even though child marriage is a violation of ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ and ‘Rights of a child,’ deemed by the United Nations, it is still a common practice globally, and specifically in India (The Universal Declaration). It is our ethical duty as individuals and as citizens of the world to end child marriages by empowering girls, providing services, and by establishing and implementing laws and policies. By doing so, we not only are investing in our girls, but also investing and

Girls who marry at this young age are in danger of loss of their basic human rights of health safety and education. When a girl marries at these younger age they are less likely continue with their education. When a girl is not allowed to become educated she will be more likely to live in poverty with her children facing the same fate. They can be isolated and are at risk of

Child brides are a little voiced problem that occur around the world. Fourteen million girls become child brides every year, a number that is increasing due to the growing populations of countries where child marriage is common (Fisher). I chose to focus on child brides specifically in Africa and the Middle East due to the high instances of child marriages in those parts of the world. In my research I also found that child brides are very common in South Asia and South America as well. In Niger, Chad, Mali, Bangladesh, Guinea, Central African Republic, Mozambique, and Nepal over half of girls are married before they turn eighteen (Fisher).This is largely due to traditional tribal practices, cultural norms, and an overall lack of education.

Do arranged marriages violate human rights as they are protected by international humanitarian law? Marriage is a vital part of the social and economic life of a person’s life. It forms the foundation for a continued family line, and the backdrop for raising children. In most societies, marriage is an important relation both between the two people and between the person and the society, and there are many rituals and traditions tied to the marriage. In many parts of the world, arranged marriages are still common, and are the expected and accepted way to find someone to share a lifetime with.

In many societies, marriage is a celebrated institution commemorating the union between two consenting adults and the beginning of their lives together. However, this experience and celebration is different for the millions of girls around the world who are forced to wed while still children, some not even yet teenagers.