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Arranged marriage anthropology
The impact of cultural assimilation
Forced marriages and the institution of marriage
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Recommended: Arranged marriage anthropology
Another problem poor countries faces is Arranged marriage and forced marriage. Arranged marriage is an agreement where the bride and groom are selected by their families rather than by each other. Even though Arranged marriages are happening vastly in poor countries, they still exist in rich countries, for instance in the UK, Romanian Gypsys are arranging marriages for their children, as it is their culture and tradition. In the same token as arranged marriage, Forced marriage, is a marriage in which one or both of the parties are forced married without his or her consent or against his or her will. In many poor countries, young girls are forced to marry men two or three times their age. UNICEF state that, more than one-third of women aged …show more content…
The accusation of being "too Western" is seen as being too independent, refusing to wear varieties of Islamic clothing (including forms of the veil), wanting an advanced education and a career, having non-Muslim (or non-Sikh or non-Hindu) friends or boyfriends, refusing to marry one's first cousin, wanting to choose one's own husband, choosing a socially "inferior" or non-Muslim (or non-Sikh or non-Hindu) husband; or leaving an abusive husband. As you can see, there are similarity in reasons of the acts in both rich and poor countries. One reason for this is immigration, a large amount of the immigrants take their culture with them to their new countries. For instance France. France has a large immigrant community from North Africa (especially from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia) and honor violence occurs in their communities. In 2009, a report done by the Council of Europe cited that the United Kingdom, Norway, Germany, France, and Belgium as countries where honor crimes and honor killings occur.
In the United Kingdom (UK) every year, it is estimated by officials that at least a dozen women are victims of honor killings, almost exclusively within Asian and Middle Eastern families. Cases are hard to solve due to the unwillingness of family members, relatives and communities to testify.
Child
Some of these marriages are extremely dysfunctional while others seem to be practical. These marriages are considered different from forced marriages and are an acceptable type of marriage in Afghan society. Some arranged marriages lead to poor or horrific outcomes for the brides in order to separate from her spouse. Occasionally these marriages shift into being forced marriages. In the article “Afghan girls bound by family betrothals” the author states “In Kapisa province, just north of Kabul, an 18-year-old girl shot and killed herself because her family would not break off her three-year-engagement to a drug addict.” This exhibits how certain family’s decisions for their children are atrocious. In addition it shows how an arranged marriage turned into a forced marriage. At times young women may run away from as a threat tactic to their family reported by the article “Afghan girls bound by family betrothals.” A 17-year-old girl who ran away from her home for a few days resulted in her parents letting her marry the man that she loved rather than who they set her up with. This shows how some parents would be tolerant enough to let his own daughter marry the person she
Arranged marriages are typically not practiced in the United States, however, they are still a part of other cultures. While arranged marriages are often seen as a barbaric or outdated practice, they can still be successful. It may not seem important to study arranged marriages since they are not widely practiced in modern America or other western cultures but some benefits of arranged marriages found could be used to lessen the negative image western civilizations have about cultures that continue the practice of arranged marriages. There are definitely drawbacks in the practice of arranged marriage but there are also benefits that are often overlooked.
An example of women’s inequality in other countries is arranged marriage. According to a 2013 study 39,000 girls forced into marriage
Nowadays we live in a world which is full of choices and the choice of the person you would like to merry is one of the most important one. It is really hard to decide whether this person is really “yours” or it is just the illusion. Thus, can it be a better way to have somebody who decides who will you be married to? Some people think it is unfair because person doesn’t have the right of choice but the others think that arranged marriages are a good choice. Free choice marriage is a marriage in which both partners choose each other by themselves and the choice is based on factors such as physical attraction, the desire for emotional stability, love, similar outlooks, personalities, interests etc. However this is not the only way to choose. In arranges marriages the partner is selected by elder family members but the young people may have the right to veto the choice if they strongly disagree with it. There are definitely pros and cons of both and only after taking them into consideration person can decide which to choose: arranged or free choice marriage.
According to the International Center for Research on Women, one-third of the girls under eighteen years old are married in developing countries, and one-ninth of them are married before fifteen years old. Other research and statistics have pointed out that often times these young girls, some who haven’t even reached puberty, are sold off to older men, who typically abuse and/or rape them, because the parents of these girls want to rid themselves of this burden of having to raise and pay for them. Many families who participate in arranged marriages with these child brides are poor and can’t afford to pay for food, clothing, education, etc. for these girls, so instead they give their daughters away to other families who will “take care” of them. Over time, however, many people are starting to question the ethics of arranged and forced marriages with child brides.
One of the main arguments for arranged marriages is that parents, being older and more experienced, are better able to find a suitable match for their children. This belief relies on the trust the offspring has that their parents understand what would be best choice or most suitable for their children. This trust is often discouraged by the individualist ideal and rebel teen mentality sponsored by American mass-media. However, in India trust between parent and child are common. When Nanda tried helping arrange a marriage, we see that parents in India weigh many considerations when choosing partners for their children including the statuses of the individuals (including their caste and career path), the social dynamics between the members of both households, and what resources the other family and potential partner have. At least in the case given in the reading, this process can be though and produce a good marriage with stable family ties. Another argument made for arranged marriage is that since the parents are handling the marriage, the children are free to enjoy life and not worry about the details. To a lesser degree in our country, people delegate part of the relationship forming process to others by allowing friends, family, and dating sites or shows to play matchmaker. Though in general, in America the person who would be in the relationship is more involved, and has to worry about handling some of the details. In India, culture is more dependent on family structure so marriage is just as much about forming ties between families as the couple itself, which is part of the reason why the family is so involved in these
In most countries data on honor killings is not collected systematically, and many of these killings are reported by the families as suicides or accidents and registered as such. Although honor killings are often associated with the Asian continent, especially the Middle East and South Asia, they occur all over the world. In 2000, the United Nations estimated that 5,000 women were victims of honor killings each year. According to BBC, "Women's advocacy groups, however, suspect that more than 20,000 women are killed worldwide each year." Murder is not the only form of honor crime, other crimes such as acid attacks, abduction, mutilations, beatings occur; in 2010 the UK police recorded at least 2,823 such crimes.
One could argue that culture can be changed and modified to fit today’s society. With the advancement in technology and resources cultures have changed. Many cultures have tweaked traditions and lifestyles to fit in with the new changes in society. For instance, “after several centuries of relentless pressure from European Americans to adopt their ways, Native American cultures have been largely acculturated. As a result, the vast majority of American Indians now speak English instead of their ancestral language, wear European style clothes, go to school to learn about the world from a European perspective, and see themselves as being a part of the broader American society.”( O'Neil). This proves that culture is not set in stone and can be changed or be modified to fit today’s society. Then again, honor killings have become a part of a “social norm” to the culture and are not questioned by the community. “Traditional misinterpretations of religion have played a role in developing a patriarchal culture that places and emphasis on female chastity and male superiority.” (Muhammad, 28). The people in these countries
Different societies have different reasons for why they practice honor killings. In Pakistan, honor killings c...
"What Is Honor Killing, Honour Killing in India, America, US, It's Statistics." What Is Honor Killing, Honour Killing in India, America, US, It's Statistics. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
Arbab Khatoon, 16, was stalked and raped by three men. Seven hours after Arbab reported this to the police her father stabbed her over and over again until she died. His reasoning? “My daughter lost her virginity before marriage. Rape does not justify that at all. Arbab brought dishonor to our family and needed to pay for it” (Chesler). The “category” this murder falls under is an Honor Killing. Honor Killings have been seen worldwide and continue to grow in the amount of victims. Occurring mostly in Middle-Eastern countries, more than any other, this type of killing is based solely on values and beliefs. How does one value their reputation over their own wives and daughters? Honor Killings are unjust and should be tried as a hate crime towards women.
Even though the traditional couple were hidden from each other until the actual wedding day, it has recently become fairly common for the prospective couple to meet beforehand to assess whether they are compatible or not. Arranged marriages are seen as better and longer lasting than love marriages since parents generally choose spouses that have similar social and economic backgrounds. Great measures are taken to ensure the long term welfare of their child. The traditional view of arranged marriages assumes that the husband and wife will play fairly traditional roles; this provides the couple with an idea of what to expect in their marriage. Although arranged marriages are still widely popular in India, modern couples find themselves fixing their own marriages rather than relying on their parents or guardians. Love marriages tend to carry the stigma of rebellion and instability, but are becoming more common and accepted among modern Hindus. Until the twentieth century, getting married before the onset of puberty was considered important, especially for women. Since traditional Indian culture manifests that women have a stronger sex drive than men, an early marriage ensures that they would not disgrace the family when under the influence of their irresistible urges. Due to the fact that arranged marriages are the norm in India, it is possible for early marriages to occur. Modern Indian law set the minimum age for marriage at sixteen for women and eighteen for men. Although these guidelines are often ignored in rural areas, men and women from higher social class do not marry until a later
Honor killings have become very common in Pakistan especially in Sindh and in tribal areas of Pakistan. In Pakistan hundreds of women are killed every year in the name of honor. Such a cruel custom has existed in our country from so many years. Honor killings are common in all over the country, though in some areas the incidents of honor killings have taken a shockingly high amount of incidents in recent years. In Azad Kashmir a mother helped her husband in killing their 15 year old daughter because they saw her talking to a young man. They killed her by dousing her acid. Her elder sister was not in favor of this custom and she was very anxious about that crime which her parents had committed. She demanded justice and police investigation for her sister but all went in vain because it was done in the name of so called ‘honour’. Our state also goes after the satisfaction of honor in foreign policy. Our society has become so cruel under the involuntarily accepted conduct guideline of the Taliban. The people who are killed in the name of honor are mostly women.
Child marriages have long been a practice worldwide for many years. They are mainly driven by tradition, socio-economic status and unfortunately, human exploitations. Needless to say, child marriages are still an acceptable custom in Malaysia. In Malaysia, one is considered a child if he or she is below 18 years of age. Thankfully in recent years, educated women of the public sphere had voiced out their concerns through speeches and campaigns. In 2014, for instance, the National Fatwa Council published a fatwa declaring that child marriages bring harm “to the health and psychology of the child involved” . Additionally, child marriages violate the rights of children. Such marriages are also manipulated to be a means to cover crimes. Hence, I
While child marriage may be getting numerous families out of poverty, many families do not know of the life threatening consequences that come with marrying at a young age. Although child marriage can both involve a boy or a girl, most of the time the girls are the victims of child marriage. For girls, it is actually far worse than many peop...