Arranged Marriages In America

ARRANGED MARRIAGES IN INDIA 2

In North America, the idea of arranged marriages is quite foreign to us. We are familiar with marriage to be tied together freely through love, attraction and selection. The idea of arranged marriages tends to come with a negative connotation amongst Americans simply because in America, we are privileged with the right to choose if want to marry, to whom and when. In contrast, in some areas of the world freedom and choice aren’t variables that come along with marriage. Arranged marriages is viewed as normal, common and accepted in many South Asian societies, and tends to be seen more prominently in India.

This, contrary to popular belief is usually not the case. Generally, in traditional Hindu and Islam practices, it’s uncommon, and frowned upon to “date” in the popular Western cultural sense; so many individuals in India rely on family arrangement in order to find a successful partnership. The expectation in these cultures is that the seed for love is planted and will continue to bloom after the marriage.

The reasoning behind arranged marriages in India is speculated to have emerged primarily due to the social structure. The goal of family’s involvement in the choosing of a mate is to prevent the intermixing of ethnic groups, religions and social classes, in order to keep

Since the woman meets her husband the day of the wedding, there is essentially no mere-exposure effect, self-disclosure or even stage theories that exist. This is hard for us to imagine because in the United States, and most other countries in the world, these concepts are what help develop and form a relationship. We become attracted to someone if they’re frequently part of our lives, we’re able to open up to them personally, and we develop stages in our relationship. But, this doesn’t necessarily mean arranged marriages in India aren’t successful. In the United States the divorce rate is up to 40 and 50 couples for every hundred, whereas people with arranged marriages only have a divorce rate of about 4 out of every hundred couples (Bereau of Labor Statistics 2013). This most likely also has much to do with the cultural views on divorce as well. In the United States, if we’re unhappy in a marriage, we live in a society where it’s common practice to divorce, even if vows were exchanged. ARRANGED MARRIAGES IN INDIA 6

Whereas in India, once you wed, your ultimate goal is to honor your marriage vows and make it work regardless of your personal differences. In some