According to Myers: 'Marriage is an important institution in almost every society in the world. In the United States, for example, more than 90% of people choose to get married at some point in their lives. The results of numerous studies suggest that people tend to be healthier and happier when they are married.” But I don't think this is true in the case of arranged marriages. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Arranged marriages are planned and agreed upon by the families or guardians of the bride and groom, who have little or no say in the matter. This has been happening historically for a very long time. It is most commonly found in South Asian countries such as Pakistan, India, and Nepal (Zaidi, 499). According to Yeoh: “Globalization and increased mobility have multiplied cross-border transactions not only in the economic sphere but also have a major impact on human relationships of intimacy. This can be seen in the increase in the volume of forms of international marriage mediated in different way, not only between “east” and “west”, but within Asia and between different ethnicities and nationalities. International marriage raises a number of social issues for countries of origin and destination, including challenges related to the citizenship status and rights of the married migrant. “One of the main reasons why families do this is because selling their daughters is very profitable. The family receives large sums of money from the groom's branch of the family in exchange for the marriage of a woman.These payments can generally influence the well-being of the woman and the distribution of wealth in the society. Recently conducted estimates reported documentation of money transfers of a marriage equal to six times the annual income of the South Asian. This is a pretty big incentive for parents to sell their daughter (Anderson, 151). Some may find these actions harmless, but this is far from the truth. Most Pakistani women would prefer not to have an arranged marriage. They stated that they would much rather fall in love and get married (Zaidi, 506). This is a global problem and something needs to be done about it. Gorney (2011) noted that “child marriage spans continents, language, religion, caste. In India girls will typically be attached to boys four or five years older; in Yemen, Afghanistan and other countries with high rates of child marriage, husbands may be young men, middle-aged widowers or kidnappers who first rape and then claim their victims as wives, as is the practice in some regions of Ethiopia. Some of these marriages are commercial transactions, barely adorned with additional logic: a debt paid in exchange for an 8-year-old bride; a family feud resolved with the delivery of a virginal 12-year-old cousin. Those, when they emerge publicly, constitute a clear and indignant source of news from great distances." (p.2) Before the last century, for Lebanese Muslims the selection of spouses was strictly controlled by parents. Sometimes children as young as five were forced to marry whoever their parents chose for them. Today, arranged marriages are as controlled as they were in the past. The main reason for this is because parents realize that the marriage will run more smoothly if the child has a say in who he or she marries. Marriage will have a higher success rate if the child has some choices. However, some families still maintain a strict attitude towards their children who are allowed to marry (Nasser,387-388). The average engagement for these marriages is 1 to 4 years. This is due to social, financial and gender-related reasons. Previously the woman relied on the man to provide for her, but in modern times this is not always the case. Women seek educational opportunities and become more independent. This allows the couple to somehow escape the need of their family. Both men and women study abroad and increase their chances of being able to make their own decisions and gain more freedom (Nasser, 387-388). Lebanese generally arrange weddings for more practical and non-religious reasons. Parents want to keep marriages within the family. According to the Quran in 23 women there are some women you cannot marry who exist in the family. The exact phrase reads: “Forbidden to you (for marriage): your mothers, your daughters, your sisters, your brothers sisters, your mothers sisters, your brothers daughters, your sisters daughters, your mother foster mother who nursed you, your foster mother your nursing sister, your mothers wives, your stepdaughters under your care, born to your wives with whom you entered into; but there is no sin upon you unless you have entered into them.” The man will sometimes even ask his parents to find him a wife (Nasser, 387-388). During the Elizabethan era, it was not at all uncommon for upper-class parents to arrange marriages for their children. They did this to ensure that they would maintain their economic status within the area. Marrying outside of class was considered very bad. They also wanted to keep their bloodlines strong, so they often married within the family. Generally the bride's parents offered their daughter to the son of a family of the same wealth and prestige. Many of these practices still exist today. In the case of royalty it is almost required (LarsonJewlers, 2015). This idea has also been used in many Indian societies. Previously, in India, arranged marriage was seen as a way to promote a caste system. It was used to keep upper caste people together and protect the community by maintaining social status. So parents would marry their children into the same caste with similar social background. This practice was later used also with the lower castes. Even today, rituals and customs vary depending on the caste to which they belong (iloveindia.com, 2015). According to a study conducted on Indians who were in arranged marriages and Americans who were not, the results concluded that both shared about an equal amount of happiness. This is because being married they experienced so many things together that brought them closer. However, the beginning of the marriage was quite awkward for most (Madathil, 227-228). There are many reasons why arranged marriages should be banned. I think the main thing that bothers me is that so many parents manage to sell their children simply for profit. I myself believe in true love. It should be the only reason to get married. I find it quite disturbing that parents encourage situations where their child is sold to some stranger who could do anything to her. Wedding payments come in many shapes and sizes, but can be classified into two groups. First, money is transferred from the bride's family to the grooms, which is called dowry. Or from the groom's side to the bride's family, bridprice. Bride price occurs in two-thirds of societies. Dowry generally occurs only in less than four percent. (Anderson, 152). The effect that arranged marriages have on girls: Child Responsibilityunwanted Bad treatment No education Happiness fades from their lives There are many other things that women in arranged marriages have to sacrifice during the marriage. Generally, once married, she takes on various responsibilities. The husband is usually demanding. She has to meet his needs, including cooking for him, cleaning for him, and is often forced to have sex with him. One of the reasons parents want to arrange weddings is so they can have grandchildren quickly. So often the husband will require many children. These girls take on the role of mothers at a young age, and sometimes this is not what they wanted. Women most likely have little say in these cases. In a certain sense women are controlled. They must be obedient to their husbands. When they disobey there will always be some sort of punishment. It can be verbal or physical depending on the case. Women are made to feel hopeless. What can they do at this point? Everything has been decided for them and they must fulfill the family's wishes. Women will most likely lose the opportunity to continue their education. Since they will have children and run a household, there will become little time to earn a college degree. Many women aspire to improve their knowledge, but lose out. Typically, a woman prefers to earn a college degree before getting married, but this does not happen in arranged marriages. There are cases, however, where she and her husband attend the same university. Many times these girls are still children. They lose their innocence and childhood too quickly in arranged marriages. These girls should go out and play and have fun with friends, but instead they have children and are women. Another negative connotation of arranged marriages is because they are driven by a certain racist factor. Many families want their children to adhere to a single race. Dating is not good for Muslims and that is why many stay in the same race when they get married. This is not strengthening globalization at all. We also need people to mix. We need people to leave their countries and also enter others. Racial factors should play no role in who you can and cannot marry. It should be based solely on love. Judgments about other cultures can sometimes be completely inaccurate, but parents are stuck in their own unique thinking. Some people argue that a positive aspect of arranged marriages is that parents have complete control over who comes into the family. They say that parents would choose a good companion for their child. I don't agree with this because the child should have the ability to choose who to marry. Why should parents decide this? The parent is not obligated to live with this person. Furthermore, how can the parent know for sure that this person will be a good match? Someone can easily pretend to be something they are not, and then change once marriage occurs. This idea is absolutely absurd. Conclusion In conclusion, I think arranged marriages are a prehistoric concept. We as a world are moving forward and don't need practices like this. In a way, I understand why some people like the idea, but the reality is completely different. There are many more negative consequences of these marriages than benefits. Girls should never be used as property. Parents should never even consider selling their children. Arranged marriages negatively impact global globalization. Solution to the ProblemThe first step to solving this problem is education. People need to be informed about issues like this. Even if you're not in one.
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