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=ARRANGED MARRIAGE S : THE TERRIFYING TRUTH =

An arranged marriage can be understood as a system according to which the parents or eldest male members of two families proceed through various stages of negotiations and eventually arrange the marriage of the girl and the boy from their respective families. The defining aspect of an arranged marriage is that it is accepted by the spouses as a practical partnership rather than a match based purely on romantic love. In this sense of the term, arranged marriages were practiced in most parts of the world in the past. However with the rise of individualism and a weakening of traditional communities, the practice fell out of favor in Western and other developed societies. However even today arranged marriages are common in countries which largely follow a traditional social model. Aditionally, due to the strong family ties involved in the marriage and the pressure put on the two participants; the divorce rate is extremely low, only 3% of arranged marriages end in divorce. This could be due to potential threats and pressures from family or it could be seen as evidence that arranged marriages do work. In our opinion, this is simply evidence that the bride and groom have no say in who they marry, when, where and if they could obtain a divorce.

ARRANGED MARRIAGE VS FORCED MARRIAGE
It most be noted however that arranged and forced marriages are different. Arranged marriages are described as a cultural norm and involve no level of coercion. The reality, however, is that while arranged marriages may not involve threats, violence or intimidation, there often exists a more subversive, sustained pressure from family and culture that can have equally devastating consequences. No legally definable criminal act may be at play here, but when it comes to moral accountability, we are on shaky ground. In the cultures where arranged marriage is practiced, many regard arranged marriage as a well-established cultural tradition that flourishes in many communities, so a clear distinction should be drawn between forced and arranged marriages. However, in some cases the difference between a forced marriage and an arranged marriage may be purely semantic. In her January 2007 report, “Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights Aspects of the Victims of Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children,” Sigma Huda states that, “[a] marriage imposed on a woman not by explicit force, but by subjecting her to relentless pressure and/or manipulation, often by telling her that her refusal of a suitor will harm her family’s standing in the community, can also be understood as forced.”

Countries where arranged marriages are common
 * India
 * China
 * Japan
 * Pakistan
 * Israel
 * Afghanistan

<span style="color: #ff49e2; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The practice is common in these eastern-based countries as they are generally developing countries, who therefore have fewer human rights laws, or less regulation of the laws. Additionally, as an arranged marriage is normally viewed as a 'business transaction', it is more popular in areas where people are living on or below the poverty line. Although this is not to say that it only occurs in these areas or circumstances.

<span style="color: #ff49e2; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">PROS AND CONS

 * <span style="color: #ff49e2; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">CONS || <span style="color: #ff49e2; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">PROS ||
 * * <span style="color: #ff49e2; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Statistics show that arranged marriages show higher rates of domestic violence and sexual abuse.
 * <span style="color: #ff49e2; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Infidelity is also more common than not.
 * <span style="color: #ff49e2; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Men and women put in dangerous situations seldom report due to fear of being cast out of family or even facing more severe consequences. || * <span style="color: #ff49e2; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Ensure that family is financially taken care of
 * <span style="color: #ff49e2; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Often have or form strong ties to family and their cultural community
 * <span style="color: #ff49e2; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Some couples fall in love and are grateful for not having to search for partner ||

<span style="color: #ff49e2; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">ARRANGED MARRIAGE IN CHINA
<span style="color: #ff49e2; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Throughout China's history arranged marriages have been prevalent and played a major part in China's history. Enforcement of laws to prevent the practice of parents arranging marriages has not occurred but the change in the practice is evident throughout <span style="color: #ff49e2; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 1.5;"> research. In the last fifty years, data indicates that parental involvement in marriage decisions has decreased in all areas of China and among the large majority of the population. <span style="color: #ff49e2; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Before the Mao Era, and during the period of late imperial China, young people had almost no choice about their own marriage. Parents or older generations decided everything for them, on who should be they should marry and the amount of money spent on the wedding.

<span style="color: #ff49e2; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Today, total control in the marriage decisions of children by parents is rare in China, however, parental involvement in decision making now takes on a different form. Parental involvement can range from introducing potential spouses to giving advice on marriage decisions. As the family is an important institution in Chinese culture, parents may no longer hold absolute control but continue to be influential in the decisions of their ch <span style="color: #ff49e2; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 1.5;">ildr <span style="color: #ff49e2; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 1.5;">en’s marriages.

<span style="color: #ff49e2; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Young people, especially women are becoming more independent and self-sufficient, there is still enormous pressure for young people to marry. This pressure is mainly from the parents who encourage their children to get married to continue on the family name. As said before, family is a huge aspect of Chinese culture and plays a crucial role in the everyday lives of the Chinese. This pressure is again evident in Shang Hai's infamous Marriage Markets and the phenomenon of 'sheng nu' (leftover women) that was created by the media/government to encourage young people to marry.

<span style="color: #ff49e2; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Currently in China, there is an imbalance between the sex ratios of men and women due to the One-Child Policy (which has recently been aborted). Figures show that there are over 30 million more men than women in China. Therefore this inequality will have and is already having an impact on the long term population growth in China as well as the number of working age population available in China. This is why the government believes that it is necessary to persuade women into marrying earlier, ie they can have more children.

<span style="color: #ff49e2; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">ARRANGED MARRIAGE IN BRITAIN
<span style="color: #ff49e2; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Arranged marriages are not unheard of in the UK today, however that does not mean that they don't happen. Often they are practiced by the minority <span style="color: #ff49e2; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> groups, such as immigrants from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Nowadays, it is these immigrant communities that uphold 'traditional British' family values; married with 2-3 children and the likelihood is that they will stay married. <span style="color: #ff49e2; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">According to a report from the Guardian, the ethnic group most likely to uphold the "old-fashioned" structure of British family life is that from the Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities. On the other hand, white and particularly Caribbean <span style="color: #ff49e2; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> relationships are increasingly characterized by divorce, cohabitation and single parenthood. <span style="color: #ff49e2; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">"The Asian patterns can clearly be labelled 'old-fashioned' in the sense that many of their characteristics now could have been observed among white families in the past," writes Richard Berthoud, a professor at the University of Essex.

<span style="color: #ff49e2; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This notion of the 'old-fashioned' British family derives from the Elizabethan Age when women had virtually no say in who they married. Women were taught to believe that men were superior and that a woman could not survive without a husband. The purpose of marriage back then mirrors that of recent China, with the ceremony being more of a business transaction than a declaration of love. This marriage model fell out of practice in the early 20th century with the rise of the women's rights movement, such as The Suffragettes. However it was not until the 60's & 70's that women began to seriously consider having a career and gaining independence. It was during this time in China that Mao's revolution was at it's height, he too empowered women and condemned old traditions, however overall, he was subjugating a nation and persecuting the educated.