Arranged Marriage Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Arranged Marriage - Term Paper Example According to the term paper "Arranged Marriage" findings, arranged marriages are marriages arranged by the family members of the two partners. Even today in many parts of the world marriages are arranged by the families of the incumbents. The decision-making process in arranged marriages is quite different to the ‘love’ marriages popular in the West (Batabyal, 2001). The reasons are scientific. The young persons are not mature enough to choose the right partner. Their decisions would be based on aesthetics and pleasure while a successful marriage has to consider the family background. The youth would be guided by friendship and external factors whereas the family members would probe into the socio-economic search of the other family. While the marriages in India too are fixed by the two families, the consent of the two partners is paramount. The Indian families grow up with the conviction that marriages take place between two families and not two individuals. Thus, the f irst step is to evaluate the family when the proposal comes in. Once the two families are satisfied with each other’s standing in the society, the two potential partners in the marriage are provided an opportunity to talk to each other. This remains restricted to one or two meetings but their opinion does matter. Only when they give their consent the marriage is fixed. No coercion is exercised although when the two partners are very young, they may be shown the right direction in evaluating the taking the decision. The final decision however, rests on the two partners concerned. Thus, it is arranged to the extent that the family finds the prospective partner but the two agents have the right not to agree or get married. This sort of arranged marriage is healthy as there is no exchange or subjugation as in Pakistan. In Pakistan exchange marriages take place between where the family members or the close relatives of the spouses take the initiative to fix the marriages. In such societies patriarchic authority persists even today and such decisions are usually based on socio-economic relationships (Zaman, 2008). The two partners agree to such exchange marriages fixed by their elders for them and Zaman says they â€Å"subjugate themselves as actors to the agency of corporate family structures†. The reason for the involvement of families in arranging the marriages has several reasons. Such marriages provide social security as has also been pointed out by Zaman as it also helps to combat the security risks at both the macro and the micro levels. While security is important, partner compatibility is equally important which is not given importance to in Pakistan. Batabyal discusses about the utility of the traditional methods of decision-making in arrange marriages. He suggests that