Arranged Marriages Should Be Considered Illegal

You argued that an arranged marriage is against free will and that nearly all arranged marriages are forced marriages. There is a difference between arranged marriages and forced marriages. I am only concerned in arranged marriages. "Forced marriage is a marriage in which one or more of the parties is married without his or her consent or against his or her will. A forced marriage differs from an arranged marriage, in which both parties consent to the assistance of their parents or a third party (such as a matchmaker) in choosing a spouse." https://en.wikipedia.org... In an arranged marriage, one is given some choices and preferences. Not everyone wants to marry for love. It is not about the freedom of choosing a life partner but also the freedom of having someone choose for you. It is something like a gift from the parents to the kids instead of something you get yourself. In addition, dowry is nothing but a guarantee. In the case of a divorce, there will be prosperity and security for the bride. A cast system is something determined by birth but arranged marriages are rarely set from birth. In addition a cast system is relating to a social class or title of an individual and it wouldn't matter the credentials, intelligence or knowledge of one. In an arranged marriage your education, traits, and your hard work is used as something to find a spouse. The selfishness of parents is also unrelated as parents would not benefit much from the arrangement. Once the child is married and starting a new life, the parents are not in the picture. There would be no benefit for them besides seeing their children happy. In a situation where there are severe consequences for not abiding to an arranged marriage it is also because of the parents involvement. For example if everyone in your family was a Jew and you decided to be Christian, there is going to be shame towards the parents. There would be people telling your parents they didn't teach you correctly or didn't raise you correctly. The child would be getting the least pain. In your first example it is as follows: "I remember when my father said to me: "I am your father, it is my duty to get you married." I knew instantly that he was wrong. He had no right to impose his choice on me. This confusion between parental responsibilities and parental will is at the core of this practice" All my relatives gathered for a family meeting in an attempt to persuade me to agree to my father's demand. They told me: "Your father has given his word to this family. It would bring dishonour and shame on him if you do not comply."" [4]. The showing of the relatives is another example of how the relatives were angered at the father. They thought the father did not teach them about tradition. Tradition is something passed on for generations and it can be broken but through hardship. Just because there is anger toward the child for causing grief to the parents does not mean a law should completely cut off any arranged marriages. In the report from Sandhya, it is completely possible to reason with your parents. They are human after all. If there is something to talk about, talk about it. Tell them why you should not have an arranged marriage. If they decide not to listen, its as you said, its their free will to let them go. Sandhya can have a love marriage, just not one her parents would want. It is Sandyahs free will to leave her family and have a love marriage and it is Sandhya's family's free will to leave Sandhya. There are many minors who can go to orphanages. It may not be ideal, but Sandhya has a choice. The only thing she can't choose is what family she is born into but she can choose to leave it. As for the UN views, it is taking about forced marriage not arranged marriage. The Roman Catholic Church may think something but not everyone is Roman Catholic. Arranged Marriage is not an oppressive idea because nothing is being forced upon you. The bride and groom sign a document saying that they want to marry each other! They sign it with their own hand. There are people there in front of whom they can object and go to court but they sign it. If it is from pressure from their parents, like I said they can choose to leave. In arranged marriages, there are also divorces. Of course you can leave. "Some think forced marriage is a rare practice; but the government estimates up to 8,000 cases a year in the UK. Some assume forced marriage affects only adults; but figures show that more than half are under 16 and some are as young as eight [9]." This is forced marriage not arranged marriage. Also the of the victims of arranged marriage talk of "wedlock being used as a weapon and the horrors to which this can lead, such as rape, abuse and unwanted pregnancy [10]." Rap in Sweden is 250% more than that of Pakistan. Sweden has more love marriages and Pakistan has more arranged marriages and there are so many more cases. http://co-creatingournewearth.blogspot.com... Your main argument was that arranged marriage is against free will but 75% of your citations were on forced marriage so I think you were confusing those two which are very different. Now here's why arranged marriages should continue to be legal. 1. It is a choice. Contradictory to what you believe, the bride/groom choose to be married. As I said they sign a paper with their own hands. 2. Love Marriages don't last Would you rather have a marriage that you like a guy, get married but divorce a year later or go through hardship at first and eventually love the guy and live a long, prosperous life. "Being in love is not a good reason to get married. It's about the long haul." Arranged marriage is based on the concept that love is a fleeting emotional response, so it deliberately brings a whole range of factors into the equation." "Low divorce rates in countries with arranged marriages points to the success of the arranged marriage. High divorce rates in countries with love marriages indicate that perhaps this form of marriage does not work." http://iml.jou.ufl.edu... 3. It is an American Legal Right We can marry whom we want, how we want, where we want and when we want. Some prefer to get married the traditional way and for some the traditional way is love marriages. All in all, Reduction of incompatibilities- same religion, caste, dietary preference, linguistic group, socioeconomic background, etc. Following one's heart is often wiser than following one's head- love can just be an infatuation. Lower divorce rates. Low expectations- neither spouse knows exactly what to expect, so they are often pleasantly surprised by how good their marriage is