Arranged Marriages Should Be Considered Illegal

I am for the side arranged marriages ought to be illegal. What is an arranged marriage? Arranged marriage is a type of marital union where the bride and groom are selected by their families. Arranged marriage is not an issue of non-western or western ideals, but of what it means to be human, of the ability to have free will. Nearly all arranged marriages are forced marriages. Coercion is defined as the practice of persuading someone to do something by using force or threats. In law, coercion is codified as a duress crime. Such actions are used as leverage, to force the victim to act in a way contrary to their own interests. Coercion may involve the actual infliction of physical pain/injury or psychological harm in order to enhance the credibility of a threat [1]. How are arranged marriages coercive? In non forced marriage, the marriage of two people marrying because they love each other, "the persons have the freedom to select their life partner and this decision is not influenced by any other person. However this is not the case in here arranged marriages. It has also been seen that arranged marriages are the root cause behind several social ills like dowry (property or money brought by a bride to her husband on their marriage}, cast system (a class structure that is determined by birth) and other social prejudices that are taken to extreme levels in case of arranged marriages" [2]. "It has also been seen that in many cases the parents can also make selfish choices. Therefore while the parents claim to make the best decisions for their children, there are many instances in which they are putting into their own selfish desires first" [3]. The consequences of not abiding to the archaic tradition set forth is being thrown out of the family, and even in the case of wanting to be divorced from their partner, being a disgrace to the family, and a myriad of other unfortunate social punishments. To go against theirs parents wishes would be a complete and utter disgrace to not only the family, but the country and culture. We can clearly see the coercion. "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]. "Sandhya: My dad, every Sunday, he would send in and screen these ads, and whichever he thought could be the potential matches, he would mark them and tell me, "Whoever you are interested in just send them an email." I remember being a little girl and like, "No, I'm not going to go through that. I am definitely not going to go through that," but then you do it because you have to. You know you can't reason with your parents [5]." Again, lets go over the definition: In law, coercion is codified as a duress crime. Such actions are used as leverage, to force the victim to act in a way contrary to their own interests. Coercion may involve the actual infliction of physical pain/injury or psychological harm in order to enhance the credibility of a threat [1]. "The United Nations views forced marriage as a form of human rights abuse, since it violates the principle of the freedom and autonomy of individuals. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that a woman's right to choose a spouse and enter freely into marriage is central to her life and dignity, and equality as a human being.[5] The Roman Catholic Church deems forced marriage grounds for granting an annulment " for a marriage to be valid both parties must give their consent freely. Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery also prohibits marriage without right to refuse of herself out of her parents', family's and other persons' will[6] and requires the minimum age for marriage to prevent this [6]." "Forcing someone to marry against their will is now a criminal offence. New legislation introduced today (16 June) by the government is designed to help people in England and Wales. It also applies to UK nationals overseas who are at risk of becoming the victim of a forced marriage. Maximum penalty of seven years [7]." Aside from love, aside from tradition, free will (in practical terms) is what makes us human, what separates us from primitive times and animals. Coercion is not only against the law, but it also completely veils any ability to make a choice. We"re talking about marriage, one of the most, if not the most sacred thing which cultures value, and to uplift the sanctity of marriage, not love, but simply marriage on the grounds where one party has no real, or fair, choice in the matter, a decision forcefully made for them regardless of what they think, is not only against any sort of just human rights code, but against what it means to be human. Thus arranged marriage is not only an oppressive idea (unlike what Con says without having said why), but should be deemed illegal in every country as it is already in most advanced societies. Lets take a look at a few more facts. In the Western world, it"s easy to leave a bad marriage. However in arranged marriages the commitment has to be without question. They must get married knowing they can"t leave. With the coercion and social consequences looming over one at all time upon even thinking about leaving, having to stay whatever ones circumstances (abusive, violent, unfaithful, etc), it has been studied that "it is therefore likely that there is more domestic violence within arranged marriages [8]." The coercive conditions of arranged marriages are similar in all native countries where practiced, but lets imagine " reluctantly-- non native instances. "Arranged marriages are often different when practiced in the home countries of many immigrant families in Europe, where women often have networks of friends and relatives to rely on. The danger with allowing arranged marriages to happen in EU countries are that the women at the centre are often far more vulnerable, away from their own family, unfamiliar with the local language and fully reliant on their husband"s family. This makes it easier for domestic abuses to go undetected which is simply compounding problems of under reporting [9]". As we can see, arranged marriages, aside from its stripping of free will and coercive foundations which in of itself is gravely inhumane and against any sort of human rights, also is loaded with an enormous amount of criminal connotations. Lets take a look at some more disgusting and illegal scenarios that can emerge from arranged marriages. "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]." 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]." As a society, a civilization that values free choice, that values human dignity, that values progression, in which the law is implemented to protect people, we can see that arranged marriages, which is founded on coercive and manipulative grounds which takes away all choice, all autonomy, all dignity, in the very true sense of the saying until death do us part, and all the awful and illegal connotations that go along with arranged marriages, it is therefore why arranged marriages should be illegal. Lets conclude with the origins of arranged marriages. "From around 500 BC, the Vedic Hindu culture gave rise to what we have come to known as Hinduism. The Manu Smriti, a religious discourse that outlined the do"s and don"ts for regarding duties, rights, laws, code of conduct, and virtues to be practiced by people practicing family life, if they want to lead a life of sanctified dharma. These rules were seeped in patriarchal tones and advocated stripping women of their basic independence, from a belief that independent women spread promiscuity [11]." "As position of women in the society degraded, the concept of marriage and her role in it also changed. Previous custom of asking for her consent was abolished and rituals like dowry, child marriages, exchange marriage and other derogatory customs began to rise. Arranged marriages became the most prevalent way of marriage in the country and among Hindus especially [12]". Blatant primitive customs of oppressing women carried forth into the modern day isn"t the best starting point to be on for Con. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org... [3] http://www.mbaofficial.com... [4] https://www.theguardian.com... [5] http://www.cosmopolitan.com... [6] https://en.wikipedia.org... [7] https://www.gov.uk... [8] http://womennewsnetwork.net... [9] https://www.gov.uk... [10] . https://www.theguardian.com... [11] http://www.culturalindia.net... [12] https://www.theguardian.com...