The effects of arranged marriages on women in India Research Paper

The effects of arranged marriages on women in India - Research Paper Example Husband’s or in-laws’ expectations when not met in this regard often result in a never ending experience of physical and mental abuse for women. In addition to that, failure to give dowry also leads to delayed marriages which is also another social stigma experienced by Indian women. Where marriage provides an opportunity to a couple for satisfying their social, libidinal and emotional needs, lack of understanding, extreme differences in opinions and inability to compromise often results in marital problems. Since women spend more time in domestic settings, rate of depression and other psychological problems is more eminent in them due to lack of outlet of negative emotions. The situation tends to be more difficult for educated men and women who are habitual of having personal independence before marriage. Sexual encounters with unknown partners after wedding also tends to be a stigmatic experience for Indian women which can affect their approach towards men on long-ter m basis. Absence of long-term nurturing or general know-how of future husband’s nature, extra involvement of in-laws in decisions of couples and sacrificing one’s priorities unwilling i.e. career and education, can be triggers that may affect marital life in case of arranged marriages. Arranged marriage system also provides more dominance to men over their wives which further endanger welfare of women due to very foundation of this social system. Comparing advantages and disadvantages of arranged marriages in India, it is important to identify if demerits of arranged marriages for Indian women outweigh benefits offered by this social phenomenon. 2. Advantages of Arranged Marriages Matchmaking in Indian culture is a common social function performed by elders, extended family and friends and is considered as a source of references for acquiring eligible bachelor or bachelorette for daughters and sons of the family. With involvements of elders and dominant family figures in this search, the resultant is a social, economic, religious and cultural compatibility between two families which is also expected between spouses as well. This is precisely the reason why some non-resident Indian families also tend to seek partners for their sons and daughters from India (Kalpagam 207). It is also important to note that divorce rates are expected to be lower in arranged marriages due to presence of third parties and social support provided by family members for conflict resolution among a wife and husband (Bentley n.p; ‘Arranged/ Forced’ n.p). Furthermore, divorce is considered as stigma in Indian culture especially for women therefore arranged marriages provide more support against couples’ divorces which also saves their social stature in Indian culture. Also, strong family ties are an integral part of Asian and other ethnic cultures i.e. Indian, Chinese, Greek and Latina. In addition to that, ignoring personality differences, couples of ar ranged marriages are relatively less influenced by environmental factors i.e. financial or social dominance of one partner over other since they have been already considered, and discord with other family members hampering effectiveness of marital life. Lastly, arranged marriages began with little expectations since nature of partner is usually unknown for man and woman. Therefore, they are more likely to tolerate differences among them as compared to love marriages that may have