Marriage
Marriage varies around the world.
Some marriages are governed by civil law and others require religious
acquiescence. Through out the world, monogamous marriage between a man and a
woman is accepted as a sanctimonious union. Some societies accept polygamy and
it is often seen as a reflection of the wealth and power of a man. However
practical examples are few and far between. Essentially, marriage is seen as a
sacred covenant entered into as a life-long commitment.
There are various reasons why
someone would enter into marriage. There might be influenced by tradition,
parental choice, financial or even emotional reasons. At times marriage can
take place for legal reasons, ie to establish rights with respect to children.
By and large, the minimum age for consent to marriage for a female is 16 to 18
in most countries. Some countries allow marriage by consent of parents, but
that practice is increasingly frowned upon.
Interfaith
marriages have been contentious issues for centuries. Interfaith marriage is a
marriage between two people of different religious faith and even between
varied denominations within the same religion. In Christianity, marriage
between a Catholic and a non-Catholic or non-Christians was unheard of in the
past. Interfaith marriages are quite common now. In Christianity, marriage
between a Catholic and a Christian is considered a sacrament, while matrimony
between a Catholic and non-Christian is still allowed despite it not being
considered as sacramental. In India,
inter-caste marriages also bear some level of societal pressures and are not
seen as acceptable in some communities although the Special Marriage Act of
1954 allows it.
Many
religions have distinct laws that govern marriage and qualification for
marriage. In the views of Islam, the Sharia only permits interfaith marriage
for Muslim men marrying a non-Muslim with the condition that all their children
must be brought up as Muslims. Muslim women are prohibited from marrying
outside of Islam, though permissible only in the case the husband converts to
the Islamic faith.
The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that men and women who have
attained maturity of age have the right to marry ‘without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion’
however, social, cultural and religious norms take precedence over the
declaration.
One
area that has received increasing coverage in the world is child marriage. Child marriage is the formal marital union of
an individual before the age of 18 and is a widespread practice among
developing countries especially in African nations and the Asian regions.
Children are married off for various reasons, the majority being due to poor
socioeconomic conditions. The top three nations with more than 20% child
marriages before the age of 15 are Bangladesh, Niger and Guinea.
At times, forced marriage takes
place. In this instance one or both parties are pressured and coerced into
marriage without consent. The pressure imposed on the person can be physical,
emotional or psychological. The Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) set up since 2005
and operates both inside and outside the UK to provide advice and support to
victims of forced marriage, even to the extent of rescuing victims held against
their will internationally.
Consider this:
Is marriage necessary when people
are becoming more liberal?
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