During the semester, we read articles on arrange marriages and how it works in different culture. After reading these articles, I realized how arrange marriage can have bad effects on somebody's life. Arrange marriage could be bad because the marriage could be against individuals' will and by the pressure of parents. Therefore the person might not have the opportunity to make his/her own decision and can be matched with someone who is simply not a good partner for that individual.We also watched a documentary called "Middle Sexes", where they give an example of an arranged marriage where how a gay person goes through arranged marriage to fulfill the family's tradition and values, but at he same time he kept his "secret" relationship with another man, who he has been involved in a relationship over 8 years. This is a great example of the negative side of an arranged marriage. He is not just ruining the life of the girl, but also the life of the other young man he is in relationship with.
For many people, marriage is a lifelong commitment. In India, arrange marriage is traditional, in which not just couple get together and take vows to live together, but also their families create a life long bond. One of the major disadvantages of an arrange marriage especially in India is a dowry system. In dowry system, bride's family has to pay tremendous amount of luxurious gifts such as gold, car, house, etc. to the groom's family because they are superior in the relationship. According to the tradition it is up to the bride's family where how much they are willing to give, But in most cases groom's family ask for much more than they can afford, and if refuse, they tend to harm the bride. Not just that, couple might face lack of privacy because of the closeness in families and if the couple gets in an argument, the entire family might join the talk and make the situation even more brutal.
