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Alyssabeth Sanchez
English 12
Argument and Persuasion
03/21/13
Arranged Marriage is Wrong
There are different ways that people commit to one another. This is normally due to
culture and religions. The way I think you should be committed is by finding love first then by
showing your commitment though marriage. Other people in different parts of the world believe
in different ways. For example people believe that arranged marriage is the way to go. I
disagree with this for different reasons. The reason I think that arranged marriage is wrong is
because of the fact that in some places the age in which your child is married off can be very
young, because of the emotional toll it can bring on someone and because it can result to a
dangerous situation. I understand that that arranged marriage can be the right way to go for some
people but I believe it should still be left up to the one looking for love.
My first reason for believing that arranged marriage is wrong is because of the occasions
where an arranged marriage was made between a young adult and even a child. According to
arranged marriage statistics in South Asia the percentage of arranged marriages before age 18 is
48%. In Bangladesh 27.3% are married off by age 15. Africa also has arranged marriages,
before age 18 it’s 42% and in Niger 26% are married off at 15. Some children aren’t even that
fortunate and are married off even younger. There are children who are married off as young as
a preschooler to an older man, according to the article “The Terrifying World of child brides.”
Unfortunately these young brides that are forced into this are also forced to have children as soon
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as they can and who knows how many they have by what age. Life for these young brides is
difficult just like the lives of arranged marriage victims that don’t want to go through with it.
There are some people in these cultures that don’t want to go through with an arranged
marriage which is my next reason for not thinking arranged marriage is right. They fill that it’s
wrong especially in some situations. A situation like this is told in a New York Times article
written by Ayman Oghanna titled “Jenan Merza, 16, forced to wed a cousin, shot herself.” The
story is about a young girl who attempted to committed suicide because she was being forced to
marry her cousin under her father’s command. This young woman was forced into an arranged
marriage. “I tried to kill myself,” she told the reporter. “I didn’t want to get married. I was
forced to get engaged.” And she is not the only one that has to go through with this.
My final reason for believing that arranged marriage is wrong is because of the story
above. Jenan is not the only person that has tried to commit suicide and there are people who
tried and seceded as well. In the same article it says that in Iraq officials say there have been up
to 50 suicides that year which is at least double the rate in the United States.
On the other hand I acknowledge the fact that there are some people that think
that arranged marriage is the way to go. In example of this is seen though an interview done by
Satinder Bindra, CNN senior international correspondent. Bindra interviewed a woman named
Preet Kiran, who was 24 years old at the time. When being interviewed, she told Bindra that it is
tradition and she is okay with it. In a way it exited her when she quotes Preet saying “If you
have known a person for years and years, marriage is just putting a stamp on your relationship,
but in an arranged marriage that surprise and suspense is there.” Bindra also quotes Preet saying
that it is tradition but “… yet it’s modern because at the last moment you are given the option to
decide yes or no.”
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Although Preet was a lucky woman in her arranged marriage, there are many
people who are not as fortunate. In my opinion arranged marriage is still wrong because of the
emotional toll it can have on someone. This emotional toll can happen to anyone of any age
from a child bride to a young adult and finally that emotional toll can eventually lead to being a
threat to an arranged marriage victim’s life.
Work Cited
"Arranged / Forced Marriage Statistics." Statistic Brain RSS. ABC News, 16 Aug. 2012. Web.
05 Apr. 2013.
Bindra, Satinder. "Ramneeq and Preet at Their Wedding." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d.
Web. 05 Apr. 2013.
Oghanna, Ayman. "Jenan Merza,16,forced to Wed a Cousin,shot Herself." The New York Times.
The New York Times, 06 Apr. 2013. Web. 05 Apr. 2013.