Arranged Marriages Evolving To Semi-Arranged In India: UN

United Nations: While arranged marriages remain the norm in India, they are evolving into a system of semi-arranged marriages giving women more freedom and making them less vulnerable to domestic violence, according to a UN report. The report, “Progress of World’s Women, 2019-20: Families in a Changing World”, released on Tuesday, however, blamed economic liberalisation in India for the spread of the dowry practice to more communities and the celebration of pricy, ostentatious weddings.

The report, which dealt with several aspects of marriage, said: “The practice of arranged marriages remains commonplace”, but, “the practice, however, has evolved over time and has been partially replaced by semi-arranged marriages, particularly in urban areas”. In semi-arranged marriages, “families are involved in suggesting potential matches, but women choose whether to marry and who to partner with” in contrast to the traditional parent-arranged marriages where women often have little say and meet the groom only on the wedding day, the report said.

“Women in semi and self-arranged marriages are three times as likely as those in family-arranged marriages to exercise agency on key areas of decision-making - including on expenditures, when to have children (and how many) and contraception - and twice as likely to be able to visit friends and relatives unescorted”. “Those in semi-arranged marriages are also less likely to experience marital violence compared to those in traditional parent-arranged marriages”, it added. (IANS)

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