ARRANGED MARRIAGES AND FORCED MARRIAGES By Monica Ribeiro

ARRANGED MARRIAGES AND FORCED MARRIAGES By: Monica Ribeiro SOO 106373

WHAT IS AN ARRANGED MARRAIGE? A matrimonial union orchestrated by parties other than the bride and groom. This typically involves the parents as the initiators of the union usually through negotiating a deal. In arranged marriages, family plays a major role in helping the younger ones to meet people who may be a suitable match for a long-lasting and stable marriage in which love also may flourish over time as the fruit of living together. Arranged marriages are a long standing tradition in many cultures. It is mostly prevalent in the Middle East, Africa and Asia

BACKGROUND For most of history, marriage was not primarily about the individual needs and desires of a man and woman and the children they produced. Marriage had as much to do with finding a lifetime companion and raising a beloved child. Marriage became a way through which elites could accumulate resources and in the lower class marriage was an economic and political transaction. Marriage was seen as too important a contract to be left up to the two individuals involved. So kin, neighbours and others were usually involved in negotiating a match. Economic and justice issues- Traditionally, marriage organised the division of labor and power by gender and age, confirming men’s authority over women. It was only in the 17 th century when a series of political, economic and cultural changes in Europe began to erode the older functions of marriage, encouraging individuals to choose their mates on the basis of personal affection and allowing couples to challenge the rights of outsiders to intrude upon their lives. EXAMPLES: Anthony and Cleopatra, Medieval Europe,

IN THE MEDIA: Link to SBS Insight documentary on arranged marriages. https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=eycsd. Sm 4 q 2 U What are the pros and cons of arranged marriages? Can arranged marriages be a benefit to society? Or do they hinder personal growth? A short film about two young people who get to know each other through an arranged marriage: https: //www. youtube. com/watch? feature=player_embedd ed&v=Z 8 X 97 OL 06 OY

BENEFITS: Relationships may not start with romance but love may develop over time. Often referred to love marriages Family chooses a couple based on how long they have known each other and a suitable choice but the final decision will come from the bride and groom. New technologies play a role with the Internet, social media and dating sites become an avenue for families to look for candidates.

DISADVANTAGES: The couple might experience a lack of privacy in their relationship due to the family closeness and interference of other relatives. Love becomes insignificant in the marriage due to focus on family future and financial planning. Raises a situation whereby the couple consider if they chose the right partner because of the pressure to marry.

FORCED MARRIAGES: A forced marriage is where a marriage is entered into without the full and free consent of one or both parties, as a result of physical or psychological pressure or abuse. According to the United Nations, forced marriage can happen within the context of human trafficking. The international definition of trafficking of persons covers trafficking for the purpose of exploiting people in ‘practices similar to slavery’ And the Supplementary convention on the Abolition of Slavery 1956 states ‘practices similar to slavery’ include: c) Any institution or practice whereby: (i) A woman, without the right to refuse, is promised or given in marriage on payment of a consideration in money or in kind to her parents, guardian, family or any other person or group; or (ii) The husband of a woman, his family, or his clan, has the right to transfer her to another person for value received or otherwise; or (iii) A woman on the death of her husband is liable to be inherited by another person. These institutions and practices are known as a servile marriage.

AROUND THE WORLD In South Asia, UNICEF estimates that among women ages 15 to 24, 48% were married before the age of 18. In Bangladesh, 27. 3% of women ages 15 to 19 were married by the age of 15, and 65. 3% of women ages 20 to 24 were married before the age of 18. 7 UNICEF estimates that in Africa 42% of women ages 15 to 24 were married before the age of 18. In Niger, 27. 3% of women ages 15 to 19 were married before the age of 15, and 76. 6% of women ages 20 to 24 were married before the age of 18. 8 In addition, in Afghanistan, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission estimates that over 38% of women have been victims of forced marriage According to Human Rights Watch, 14 million girls are married, worldwide, each year- with some as young as eight or nine. While early and forced marriage appears most prevalent in countries of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, several recent cases have shown Australia is not immune to the practice. In Asia, love marriages are equated with high levels of divorce. Arranged marriages are seen as diminishing the likelihood of divorce because the partners are chosen for their compatibility and suitable family backgrounds. P 41

SPIRITUAL AND MORAL ISSUES

ISLAM In Islam, marriage is not regarded as a religious sacrament however it is recommended for every Muslim in the Qur’an and Hadith. For example, "Marriage is of my ways, " the Prophet is reported to have taught, as well as, "When a man has married, he has completed one half of his religion, " and "Whoever is able to marry, should marry. ” Such stimulus from religious teachings has made marriage the goal of every Muslim and caused a considerable amount of social pressure to achieve that end for every member of the society. Parents, relatives, and friends all feel committed to assist actively in the process, and few are the individuals who "escape the system. ”

The Islamic legal justification for a father’s ability to compel his prepubescent daughter to marry against her will is most frequently located in the Ijma. With regard to the issue of force in marriage, Ibn Quda mah writes in al-Mughni : Issue (1118): He said, "If a man contracts marriage for his virgin daughter, and places her in an equal match, then the marriage is valid, even if she protests, be she old or young. ” Compulsion, Ibn Quda mah asserts, is applicable with regard to any virgin, despite her age. His first domain of concern is with the prepubescent virgin (albikr al-saghi rah): Ibn al-Mundhir said, "All of the scholars from whom we have taken knowledge have reached consensus that a father's contracting of marriage for his prepubescent virgin daughter is permissible, if he marries her to an equal, " and he is allowed to contract her marriage even if she protests and forbids it. In countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh, marriage is related to duty and Islam. Parents consider it a moral obligation to marry their children and intimate relationships should only develop within this context. Women are expected to conform more rigorously than men.

CHRISTIANITY In Christianity, matrimonial consent needs to occur. In Catholicism, the couple needs to freely express their consent which means not being under constraint. If consent is lacking during the vows, then there is no marriage (CCC 1625). Marriage also requires the fidelity of conjugal love (CCC 1646). Marital love involves the good of the whole person and is steadfastly true. In 1970, the Roman Rota, the supreme marriage tribunal of the Catholic Church ruled that, “where marital love was lacking, wither the consent is not free, or it is not internal, or it excludes or limits the objects which must be integral to have a valid marriage”.

What does this mean for Australia as a multi-cultural society? What are the implications of arranged and forced marriages? What laws are currently in place to protect Australian citizens from arranged and forced marriages? What about young children being taken overseas to participate in an arranged marriage?

Law in Australia not allowing forced marriages Under the Commonwealth Criminal Code Act 1995 , a marriage is a forced marriage if- because of the use of coercion, threat or deception- one party to the marriage entered into the marriage without freely or fully consenting. The Marriage Act 1961 includes provisions whereby a marriage may be void if the consent of a party was not real, or if a party was not of marriageable age. The Marriage Act permits a marriage where one party is aged between sixteen and eighteen years of age, where there is both the required consent (usually parental) and an Australian court order from a judge or magistrate authorising the marriage. It is illegal for any person under the age of sixteen, or two people under the age of eighteen, to marry. Sometimes children and young people are taken overseas to be forcibly married. This is against the law in Australia and the Australian Federal Circuit Court can make orders to ensure that a minor cannot be taken overseas for this purpose. This means that the court is able to prevent a passport being issued for a child, require a person to surrender a child or accompanying adult's passport to the court and prevent the removal of a child from Australia and place the child's name on the Airport Watch List.

INITIATIVES: In 2013, the federal parliament passed legislation making the coercing of someone into marriage a serious crime, punishable by up to seven years in prison. While forced marriages are illegal in Australia, arranged marriages are not, and remain a common practice among some communities. The Victorian Immigrant Refugee Women’s Coalition (VIRWC) designed a new campaign for high school students called The Choice Is Yours. The Coalition is calling for training about the indicators of forced marriage among teachers, doctors and community workers.

Australian Children’s Foundation The chief executive of the Australian Childhood Foundation, Joe Tucci, says the message needs to be communicated clearly. "Forced marriage is a basic contravention of children's rights. Children can't consent, to being married. They shouldn't be forced into being married. The whole concept of children being forced to enter into relationship with someone is exploiting them. And I think, regardless of the religious context, regardless of the cultural context, there's nothing in my mind that condones the act of forcing a young person to being married to an adult when they're still not able to provide that level of consent at all and can't do say until at least 18. ” • The Australian Childhood Foundation's Joe Tucci says it's vital that informed consent is able to be given. • "Young people still need to be able to give their consent to that and they need to be able to back out of that decision to be able to have the freedom of choice to make that decision. I think what we're seeing is a clash of what is cultural scripts and what are childrens' rights scripts. And I think, in these circumstances, children have the right to be able to choose and enter into a relationship when they're old enough to be able to implement to that right. And they can't do that whilst they're young. ”

IN THE MEDIA: http: //www. abc. net. au/news/2014 -09 -28/teenprevented-from-flying-overseas-for-arrangedmarriage/5774364 http: //www. news. com. au/world/middleeast/australian-girls-among-millions-forced-to-becomechild-brides/story-fnh 81 ifq-1226683129038

REFERENCES: Anti-Slavery Australia (2014) Fact Sheet #5: What is Forced Marriage. Retrieved from: http: //www. antislavery. org. au/resources/fact-sheets/97 -fact-sheet-5 -what-is-forced-marriage. html Attorney-General’s Department, (n. d) Forced Marriage. Retrieved from: http: //www. ag. gov. au/Crime. And. Corruption/Human. Trafficking/Pages/Forced. Marriage. aspx Baugh, C. (2009). An exploration of the juristic consensus (ijmāʻ) on compulsion in the marriage of minors. Comparative Islamic Studies, 5(1), 33 -92. doi: 10. 1558/cis. v 5 i 1. 33 Burn, J. (2013, October 19). Putting an end to forced marriage in Australia. Retrieved from: http: //theconversation. com/putting-an-end-to-forced-marriage-in-australia-17827 Cerejo, S. (2014). Disadvantages of Arranged Marriages. Retrieved from: http: //arrangedmarriageshinduism. weebly. com/disadvantages-of-arranged-marriages. html Coontz, S. (2006). Marriage, a History: How Love Conquers Marriage. Retrieved from: https: //books. google. com. au/books? id=a. HMWT 3 Gtb 0 C&pg=PT 4&dq=history+arranged+and+forced+marriages&lr=&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=2#v=onepage&q= history%20 arranged%20 and%20 forced%20 marriages&f=false Lamyā' Ibsen al Faruqi, L. (1985). Marriage in Islam. Journal Of Ecumenical Studies, 22(1), 55 -68. Lawler, M. G. (1993). Marriage and Sacrament: A Theology of Christian Marriage. Retrieved from: https: //books. google. com. au/booksid=6 nwc 9 j_0 ut 4 C&pg=PR 1&lr=&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=2#v=onepage&q&f=f alse Romeropereda, A. (2014, February 7). What is an arranged marriage? Retrieved from: http: //www. afs. org/blog/icl/? p=4336 Samad, A. Y. and Eades, J. (2002). Community Perceptions of Forced Marriage. Community Liaison Unit, The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, United Kingdom. Report. SBS Australia, (2014, February 12) Focus on child marriage in Australia. Retrieved from: http: //www. sbs. com. au/news/article/2014/02/11/focus-child-marriage-australia Sullivan, L. E. (2009). The SAGE Glossary of the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Arranged Marriage. Doi: http: //dx. doi. org/10. 4135/9781412972024