I think if the social and economic aspects of Indian society were less extreme, you would see a much higher divorce rate. ![]() Overall, there is more harm for a woman to divorce a man rather than stay unhappily married. Most women who become married, give up their job to become a housewife, so they are completely dependent on their husband for financial security. Not only do social factors make it nearly impossible to divorce in India, but economics are equally detrimental. The family will help the couple any way they can before resorting to divorce. Ojasviba said that everyone knows when someone is divorced, and they will point and judge. It is heavily frowned upon to get divorced in India. It causes many hardships for Americans, but it is much more socially acceptable compared to India. ![]() I think its important to consider the Indian mentality behind divorce, before rating it a success. The divorce rate for love marriages in the US is about 40-50%. What is the divorce rate for arranged marriages? I read online that the rate is 1% in India, but Ojasviba’s opinion is 5%. She said that it’s desirable for him to be tall, but his looks really aren’t all that important compared to his career and income. If they are, its things like delicate hands and feet. I asked her if being busty and curvaceous is an ideal attribute like it is in America, and she said that Indians are not so conscious about stuff other than the face. She said, fair skin, proportional facial features, big eyes, straight nose, and smaller lips. I asked her what the ideal woman should look like. Is physical appearance important? Very important, according to Ojasviba. I think it’s interesting that astrology is important in Indian culture, and even in some other countries in Europe, because a lot of Americans view astrology as superstitious nonsense. Astrological signs (horoscopes) are also a deciding factor for families. There is sometimes a possibility for marrying outside of your caste, but that rarely happens. India uses a caste system, so the families search for matches only in their caste. What is the match criteria for arranged marriages? Social status and family reputation are the most important aspects considered for marriage. People have began to slow down now, and aren’t getting married until their mid twenties to thirties. That’s how it used to be in America, at least during my parent’s generation. From my conversations with locals, it seems that most are married by their early twenties. There use to be child marriage in India, but it got banned. I was surprised to learn that there is a website called on which families can search for matches.Īt what age does the search begin? Typically, families begin to search for their son or daughter around the age of 18, the legal age to get married. They typically do the running around, and have dinners with the prospective match’s family. Nowadays, the match making process is left in the hands of the families. So who plays the match maker? In ancient times, families would rely on a Brahman (a priest) who’d travel to meet different families and matches, since the families themselves had less access to public transportation. Some things we discussed were personal perspectives on arranged marriages, but I asked for a general overview on the subject since the topic is so foreign to me. I interviewed one of the Indian women here, Ojasviba, on the subject, so I will compile my thoughts based on the interview. It is a marriage tradition in America for the man to ask the woman’s parent’s for consent before marriage, but it is still not as ethically crucial when compared to Indian society. In America, men and women actively pursue many partners through out their life, at their own consent. ![]() I find this to be one of the most foreign concepts to American culture. There is no law instilling that a marriage must be arranged, but it is an extremely important moral for families. Arranged marriages have been a tradition in India since ancient times.
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