India has changed a lot in 70 years, but the custom of arranged marriages hasn’t changed over time.
In this technology-driven era of the World Wide Web, e-mail, and most importantly in the era of social media networking apps like Facebook and WhatsApp, which has transformed the Indian way of life, the way the people of India socialize and meet, cultural norms towards marriages haven’t changed much.
Though there are many opportunities for men and women to make friends, love, and understand each other, arranged marriages are still dominating in India.
6 Reasons why Indian women opt for arranged marriages
Despite the change in technology and modernization, the convention of the arranged marriage still holds sway. Here are some reasons why arranged marriages are such a frequent choice for Indian women.
Women Trust their Parents Judgement
Though women today are young, well-educated, and financially independent, they think they are not capable of making wise decisions for themselves and trust the judgment of their parents.
Sometimes, women let go of their love interest fearing that the family may have reservations.
Even though parents are not completely against the person she loves, they feel their parents would be happier if she married someone they approved of.
Arranged Marriage – A Safe Option
Women in India feel safe and secure with the arranged marriages because parents choose a person only after a lot of digging into his character, financial stability, educational and occupational background.
They also feel assured of her family’s support if she faces an issue and hence opts for an arranged marriage.
Inability to Make Her Own Decision
From childhood, a girl is taught to accept what family members tell them to. Even today, most of the young girls are advised not to mingle too much with boys or they should take elders for any functions or parties and she does as she is told to.
They are not even encouraged to question elders, especially the men in the family. So, even if she is asked to marry a man chosen by her parents, she simply nods her head, despite her fears of marriage just assuming the financial mess and family pride.
This inability to question others’ decisions does not change even after marriage resulting in breaking the relationships.
The Social stigma of Inter-caste Marriages
We still see the ugly truth of violence and brutality suffered by inter-caste couples who transcend the boundaries of caste to pursue their “forbidden love”, which is an undeniable reality in India today.
There are many cases where parents opposed the choice of their daughters even though both the man and the woman were highly qualified, independent professionals but not of the same caste.
Educated young boys and girls are increasingly choosing their life partner on their own, but the fear of society and the struggle to change the family’s thought process are making the women consider arranged marriages.
Love Failure or Heart Break
A failure in a relationship can also force women to consider an arranged marriage.
Though women have started to choose the persons of their interest, very few relationships last long. As a result, women lose faith in themselves and question their choices, and finally trust their parents to find a suitable guy for them. Most women think that arranged marriage is the best way out of heartbreak.
Dominating Trend of Matrimonial Portals
Though it is a common tradition for families to communicate the marriage between bride and bridegroom families through individual brokers, the trend has been shifting to the online matrimonial portals, thanks to the Worldwide Web.
Though marriage portals are known for individuals to search for and choose their life partners, the family still dominates decisions about marriage. Parents or relatives are the ones who initiate and engage with the portal on behalf of their children.
Arranged marriage appears to be very much hard-wired into our DNA. While their fears are abated to some extent, young, educated and financially independent women continue to feel the pull of cultural expectations and rely on the wisdom of elders.