Forced Marriages, a Moral and Social Evil

by Kell.C
(Lilongwe, Malawi (c.u))

I perceive forced marriages to be not only an act of tyranny but also an unfortunate development in society. Forced marriages are erroneous in that they are concerned with immediate material gains or other benefits accompanying them and not the future existence of the marriage.

In African sects where bride prices are paid, the woman involved is nothing more than a grocery item. The man is thus endowed with the feeling of owning the woman. In many of these cases, parents hide behind the rhetoric of 'offering advice', pointing there unsuspecting daughters to men they feel would make good husbands. little do the girls no that some money or other materials have exchanged hands behind them. This amounts to forced marriage albeit implicit.

Though times have rapidly changed, the influence of parents in their children marriage issues are strongly felt. Forced marriages are delusory. Organizations belt on weak grounds and almost always bound to fail. It can be argued that most unhappy, violent-filled marriages have a basis in some forcefulness.