Not arranged but semi-arranged marriages are more in trend in India

A United Nations report has stated that India today does not believe in arranged marriages, rather the semi-arranged marriages are replacing the previous system of arranged marriage. Most of the Indian places, especially the urban India youth believes in going for a semi-arranged marriage as this is friendlier, more convenient and is helpful in knowing a person before getting married to him.

With the increasing cases of domestic violence, marital violence and killing brides for dowry, the new generation marriage worthy people believes in knowing each other before getting married to a completely unknown person.

The study is published in the UN Women's new report 'Progress of the World's Women 2019-2020: Families in a Changing World.' The UN report also states that the modern Indian women are today playing more crucial roles in decision-making on finances and family planning.

While releasing the report on Tuesday, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said that families "can be critical drivers of gender equality, provided decision-makers deliver policies rooted in the reality of how people live today, with women's rights at their core."

As stated by the report, marriages in much of Southern and Eastern Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and Northern Africa and Western Asia are largely universal and socially compulsory. There are social norms as well as economic factors in a marriage and there are big roles to play for the families of the bride and grooms who plays a crucial role in making decisions.

The report has elaborated that arranged marriage is the most common practice. The traditional arranged marriages show the women playing a lesser role in choosing the groom. Most of the women even meet their husband for the first time on their wedding day. But there has been a little change in the scenario now as semi-arranged marriages are taking place in urban areas. In the semi-arranged marriage, the families only suggest potential matches and the women take their own decision of whether to marry the person or not.

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