![]() This article is set up in three sections. At its core, this article hopes to contribute to an understanding of the arranged marriage from an unbiased lens. 2 This will enable judging the arranged marriage on the qualities and rewards it holds for its practitioners. There is a necessity to study the arranged marriage on its own terms and not in a binary with the autonomous marriage. Measured this way, the arranged marriage turns into something faulty. Monitoring the arranged marriage as if it were or should be autonomous, emphasizes defects, deficits, lacunas in the arranged marriage on matters related to autonomy. However, the arranged marriage, even in its most modern manifestation, is not an autonomous marriage. The arranged marriage is then measured by characteristics typical of the autonomous marriage system. Resulting from this, the autonomous marriage sets the standards of an ideal marriage all marriages must aim for, including the arranged marriage. The autonomous marriage, thriving on individual choice, is perceived to be the ideal marital system, while the arranged marriage, supported by traditional kin authority, is not considered ideal. From this binary, both marital systems are not viewed neutrally. 1 While a comparison of the arranged marriage to the autonomous marriage should be an unbiased one, the contrary is true. In this literature the arranged marriage is compared in a binary to the autonomous marriage. There is a tendency in academic literature to view the arranged marriage from the lens of the autonomous marriage. As such, this study hugely contributes to an unbiased understanding of the arranged marriage and changing arranged marriage patterns and is a valuable reading for those interested in marriage, marital systems and the future thereof. The author argues that it is vital to first understand the traditional structures of the arranged marriage, before one can understand modernizing tendencies the arranged marriage system is currently undergoing. This analysis highlights and critically examines social principles fundamental to the arranged marriage system and which are much misunderstood, such as hierarchy, patriarchy, collectivism, group loyalty and the role of parental and individual marital consent. While this analysis zooms in on the case study of one particular focus group, the British Pakistani diaspora, it reveals broad insights into the arranged marriage system in general. Readers are invited to an in-depth and rigorous analysis of the foundations upon which the arranged marriage system rests. The author encourages readers to break this frame and offers a neutral perspective on this traditional marital system practised by billions around the world. As a result, the arranged marriage is perceived to be a “marriage of shortcomings”, one that fails to meet the standards of the free-choice marriage system. It considers the free choice marriage to be the ideal. ![]() Instead, the arranged marriage is often analysed through the lens of the modern free choice marriage system. In fact, many young people do not have any plans to marry at all.This research asks one simple question, a question many studies on the arranged marriage omit to ask, namely “What exactly is the arranged marriage?” Author Naema Tahir, born and bred in the arranged marriage culture, but educated in the free-choice marriage culture, argues that much literature on the arranged marriage fails to offer full exploration of this traditional marital system. A major factor stopping Koreans from getting married is concern about childbirth and childcare, with many believing they are not financially secure enough. Over the past five years, the number of marriages has steadily decreased as South Koreans now are not placing such a high importance on marriage as with previous generations. Just as it has become more acceptable to leave a marriage, the number of marriages has also declined across the country. While the actual number of divorces in the country has decreased, and stood at just over 93 thousand people in 2022, the divorce rate has barely changed in recent years. The main reasons for divorce in the country have changed over the years, but include factors such as domestic abuse, financial instability, infidelity, and basic unhappiness. Simultaneously, less people are getting married, and tend to do so later than before. As the stigma attached to leaving a marriage becomes less significant, more people are deciding to get a divorce if they are unhappy in their marriage. The divorce rate shows slight signs of decline, which reflects changes in the country's social norms. In 2022, the divorce rate in South Korea amounted to 1.8 divorces per 1,000 inhabitants, slightly lower than the previous year. ![]()
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