Marriage has been described as the status, condition, or relationship that results from a contract by which one man and one woman, who have the capacity to enter into such an agreement, mutually promise to live together in the relationship of Husband and wife in law for life, or until the legal termination of the relationship.
It is one of the oldest and most enduring human institutions however the reasons for marrying have varied comprehensively from time to time and traditions to traditions. One of the popular traditions is the arranged and forced marriage.
Forced marriage is also a type of matrimony but a controversial one. It is different from arranged marriages. Although arranged marriage involves parents choosing a partner they deem suitable for their child, the marriage is only organized by parents or family members once both of the marrying parties have consented.
However, forced marriages may sometimes be mistaken for an arranged marriage as one or both of the parties may feel as though they have no choice but to consent due to the pressure put onto them from their family. To understand why forced marriages take place, it is important to be aware of what values drive people to force their child into marriage.
When teenage girls married off too early, or engage in an arranged or forced marriage, it may bring negative effects such as psychosocial disadvantages, lack of emotional maturity, a barrier of education, violence, abandonment and even their personal development are in danger.
Kheda Goilabiyev is a 17 years old young girl who is forced to marry a 47-year-old police chief named Nazhud Guchigov. Her parents were threatened with horrible consequences by Guchigov if they refuse to give him their blessings for their daughter’s hand in marriage. Despite her young age, she looked stunning and gorgeous like a lady in her white wedding dress.
But even if the dress embraces her body perfectly with delicate lace detail and dazzling jewel embroidered veil it will still not hide the face of loneliness that is visible evidence of her displeasure in getting married.
Guchigov is the chief of police and also a key ally of Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chenchen’s Head of Republic, who already has a wife and a son. His son is way older than Goilabiyev when he forced her to marry him. Goilabiyev’s parents did not agree with the union, but the chief of police threatened them that he would abduct their daughter if they opposed of the marriage.
Even if it was against their wishes, they have no choice and accept it for the sake of their daughter’s life.
The public was furious when the controversial marriage was approved and even supported by Pavel Astakhov, Moscow’s commissioner on child rights. He even quoted, “Caucasian women are all shriveled with wrinkles by the age of 27”.
Goilabiyeva’s rights as a woman were violated when Guchigov uses his power to get what he wants by marrying a young girl, and it only shows that marriage is not about trust and compassion. A woman's right to choose a spouse and enter freely into marriage is central to her life and her dignity and equality as a human being.
Almost 15 million children and teenage girls are engaging in early marriage every year. Some of them are deprived of their rights to health, education, and opportunity and even destroy their childhood. If we do nothing about this issue, maybe by 2030, an estimated 15 million above children and teenage girls will get married every year.
Marriage should not be something performed to satisfy cultural traditions. Instead, it should be looked upon as a sacred union of two individuals engaged in a relationship built on love and maturity.
Cultural traditions and ideas cannot dictate a person's future, human judgment and maturity can only shape the success of a marriage. Therefore traditions and other concerns are unacceptable reasons for an individual to be forced into marriage.
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