In anthropology, some of the first words we will learn are "ethnography" and "archaeology." Another important term is "cultural relativism."
Cultural relativism is understanding a culture from within that culture.
For example, we can view the hijras of India as weird, gay men who dress like chicks. However, using cultural relativism, we can understand that hijras are a third gender, born male, that follow their spiritual path and take on more feminine characteristics, such as their means of dress.
Let's make this more relatable to us Americans. We like going to Europe. Ya know, study abroad trips, cruises, skiing, sightseeing, etc.
One of the countries we like to go to is Italy. When my older sister went to Italy, she said Italian guys would come up to her and her female friends and pushingly ask, "Number? Number?" Because 'Murican girls ain't easy at all. American tourists also have a bad reputation in a number of countries for their wild behavior.
Is this thanks to only a few Americans *coughJerseyShorecough* ? Or do we all like to party and sleep around when on vacation?
Let's say that Italy is trying to come up with a reason why all Americans are slutty and messy. They agree with this: Americans act that way because they think they can trample over every other country because they have the biggest and most wide-spread military.
What do the Italians do? They make it illegal for American tourists to come visit their country until the US cuts their military by one-third.
I'm not sure if this even makes sense - too sleepy. I have been so busy with school lately, and that's why I haven't posted anything for a while. Anywho...
You see what I'm trying to say here? (If you don't, then just bear with me!) They're basing their assumptions on what they witness in their country. They didn't send sociologists to America to study the Americans. With the incorrect information - interpretation - of what causes an action or behavior, your "solution" may not do anything positive, or may even make things worse.
A few weeks ago, I came across this article.
While it is horrible for ten-year-old girls to be married off to older men, or at all, and while I don't agree with marriages that happen with children this young...the reactions to this are just plain stupid and ignorant.
Take this comment (while ignoring the spelling and grammatical errors):
"What kind of man has sex with a child??? There is no room for argument here; neither religious or otherwise. Everyone knows a child, and a 10 year old girl plays with dolls. And a 16 years girl is still a girl. A woman is developed with age and education and is mature. These men are pedephiles."
STUPID ALERT!
First off, the whole "10 year old girl plays with dolls" is very culturally-subjective. In some places, children as young as six have to take on adult roles. That's not really related to this though.
I saw people compare arranged marriage to slavery. That is almost never the case. Arranged marriages have been happening way before people started marrying for love. If this is slavery, then who are the slavemasters? The parents (who were probably arranged themselves)? The husband (especially if he is older)? I'm taking this a little personally because my mom's parents' marriage was arranged.
One person said that a dowry is a bribe. Just no.
Keep in mind, I am not speaking as if this were to all of a sudden be implemented in America.
In one of my anthropology classes, we watched a movie from India where this young girl is married off to a boy who is a few years older. She befriends her husband's brother's wife, who is a bit older too. Spoiler alert...the stepsister dies from childbirth - she was too young.
That is the real concern here. The point of that movie was to get people in certain regions of India to realize that marrying off their daughters at a young age is dangerous.
However, angry reactions to this article talk about how marriage is slavery. Slavery is immoral. We have to do all that we can to stop it. Why isn't it that the fact the young girls die from marrying too young the real concern? Jeez people, think for once.
Now let's answer the most important question here - why is it that an older man is marrying a younger girl? One reason could be is that his wife died and there are no other females closer to his age. The more logical reason is that he has the means to take care of the girl. Yes, you have just read that. Read it again.
The girls' families care about their daughters. Not in the way they care about their sons, but it's still a strong bond. An older man is more likely to have the money needed to look after her and raise a family.
Hopefully you have now understood this from an emic perspective.
What do we do about this problem?
Do we send in Team America to save the day? and then piss off the countries' residents by trying to enforce our laws on them?
How about this: we educate the populace of those regions that partake in young marriages about the dangers of it and help make it easier for women to get an education.
Saying, "We are Americans. This thing you do is wrong. Let us stand in your way." without any real explanation is not the solution.
EDIT
I found this video that explores young marriage a little bit more. However, I don't really like how it completely vilifies the fathers because like I mentioned before; they also marry off the daughters so that the daughters themselves can be taken care of. I also don't like the solution the videos poses by amending the constitution. First, they need to help lift those people out of poverty somehow because even if the family can't marry off their daughters for dowry, they're still poor and can barely provide for their families. Yes, this video contains ignorant comments such as "these guys are PEDOPHILES" - you've been warned. Use your new understanding of cultural relativism to get a better sense of what is going on in this situation.
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