Early Marriage Essay

1. Introduction Marriage, as a fundamental social and cultural institution and as the most common milieu for bearing and rearing children, profoundly shapes sexual behaviours and practices. It is undeniable that early marriage is a controversial yet hot topic that gets the attention of the professionals across many fields such as economy, psychology and sociology. The age at first marriage variegates across the globe. Being married before the age of 18 has been a social norm in third world countries [refer to Appendix A]. The percentage of women being married before age 8 is estimated from 20 to 50 percent in average in developing countries Ooyce, et al. , 2001). But then, developed countries are unlikely to experience the resembling pattern of matrimony. The marital union is normally delayed too long although this practise is believed to bring the most apparent reason for the breakdown in sexual ethics (Orsi, 2001). Out of its wealth and egoistic, western society chooses to marry later in life until they have built a decent maturity in age, education and financial state. As early marriage is widely practiced in developing countries, a global issue has risen as to whether early marriage does really hinder self development due to the consequences it brings to young girls. The practice is believed to bring several benefits to some extent. However, the adverse effects it brings can impede the self- development of young adolescences in many aspects including health consequences, character building and education as well as career opportunities. 1. 2 Purpose of Research The main purpose of this research is to discover students’ opinion about early marriage. Do they agree with early marriage or not. The second goal is to know hether early marriage brings either benefits or harms to students. Even though early marriage is already becoming a social norm in the third world countries [refer to Appendix A] the society still does not fully aware of this phenomenon. Thus the third goal of this research is to increase the awareness of the society regarding early marriage. 1. 3 Method of Research For the purpose of this research, relevant information was obtained from internet and books. This report is divided into several parts such as background information, factors that lead to early marriage, advantages and disadvantages of early marriage, s well as either early marriage can impede self development of young adolescence or not. A set of questionnaire will be distributed to 35 SAM student of INTI as it is the best measurement scale to gain people’s response without anyone sitting on the fence (Faculty Senate Advancement of Teaching (AOT) Committee, 2004). An interview also will be conducted as part of the research techniques