Significance of marriage for the society

Everyone knows that man is a social animal and cannot live alone. He needs someone to interact, discuss and share his experiences with. He needs a family and a social circle through which he can lead a fruitful life. Sociology explains the importance of society and that the institution of marriage is at the core of it. Marriage is a social institution and since ages it has been embedded in the basic fabric of society at large. Below are mentioned important reasons to get married.

The changing times have brought new perspectives to the forefront and the new generation is open to all kinds of new ideas with regards to personal relationships, thanks to the influence of globalization and commercialization. The western influence is visible across the board and the manner in which the new generation thinks, behaves, aspire, like, etc. say a lot about the generation next.

The times have brought into focus new aspects about relationships and people at large have understood the major problems that married couples face and the reasons behind them. In India marriages are still considered sacrosanct and couples try their best to keep their married life going and ask any Indian and he would give you at least seven if not more reasons to get married and stick to it.

Reasons to Get Married

Though everybody has a different reason to get married but here are a few common reasons that make people marry.

Social obligation: We live in a society and the same has some rules and norms, which people belonging to the particular society follow. In India, not getting married after a certain age is considered a taboo and undesirable. Ask a bachelor in the late twenties and he’ll tell you the way people react and get surprised when they know that he or she is unmarried.

Different social roles

The society has allocated different roles for both a man and a woman. The cast is set and one needs the other to fulfill the other set of tasks assigned. Certain functions are role-specific and the other is considered as odd performing tasks. This is more specific in the rural areas and small towns.

Survival of Society

Getting hitched is in the interest of the society. The society needs legal progenies to survive and for the same reason it advocates marriage and legal heirs to the family, social and wealth of its inhabitants.

Economic Security

There are numerous scholarly theories about the institution of marriage for the benefit of the economic activities and division of property. Those who earn well and build property need legal inheritors to inherit the wealth created by them and take their economic activities forward.

Safety of Women

Initially when the concept of marriage established, one of the reason behind it was to protect women and make sure that the men at large identify a married woman as the wife of a particular man and stay away from her. This was important for the pre-medieval man and a way to establish his family. Social norms bind other men from going behind someone’s wife and hence and this in turn ensured women’s safety.

There are many other reasons to marry but the above mentioned pertain to the social and societal aspect of it. In a country like India, marriage is considered as the most important aspect of a person’s life, be it a girl or a boy, and parents and relatives start preparing well before the event and finding a good match is considered a blessing and a matter or social pride.