“we learned that marriage meant something different to each of these participants…these “marriages” varied depending on where they were from, their age, how long their families had been in the States, whether they were in the U.S. as unaccompanied minors, and a host of other questions. Only one of the married participants in this research study had been married at City Hall and could pinpoint where her marriage certificate was located. Clergy in their homes or community mosques performed most of the marriages. None of the girls’ school teachers or counselors knew of their marriages” (Yetu, 2012)

When first reading this quote, I was really surprised that early and forced marriages were happening with African immigrants in New York City. I really thought this sort of thing only happened abroad, but it makes sense that it is happening among the immigrant populations from the countries in which this sort of thing is seen more often.

I have a very specific definition of marriage, especially one that has the consent and preparation of both parties. Marriage: when two people who are in love make a commitment to stay together forever. However, the type of early and forced marriage spoken of in the article seem much more complicated to me. When I looked up the definition of marriage, I got two main definitions…

I find that the marriages discussed in the article are really better defined by the second definition, as just a “combination of people.” The article mentions that not all these early and forced marriages are recognised legally, refuting some of the first definition. And these marriages really do not have anything to do with love or celebration. School teachers and counselors of the girls, surveyed on their definitions of marriage, had no idea of the marriages. The article mentions “strengthening alliances” and “sharing resources” in African immigrant communities through the marriages. As much as I’d like to have an opinion about these early and forced marriages, it seems very cultural and something unfamiliar to me.  A forced/early marriage is less a relationship between two people but more a relationship among several people in a community.