Marriage has long been considered one of the most important steps in a person's life. In America, little girls dream of the day they will get married. People spend a great deal of time looking for the perfect mate to marry. However, in other places of the world marriage is not the same. In many cultures marriages are arranged by matchmakers, parents or aunts. All over the world the idea of marriage can be defined as a union of a man and woman as husband and wife. However, as religion, culture and traditions vary throughout the world so do the traditions of marriage.
             In India marriage traditions seem almost barbaric to the western world. Marriages are arranged. This means that the two to be joined together in the holy bond do not have the option to choose who they are to marry; instead, a third party, such as parents or a matchmaker, set up the union. In traditional arranged marriages the matchmaker is called a nayan (Prakasa 21). The matchmaker is normally a family friend or distant relative who serves as a neutral go-between when families are trying to arrange a marriage. In that culture this is considered the normal and expected method of marriage. However, this method has more flaws then just the lack of choice by the two involved. One such flaw is abuse. Divorce is not allowed because of the rules of the faith. Husbands can abuse their wives because they are trapped in this relationship.
             In the Muslim faith, it is the responsibility of the parents to provide a mate for their children to marry. The parent's duties are not considered complete unless their daughter is married. Usually in this culture the groom's parents take the initial actions in order to arrange the union (Ahmad 53). Parents seek for eligible females and try very hard to market their son. Once a female has been selected the father of the male sends a letter to the father of the female asking his permission to allow the marriage. I...