Many people enter into marriage expecting so many things.
They enter into wedlock for so many reasons.
It can be a blissful institution when everything is alright.
However, you will find people who entered into the marriage by force.
Forced marriage is quite common than people think.
It happens mainly to vulnerable people of the developing world.
This is not to say that the west is immune, many girls are taken forcefully into marriage.
It is vital to establish what a forced marriage is first before you identify it.
This is the unlawful coercing of a person against his or her will to marry them off.
It mainly happens to girls who are underage.
It is very vital to differentiate it from an arranged marriage.
In an arranged marriage, the parties go through it willingly.
In arranged marriages, people have a choice to go through with the union or not to.
Many cultures of the world arrange marriages that last.
Forced marriage is not acceptable in the eyes of the law and religion.
Therefore, it is vital to have information when it comes to this issue.
There are over 200 forced marriage cases that are reported to the foreign and commonwealth office each year.
Keep in mind that these are the cases that are reported.
There are still many people who lack awareness otherwise, the rate of these cases are estimated to be much higher.
There are specific places were the cases are much more prevalent.
They include south Asian families.
In Kenya, a lot has been achieved in regard to awareness.
More and more Masai families and other tribes in that country are sending their girls to school instead of households as wives.
There are so many factors that motivate parents or relatives to force children into marriage.
The first thing is economic gain.
In many cases, the victims are married of to people who are better of economically.
The aspect of greed also comes up.
This is pretty common and, it qualifies as the major driving force.
Another thing that drives people to force others into marriage includes promiscuity.
This may be bad morals and the like.
However, it has been reported that gay children will make their parents force them into marriage.
This is for the purpose of controlling their sexuality as well as avoiding shame that may befall the family.
In an attempt to strengthen family links, many are married off by force.
This is pretty common in the continent of Africa.
Another motivating factor is ensuring land or property still remains in the family.
It is a very complex issue which often needs a lot of study to arrive at the root cause in each case.
There are other people who get married by will but later claim to have been forced into it.
Governments of the world are trying to address this problem.
Many rescues have been performed to save many children and others.
When victims are married of, they become subject to a host of abuses.
Their human rights are rarely honored and they become more or less slaves.
This is a practice that needs to be uprooted for a better society.