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In many places all over the world marriage is viewed as a financial
transaction. Women are treated as property, and bartered for like livestock,
even being used to settle debts. Often times these women are underage and have
no choice in their marriages. Women are assigned value based on their age,
beauty, education, virginity, among many other things. Poverty is often a driving
factor in these financial marriages. According to the
New York Times About 1 in 7 girls
in the developing world (excluding China) gets married before her 15th birthday”
Sometimes girls are married off very young and sent to live with their in-laws
and act as a servant, until they reach puberty, when they will consummate the marriage.
Girls who find themselves in these marriages often face abuse at the hands of
their husbands and in-laws. Often these young girls’ bare children before their
bodies are ready, often ending in fatalities. The
World Population Foundation says “Pregnancy, and its complications is a leading cause of death for young women aged 15 to 19.”
A few years ago there was a
court case about a Triqui Indian
man in Greenfield, California, who allegedly sold his 14 year old daughters
hand in marriage to her 18 year old suitor for $16,000 and over 100 cases of
beer and meat. The Father, Marcelino de Jesus Martinez was charged with human trafficking.
The high profile case was significant because it could set a precedent for
future cases dealing with bride selling. Paying a bride price is custom in indigenous
Mexican communities. Bride selling is said to reduce break ups, due to the
added value of the wife “"It is so the man gives value to his wife and so he won't easily leave her for another woman."”
Even
though bride selling is a traditional native custom, it is still a form of human
trafficking. Not all traditions are good traditions. These women are treated as property and are
unable to leave their situations. Selling another person is a clear violation
of human rights.
