Excellent choice for a thread. The plight of men in islam is sometimes overlooked because of the sheer horror some of the women face. But that shouldn't negate the fact that men do experience oppression under islamic ideology.
Exactly, not to mention that, just like women, their own indoctrination also carries a heavy price on their mental health later on in life too.
Men are certainly forced into marriage and I reckon it is higher than the 15% quoted. I reckon men do not report it as much as women do, and also, maybe maybe men don't admit it to themselves.
I know a man who was forced into marriage and I also know someone who married under a lot of pressure, although he says he is happy now but I am a bit sceptical. Anyway, the bloke that was forced did a runner after a while, and he was called all names under the sun, they said he was shirking his responsibilities, leaving that poor girl on her own etc. I know that if a woman does a runner, there is obviously a very negative response from the family, saying she has shamed them at the like, but there is also usually a lot of sympathy and support as well. With this guy, there was not really a contingent who was sympathetic to him and what he had been through - because of what a man's role is meant to be.
The pressures and expectations on men are very different than females, primarily because women leave the family home and men are expected to stay and live with their parents - with women, the pressure tends to be around honour, and with men, it tends to be about arranging a marriage with a partner who will be good for the whole family. They say thongs like "we want somebody who will look after us when we are old. The women from England don't care about family as much as the ones from Pakistan, and they will want to move out and leave us on our own". Parents also want somebody they know and trust, this is why pressure is put on lads to marry cousins from Pakistan; because they know them and are confident they won't screw them over because of family ties etc.
Yep. Men, because they are seen as having such easy roles in life, get judged harshly if the rebel against it. It's like people think why should they complain when they have it all, whereas with a woman, alot of us sort of feel her pain because we know she is just islam's prisoner.
It's definately important to start tackling this issue, and making more men speak out, or realise that wanting better for themselves is not a crime.
Topic: Men are forced into marriage in Islam aswell