Arranged marriages annulled by law
Zhu, H.
China Population Today 13(3): 15
1996
PMID: 12291696 Document Number: 300894
The arranged marriages of 210 young people in Yongle Town in Zunyi County of Guizhou Province were dissolved in 1995. The proportion of child betrothals, which generally happens among close relatives, is as high as 85% in the town. Some engagements, known as fetus betrothals or belt betrothals, are arranged before the children are born or while they are still infants strapped (belted) to their mothers. Dissemination of information from the Constitution, the Marriage Law, and the Regulations on the Registration of Marriage concerning marriage, healthier births, and good upbringing of children, and other information on reproductive health, has shown young people that they have the freedom to love and marry of their own free will, that their marriage is protected by law, and that consanguineous marriage is harmful to the health of future generations. Some convinced their parents that their arranged marriages should be annulled.