Timing of Marriage: A Social Problem?

Abstract

Under the influence of various change factors, individuals and societies encounter or worry about certain problems. However, there are difficulties in distinguishing problems as ‘individual’ or ‘social’, in other words, determining what constitutes a ‘social problem’. Focusing on the timing of marriage, which closely concerns the institution of family; this article discusses why early or delayed marriages are or are not perceived as ‘social problems’. The discussion is carried out by examining the existing literature with a critical perspective. The main finding is that the existing literature, which is almost unanimous, treats early marriage as a social problem, whereas late marriage is treated more as an individual choice resulting from the prioritization of education and career. Based on three arguments, the article argues that late marriage is a serious social problem and proposes a solution to this problem in the context of Turkish/Islamic culture.

Keywords

• Social Problem
• Early Marriage
• Late Marriage
• Modernization
• Tradition.

Evlilikte Zamanlama: Bir Toplumsal Problem mi?

Abstract

Çeşitli değişim faktörlerinin etkisiyle bireyler ve toplumlar birtakım problemlerle karşılaşır veya bunun kaygısını taşırlar. Ancak problemlerin ‘bireysel’ ya da ‘toplumsal’ olarak ayırt edilmesi yani nelerin ‘toplumsal sorun’ olduğunun belirlenmesinin önünde zorluklar vardır. Problemi yaşayanların ölçek veya hacmi, belli davranış kalıplarının kültürel normlarla ve değerlerle çelişmesi veya ulusal çıkarları ya da toplumsal düzeni tehdit etmesi, bireyin kendisine ve/ya yakınlarına zarar verici olması gibi kriterler ‘toplumsal problemleri’ bireysel problemlerden ayırt etmek için kullanılabilir. Bu makalede bu kriterler de dikkate alınarak toplumsal problem “toplumsal değişimin sonuçları içinde tolore edilebilirlik sınırlarını aşacak düzeyde toplumun sırtına ekstra maddi/manevi yük yükleyen ve/ya zarar veren yaygınlaşmış davranış kalıpları” olarak tanımlanmakta ve aile kurumunu yakından ilgilendiren evlilik zamanlamasına odaklanılarak erken ya da geciktirilmiş evlilik olgularının niçin ‘toplumsal sorun’ olarak algılandığı ya da algılanmadığı tartışılmaktadır. Tartışma, mevcut literatürün eleştirel bir perspektifle incelenmesi yöntemiyle yürütülmektedir. Neredeyse fikir birliğine varacak kadar mevcut literatürün erken evliliği toplumsal bir sorun olarak ele almasına karşılık geciktirilmiş evliliği daha çok eğitim ve kariyerin öncelenmesinden doğan bireysel bir tercih olarak ele alındığı ana bulgudur. Makale, üç argüman temelinde, geciktirilmiş evliliğin ciddi bir toplumsal problem olduğunu ileri sürmekte ve Türk/İslam kültürü bağlamında bu probleme dair bir çözüm önermektedir.

Keywords

• toplumsal problem
• erken evlilik
• geciktirilmiş evlilik
• modernleşme
• gelenek

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