The past week, my classmates shared cultural facts about their language. A few people were absent that day, but the two presentations that stood out for me were the ones discussing Israeli same-sex marriage as well as Indian weddings.
Israeli same-sex marriage laws were interesting because even though same-sex marriage is illegal and will not be recognized in Israel, if the same-sex couple is married abroad, the Immigration Office will recognize that marriage. This is done for statistical purposes. If a same-sex marriage is performed without approval within Israel, it will not be recognized. These laws are set in place to demonstrate a separation of the Church and State as well as to avoid conflicts within Israel.
The Indian wedding presentation was also interesting to me because it was eye-opening. I learned about just how expensive Indian weddings were. Indian holds the greatest amount of billionaires in the world and their weddings often reach price ranges in the millions. The size of dowries are also a controversial topic. I learned about deaths of wives over dowries; if the husband is not satisfied with the size of the dowry that his wife's family offers, he will sometimes kill his wife, claim the dowry, and find a wealthier family to marry. Even though there is about 100,000 of these occurrences per year, it is also important to consider the population size of India. The numbers are not to be ignored, but it is also a small number ratio when compared to the Indian population.
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