In the United States, we are deep into discussions of singlehood--the deliberate (or maybe not so deliberate) choice by a growing number of women to remain unmarried. In other countries such as Yemen, women are fighting for the right to not be married off when they are still children.

These two issues struck me as yet another " two sides of the same coin" topic--how our views of marriage are shifting and changing around the world as women continue to expand on their economic freedom. I'd like to hear from you about your view of marriage and the social norms that still drive women toward marriage--even as a growing number of women in the U.S. and around the world choose singlehood. Does the rise of singlehood change the way corporations, governments, society think about single women? What will be the impact of raising the marriage age in countries like Yemen--will it result in more women being educated?

Here's a look at two stories--one from the U.S. and one from Yemen--that started me thinking:

Check out this intro to an article in More by Susan Dominus titled: "Living La Vida Solo."

The photo is an empty horizon with a lonely road fading into the distance: The words also set the tone for the article: "They didn't set out to be single, and they're still open to meeting a soul mate. They've never been married, but none fit the usual caricatures of the frustrated spinster or the wacky Auntie Mame. Meet the new generation of women who are on their own and loving their happily never after."

What intrigues me about this article is that on the one hand it celebrates women's choice and control over their lives. And yet, it reminds us of how the world views single women. And it finds the need to defend the choice of remaining single by telling us that these women really are normal: they haven't given up on the idea of a soul mate.

The article does offer a number of intriguing statistics that could have an effect on socio-economic trends in the future. For instance, 27 million women over 45 are single; and the percentage of these women who have never been married is increasing. Dominus notes that the U.S. Census update "found that 11 percent of women between the ages of 45 and 54 have never been married, a two percent rise since 2005."

Read the article and let me know what you think. I'll be digging into the article in future posts.

In Yemen, the women protesters are defending their right to marry at an appropriate age. Take a look at this story in the The New York Times about young girls--some just 10 years old--who are demanding divorces from husbands 20 years their senior. There are women, however, who are on the other side of the debate, protesting against proposed changes by the Yemeni legislature.

This is a true story of economics, social and religious norms, and power. Poverty forces many families to marry their daughters off at very young ages. They argue that if they didn't they would be abducted and forced into marriage anyway. But a study conducted by Sana University shapes the message differently. The university, as reported by the Times, found that is also a belief that a very young bride can be shaped into a dutiful wife. Here is more information from the UNHCR. And here is another link to coverage of this issue.