Passage 2

In most of Asia，marriage is widespread and illegitimacy (未婚生育)almost unknown. In contrast, half of marriages in some Western countries end in divorce, and half of all children are born outside marriage.Yet marriage is changing fast in Asia. What’s happening there is a flight from marriage. More and more Asians choose to remain unmarried because they are unwilling to get hitched. In fact, a lot of them are not marrying at all. So far, the trend has not affected Asia’s two giants, China and India. But it is likely to, as the economic factors that have driven it elsewhere in Asia sweep through those two countries as well.Women are retreating from marriage as they go into the workplace. That’s partly because, for a woman, being both employed and married is tough in Asia.Women there are the primary caregivers for husbands, children and, often, for ageing parents; and even when in full-time employment, they are expected to continue to play this role. This is true elsewhere in the world, but the burden that Asian women carry is particularly heavy. Japanese women, who typically work 40 hours a week in the office, then do, on average, another 30 hours of housework.Their husbands, on average, do three hours. Not surprisingly, Asian women have anunusually pessimistic view of marriage.At the same time as employment makes marriage tougher for women, it offers them an alternative. More women are financially independent, so more of them can pursue a single life that may appeal more than the drudgery of a traditional marriage. More education has also contributed to the decline of marriage, because Asian women with the most education have always been the most reluctant to wed.The flight from marriage in Asia is thus the result of the greater freedom that women enjoy these days, which is to be celebrated. But it is also creating social problems. Compared with the West, Asian countries have invested less in pensions and other forms of social protection, on the assumption that the family will look after ageing or ill relatives. That can no longer be taken for granted. The decline of marriage is also contributing to the collapse in the birth rate. That is beginning to cause huge demographic problems，as populations age with startling speed. And there are other less obvious issues. Less marriage might mean more crime.Can marriage be revived in Asia? Maybe, if expectations of those roles of both sexes change, but shifting traditional attitudes is hard. Governments cannot legislate away popular prejudices. They can, though, encourage change. Relaxing divorce laws might, paradoxically, boost marriage. Women who now steer clear of marriage might be more willing to tie the knot if they know it can be untied—not just because they can get out of the marriage if it doesn’t work, but also because their freedom to leave might keep their husbands on their toes. Family law shouldgive divorced women a more generous share of the coupled assets. Governments should also legislate to get employers to offer both maternal and paternal leave,and provide or subsidize child care. If taking on such expenses helped promote family life, it might reduce the burden on the state of looking after the old.Asian govemments have long taken the view that the superiority of their family life was one of their big advantages over the West. That confidence is no longer warranted. They need to wake up to the huge social changes happening in their countries and think about how to cope with the consequences.

What is the writer’s prediction about marriage in China and India?