Bride price payment, is a widespread practice in many African societies. In traditional African societies bride-wealth had some positive aspects but mostly negative consequences, for it stands at the foundation of patriarchy. In traditional African societies, bride-price was related to goods and services that a bridegroom and his kinsmen transferred to the family of the bride.1 Traditionally, this transfer involved the delivery of livestock by a suitor to the father or family of his prospective bride.

The negative consequence of bride-price is clearly seen in the debate on terminology. The term “bride-price” has the connotation of a purchase or financial transaction. Though it is always claimed that what we actually have is bride-price, in present day society it is more like a financial transaction. Bride-price has been highly commercialized, leading to many negative consequences such as women treated as property, the idea of daughters as investment, come-we-stay marriages, forced marriages, enslavement, family conflict, inferiority and dehumanization, and gender-based violence.
Each of these several categories will be described briefly below.



Women as Property

Commercialization of bride-price started with the introduction of the cash economy. Bride-price is paid to individuals in cash, as opposed to livestock. Cash is a symbol of sale, so women are seen as articles of sale. This leads women to be seen as property and chattel. Parents put a price on their daughters; in many communities the standard payment apart from cash is a grade cow, water tanks, or other unofficial payments. The payment becomes even higher if the bride is educated. When women are treated as property, they have no dignity. Such treatment as property is clearly seen in the way the transaction meeting is held, with haggling and bargaining, but without the input of the women.




Daughters as Investment

Parents see their daughters as a means of getting rich. Africans view their daughters as an investment whose dividends can be gleaned periodically. A daughter is like a bank account, and it seems only right to many that her father should be able to draw from her from time to time.


Enslavement of Women
In Africa, bride-price has always been paid in exchange for a woman’s productive and reproductive labor. The woman is seen as a source of labor for the family and also a machine for giving birth. As a result, if the woman does not give birth, the man can demand his bride-price to be repaid or mistreat her. By paying bride-wealth, men have legal rights over the ownership of children.




Family Conflict
Most heavy bride price marriages are founded on bitterness and suspicion, which leads to conflict. This is mainly due to the unreasonable demands of parents before the marriage. These demands lead to loss of respect and, in some instances, the couple pays the money requested and then breaks any relationship with the bride’s family.


Inferiority and Dehumanization
Since men pay bride-price , there is a notion that the girl has been bought. This gives women an inferior position; they cannot be equal with the buyer. This is dehumanizing because whatever little the men pay is not equal to the value of a human being. The whole of the man’s family has a notion that they are participants in the purchase. The man’s sisters have a notion that the bride-wealth was used to purchase the brother’s wife, hence they have a stake in controlling her. She is not even consulted on issues which affect her directly. She has low self-esteem, and even the language used of her is demeaning.


Gender-Based Violence
As objects and possessions, women are abused both physically and psychologically. The language used by most men is that they are disciplining their wives. Wife beating or battering is rampant, and most people accept this as normal. Even professional women are beaten by their spouses. Bride-wealth is also seen as paying for the productive and reproductive labor of women. This implies that, when the woman becomes married, she has to add several hours of work to her day, hence as p’Bitek says in his epic poem, Song of Lawino, an African woman becomes a beast of burden. Secondly, through bride-price a man is seen as having paid for the reproductive labor, hence her sexuality itself is bought. In many instances a woman is viewed as a sex object. First, a woman’s major role is to give birth to and take care of babies, especially boys. The man controls her sexuality and demands sexual satisfaction, whatever the situation. A woman does not have control over her sexuality. As an example, people claim that there is no such thing as rape in marriage.


https://www.cbeinternational.org/resources/article/priscilla-papers/negative-consequences-dowry-payment-women-and-society



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Daughters as Investment

Parents see their daughters as a means of getting rich. Africans view their daughters as an investment whose dividends can be gleaned periodically. A daughter is like a bank account, and it seems only right to many that her father should be able to draw from her from time to time.

It is wrong to say "Africans view their daughters as an investment..." since only certain tribes in Africa see their daughters as investments.

GrammarNazi1:
Daughters as Investment

Parents see their daughters as a means of getting rich. Africans view their daughters as an investment whose dividends can be gleaned periodically. A daughter is like a bank account, and it seems only right to many that her father should be able to draw from her from time to time.

It is wrong to say "Africans view their daughters as an investment..." since only certain tribes in Africa see their daughters as investments.

Name those tribes .

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Elder0001:


Name those tribes .

Do you want members of those tribes to skin me alive? Remember that too many members of Nairaland can't argue without name-calling.

Elder0001:


Name those tribes .

Need we?

They know themselves, and specialize in lying to themselves about this topic instead of owning up to their money-grubbling ways.

Nice thread. One thing we should understand is that we have different traditions and culture, and the earlier we start respecting people's culture the better for us.

Bride price or not, it won't stop a cheater, woman-beater, irresponsible man from being a bad husband. It won't still stop a respondsible man from being a good husband. We should get that.

Just like most South Eastern States in Nigeria. You pay bride price to marry from there, it's their culture and tradition, they don't force people to marry from their place, they won't force you to pay, you do that willingly because of the respect you have for your wife and their culture. That's what it means to respect people's way of life.

Even a certain tribe in Nigeria can kill just to have a South Southern and Eastern woman in their family, they will leave their place where you can marry with just RED OIL and PEPPER, they'll leave their free women, travel down to South East to marry by paying for bride price with their life savings because they can't resist UKWU NWATA NWANYI IGBO . That's what it means to go for the best women.

Let's please respect people's culture and tradition because no matter how we rant on social media, it won't still change the reality about tradition.


Peace.

CERTAIN Tribes. They Can Give You 80 Leaves Notebook For One Expired Farm Tool

needless thread

bride price is a biblical injunction, the only thing is that it should be made to cost next to nothing, so it doesn't look like the girl is being sold.

100 naira is not bad

divinelove:
needless thread

bride price is a biblical injunction, the only thing is that it should be made to cost next to nothing, so it doesn't look like the girl is being sold.

100 naira is not bad

There's nothing biblical about bride price

GrammarNazi1:

Do you want members of those tribes to skin me alive? Remember that too many members of Nairaland can't argue without name-calling.

They can't roast you alive.

It is a known fact that the igbos aren't the only tribe that sell their daughters like properties in the name of bride price.

All African countries have tribes that participate in this degradation of women.

Be it North Africa ,eastern or central Africa.

IamD18:
Nice thread. One thing we should understand is that we have different traditions and culture, and the earlier we start respecting people's culture the better for us.

Bride price or not, it won't stop a cheater, woman-beater, irresponsible man from being a bad husband. It won't still stop a respondsible man from being a good husband. We should get that.

Just like most South Eastern States in Nigeria. You pay bride price to marry from their, it's their culture and tradition, they don't force people to marry from their place, they won't force you to pay, you do that willingly because of the respect you have for your wife and their culture. That's what it means to respect people's way of life.

Even a certain tribe in Nigeria can kill just to have a South Southern and Eastern woman in their family, they will leave their place where you can marry with just RED OIL and PEPPER, they'll leave their free women, travel down to South East to marry by paying for bride price because they can resist their women. That's what it means to go for the best women.

Let's please respect people's culture and tradition because no matter how we rant in social media, it won't still change the reality about tradition.


Peace.

I know you're referring to the yorubas but I won't say anything on that.

The fact that you just said "free" is enough evidence that the igbos are indeed selling their daughters.


Igbo wasn't mentioned in the article but igbos are already pained because they partake in this inhumane and archaic dehumanization of women.

2buffagain:


Need we?

They know themselves, and specialize in lying to themselves about this topic instead of owning up to their money-grubbling ways.

Name those tribes.

The yoloba ladies can sleep with anything

Elder0001:


They can't roast you alive.

It is a known fact that the igbos aren't the only tribe that sell their daughters like properties in the name of bride price.

All African countries have tribes that participate in this degradation of women.

Be it North Africa ,eastern or central Africa.

I never said only the Igbos do this. In fact, I never mentioned the Igbos. Once again, it is wrong to say Africans see their daughters as investments since only certain tribes see their daughters as investments.

Elder0001:



There's nothing biblical about bride price

Go for some Bible study so u can be taught and stop displaying your ignorance in a public forum

...

List The Advantages As Well

GrammarNazi1:

I never said only the Igbos do this. In fact, I never mentioned the Igbos. Once again, it is wrong to say Africans see their daughters as investments since only certain tribes see their daughters as investments.

That is why I said you should name those tribes

In every single African country ,there are tribes that practice this systematic degradation of women.

divinelove:


Go for some Bible study so u can be taught and stop displaying your ignorance in a public forum

A sane fellow like me have no delight in studying a fake book written by sexist and misogynistic men to glorify the male gender.

Elder0001:


That is why I said you should name those tribes

In every single African country ,there are tribes that practice this systematic degradation of women.

I agree that it is observed by tribes in different African countries.

IamPlato:
...


List The Advantages As Well

You may have to create a thread detailing the advantages. But for now, this thread conveys the drawbacks of this issue.

Elder0001:


A sane fellow like me have no delight in studying a fake book written by sexist and misogynistic men to glorify the male gender.

Jesus

we are talking about the holy bible, the word of God which is an eternal truth

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The advantage is it keeps women in check. Without it, women will be at the extreme of sexual looseness, infidelity, insensitivity and mannerlessness. Laws have to be made and abided by to keep a woman in good value. Its just the extended family capitalizing on it beyond its normal level that is d problem.

Bride price is crap. Scrap it.

We can have many beautiful traditional marriage ceremonies without paying money for the woman

Sounds like something a medieval control freak would say.

How do you keep men in check to prevent them being sexually loose and bla bla bla? Mtchew

Oluromantic:
The advantage is it keeps women in check. Without it, women will be at the extreme of sexual looseness, infidelity, insensitivity and mannerlessness. Laws have to be made and abided by to keep a woman in good value. Its just the extended family capitalizing on it beyond its normal level that is d problem.

I totally agree, this is my stand on bride price too.

Women will complain about being second class in homes but will not want to get rid of bride price that ensures they remain enslaved

Seahawk:
Sounds like something a medieval control freak would say.

How do you keep men in check to prevent them being sexually loose and bla bla bla? Mtchew

That's not even it.
Women whowill be sexually loose will be so with or without bride price.

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.