Bride Purchase
Institution of Marriage
Bride Purchase
Bride Purchase
Bride Purchase
As we have seen, Nigerian society is entrenched within the value system of patriarchy. A cultural practice central to patriarchy is the purchase of women by a man who has the intention of marrying her. The custom involves a “bride price” interpreted as a purchase price that grants the husband the right to do as he pleases with his wife (Eze-Anaba). The idea that a man can not only buy his wife (or women in general), but also possess complete control over them contributes to the acceptance of violence and abuse. The idea that the husband is the head of the house and who has supreme power over his wife diminishes her moral worth and existence (Makama).
Bride purchase not only oppresses women in an unjust way but is symptomatic of the much larger and more pervasive practices of violence against women (Makama).
The idea of men being worthy of more than women leads to counterproductivity of what is best for the social good. If men are in charge of the family and the state, then they assume rights that deny their wives of any. They assume control of the well-being of the family that easily leads to domestic violence and affects not only the life of the mother but also the lives of the children (Makama). Such absolute authority also steals freedom and liberty from the family as an institution.
“Patriarchy structure has been a major feature of the traditional society. It is a structure of a set of social relations with material base which enables men to dominate women” (Asiyanbola).