User:Teresia2011/Marriage practices

Marriage practices

In many cultures the premium placed on having children often leads to childhood marriage and early childbearing. Girls as young as age 10 are given to older men marriage in order to cement friendships and economic ties between families. When girls are married to older men, they can be vulnerable to HIV infection because their husbands usually have already had a number of sexual partners. Social, political, and religious barries often hide young wives from the world, while their husbands frequently have other sexual partners.

Polygamy is still practiced in many countries in Africa. In African, when the husband seeks a new, often younger, wife, he may have sexual contact with a number of women and thus bring HIV home. In some cultures wife inheritance is practiced-a tradition in which a wife is given to her brother-in-law upon her husband's death. Thus either partner can be at risk of HIV infection if the other is infected. Younger widows are at particular risk because they are more likely to seek and be sought by other sex partners.

In some cultures people get married to their own cousin's, this is within Namibia's hereo people the believe in it. Apparently, not much significance is attached to marriage in the Herero group. No personal relationship exists between a man and his wife. They each keep their own wealth and property. Each man has several wives, although a married woman is not allowed to have additional husbands. Despite the legalities, many women do have relationships with other men. .

In some societies payment of 'bride price' is required by the man to the father of the woman he wants to marry. Once the bride price is paid the woman cannot leave her husband, should marital problems ensue. Unless the bride price is returned. Even if her husband's behavior places her at risk of infection of HIV infection, the woman may may not be able to protect herself-she is literally 'owned' by the husband.

Critics Against such weddings

Most African man have a believe that just because the got married to the woman they now own her as if woman are an object inorder to be owned. However when it comes to the human ownership i should say the couples both own each other because they are married to one another but, this does not justify bossing one another thinking one has authority over the other. Humans are not owned, they are not pieces of objects.

Points For such weddings

Most men will say they should boss their wife around as they are the head of the house. The reason for a man to get married is apperently because he can not cope taking care of himself. So the wife has to wake up before they all get up, she has to confirm that the tap water is hot enough for his bath (the husband), his shoes are well polished, and he did not leave his wallet on the coffee table after his last night’s drinking spree from which he only came home some minutes to five o’clock this morning.

Judging by my research African men "Black" are mostly the ones with multiple wife's but I am yet to see a white man with two wives or more. And most white men help the wife out with house chores when they have time, which is so scarce among black men.