Bride-price and domestic violence: Empirical perspectives from Nandom district in the north western region of Ghana (original) (raw)
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Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2020
Although insights on bride price and domestic violence have been explored in Ghana, very little is known about payment of bride price and the justification of sexual violence. We investigated the payment of bride price and justification of sexual violence among women ( N = 4,222) in Ghana, dwelling on the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey. Two binary logistic regression models were fitted. We adjusted for significant sociodemographic variables. The findings revealed that women whose partners had paid their bride price had higher odds [ OR = 1.54; CI = 1.174, 2.00] of justifying sexual violence, compared to those whose partners had not paid. We found that women with primary [AOR = 0.55; CI = 0.44–0.71] and secondary/higher [AOR = 0.47; CI = 0.36–0.60] levels of education had lower odds of accepting sexual violence. Women in the rich wealth quintile [AOR = 0.32; CI = 0.22, 0.46] had lower odds of justifying sexual violence. Our study has illustrated the need for women to apprec...
Implications of bride price on domestic violence and reproductive health in Wakiso District, Uganda
African health sciences, 2005
Bride price payment is a gender issue with implications on gender relations in different socio-cultural contexts. It also impacts Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. In a qualitative study on the perceptions of domestic violence in Wakiso district, payment of bride price emerged as one of the key factors associated with domestic violence. The study explored experiences, motivations, meanings, consequences and reproductive health implications of bride price payment in Wakiso district Uganda. 10 single-sex focus group discussions and 14 in-depth interviews were conducted in Wakiso and Nangabo sub-counties, Wakiso district from July 2003 through March 2004. Data was analyzed by thematic content analysis, assisted by Easy Text software for data retrieval. Participants perceived bride price as indicating that a woman was 'bought' into the man's household, which reduced her household decision-making roles. It limited women's independence and perpetuated unequal gend...
Bride Price and the State of Marriage in North-West Ghana
This paper sought to examine the role of bride price on the state of marriage among the Dagara of NorthWest Ghana. In the face of increasing scarcity of the items used in marriage in the study area, getting bride price has become a daunting task for many young men preparing to marry or already in marriage with consequences on the legitimacy and stability of families. Through purposive sampling, 5 FGDs and 9 personal interviews were conducted to obtain experiential information on bride price and state of marriage. The study revealed that the role of families, payback norms and incorporation (as part of bride price payment) are clear structures that have positive consequences for the stability of marriage; weakening potentially destabilising factors such as spousal abuse and the extramarital sexual activities of men. Interestingly, the type and amount of items used for bride price have so much social and cultural significance that formal education and modernity has so far failed to completely change this practice among the people. The preceding allows us to conclude that the Dagara of Buo community are an epainogamous people, with societally supported marital norms and systems leading to marital stability. We recognise however that stability and longevity of marriage does not necessarily mean that spouses are 'happy and content' with their marriage. This is a relevant question that our current study did not explore. Thus, we recommend that a future quantitative study examine the relationship between marital stability and spousal 'happiness and contentment.'
Genderized Implications of Bride Pricing Culture in Igbo Land
Lingual: Journal of Language and Culture, 2021
The study aims at ascertaining the actual implication of bride pricing system in traditional marriages in Igbo land. A total of fifty respondents (thirty women and twenty men) from the five states that make up the southeast zone in Nigeria were selected for the study. Being a qualitative research, the study adopted the ethnographic research design and employed a purposive non-probability sampling method in selecting the respondents. The study made use of focused group discussions, unstructured interview and participants’ observation method as instruments of data collection. The collection of data lasted for a period of six months from June 2020 to November 2020. The research is anchored on Radical and Snail sense Feminism theories and data for the study were analysed using descriptive thematic method. Findings from the study reveal that payment of bride price does not reduce women to mere commodities in Igbo land. It also reveals that it gives undue privileges to men in Igbo land am...
AFRICA DEVELOPMENT AND RESOURCES RESEARCH INSTITUTE (ADRRI) JOURNAL, 2020
While scholarly literature exists on bride price payment as a cultural practice and women access and ownership to agricultural land, there is limited research on the relationship between bride price payment and women's access to, and ownership of land in Ghana. This paper examines the relationship between bride price payment and women's access to, and ownership of land among the Dagara, Waala and Brifor people in the Wa West District, Ghana. Using a qualitative approach, 21 In-depth Interviews and 10 Focus Group Discussions were held with men and women, Chiefs, Clan heads and Tendana or Tengansob to ascertain their perspectives on the socioeconomic benefits of bride price payment and how it affects women's access to, and ownership of land. Through thematic analysis, the study finds that, bride price payment has both social and economic benefits, and that women's access to, and ownership of land is hinged on their marital status and relationships with other male family members. The study further reveals that, land ownership was by the patrilineal system of inheritance along male members. The paper recommends the need for the Custodians of the customs to develop local legislation, and undertake some cultural reorganization where possible to allow women more access to, and ownership of land