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Does bride price harm women? Using ethnography to think about causality

“…Marriage is therefore not just about the relationship between husband and wife, but about the interests of a wider network of kin on both sides. Women are expected to employ their reproductive capacities to support marriage, kinship,and social reproduction within this system; relationships that could undermine social reproduction are stigmatised (Salomon, 2000; Wardlow, 2002, 2006a, b). Bride price may therefore restrict women's autonomy before marriage, encouraging a girl's relatives to monitor her premarital conduct and to exercise pressure on partner choice.…”

“…First, bride price establishes a husband's rights over his wife's labour, sexuality and fertility, and, in patrilineal societies, incorporates her and her children into his kin group; this entails that the woman lives and cooperates with his family while the children are members of his lineage (Strathern & Strathern, 1969; Feil, 1981; Strathern, 1984; Pflanz-Cook, 1993; Goddard, 2010; Servy, 2020). Paying bride price is therefore sometimes interpreted as conveying ownership of a wife's productive and reproductive capacities, and the husband's kin may expect to exert power in the relationship once they have ‘paid’, especially if the bride price was high (Wilson, 1987; Rosi & Zimmer-Tamakoshi, 1993; Salomon, 2000; Macintyre, 2011; Lepani, 2016). The wife is expected to remain faithful, bear children, grow crops and cultivate ties between the two families; as a result, her husband and in-laws may make demands and feel entitled to control, disrespect and abuse her, a concern shared by local scholars and residents (Filer, 1985; Wilson, 1987; Burt, 1988; Salomon, 2000; Macintyre, 2011; Gibbs, 2016; Biersack, 2016; Lepani, 2016; Jourdan & Labbé, 2020; Buchanan-Aruwafu et al, 2003; Buchanan-Aruwafu & Maebiru, 2008; Servy, 2020).…”

“…Paying bride price is therefore sometimes interpreted as conveying ownership of a wife's productive and reproductive capacities, and the husband's kin may expect to exert power in the relationship once they have ‘paid’, especially if the bride price was high (Wilson, 1987; Rosi & Zimmer-Tamakoshi, 1993; Salomon, 2000; Macintyre, 2011; Lepani, 2016). The wife is expected to remain faithful, bear children, grow crops and cultivate ties between the two families; as a result, her husband and in-laws may make demands and feel entitled to control, disrespect and abuse her, a concern shared by local scholars and residents (Filer, 1985; Wilson, 1987; Burt, 1988; Salomon, 2000; Macintyre, 2011; Gibbs, 2016; Biersack, 2016; Lepani, 2016; Jourdan & Labbé, 2020; Buchanan-Aruwafu et al, 2003; Buchanan-Aruwafu & Maebiru, 2008; Servy, 2020). For example, Manga men in Papua New Guinea could inflict violence on adulterous wives once they had paid bride price, at least in the past (Pflanz-Cook, 1993).…”

“…The woman's situation is particularly problematic when the bride price was high or she has not met expectations (Wilson, 1987; Rosi & Zimmer-Tamakoshi, 1993; Zimmer-Tamakoshi, 1993; Henry & Vávrová, 2020). Moreover, since bride price establishes ties between families that benefit the bride's relatives, they are reluctant to rupture these with divorce (Wilson, 1987; Salomon, 2000; Henry & Vávrová, 2020). Some ethnographers caution that bride price does not cause this directly but concede that it strengthens ties in ways that can trap women in troubled marriages (Henry & Vávrová, 2020), so there may be an important indirect relationship.…”

“…They are thereby thought to shame their relatives, disrupt social reproduction, abandon their kin obligations, and ‘eat their own bride price’ (using money they receive from boyfriends to buy commodities for themselves instead of bringing in bride price for their families) (Wardlow, 2002, 2006b). In many settings, women with a ‘licentious’ reputation lose the respect and protection of their kin and receive no support if they are victimised, which they are at high risk of (Wardlow, 2002, 2006b; Salomon, 2000; Salomon & Hamelin, 2008; Lepani, 2008; Kelly-Hanku et al, 2016). Moreover, ‘illegitimate’ children are sometimes left without a legal father or patriclan affiliation (Strathern & Strathern, 1969).…”