Family, marriage and divorce in a Hausa community: a sociological model

Abstract

The aim of this article is to show how a ‘traditional’ society may produce a household system in which the structural tensions are no less intense than in the Western world. Muslim Hausa society (in northern Nigeria) has one of the highest rates of divorce (and remarriage) in the world. An explanation is sought here in terms of the economic and organisational requirements of a subsistence farming system that is always potentially short of labour. Divorce is a solution to otherwise unacceptable pressures, particularly on young women, in a society that requires them to be subordinate and marginal within the extended family. The data presented here were collected between 1979 and 1989 in the Niger valley of Sokoto State in northern Nigeria.

The Lion’s Share: An Experimental Analysis of Polygamy in Northern Nigeria

“…Alternatively, allocation in the household may be rule based, either because of social norms or because simple rules can reduce the transaction costs of repeated negotiation over resources. Solivetti, 1994, attests that local interpretation of Koranic law in northern Nigeria favours equal treatment of wives while Ware, 1979 reporting on polygyny elsewhere in Nigeria finds a perceived norm of preferential treatment for senior wives in the opinions of her married subjects.…”

“…Divorce is relatively common and frequently initiated by women (in 86% of cases according to Solivetti, 1994). Jackson, 1993, reports a lifetime average of 2.3 marriages per woman amongst Hausa, while Calloway concludes that around 50% of women will at some stage in their lives go through the process of divorce, emphasizing that remarriage is the overwhelming norm for pre-menopausal women and occurs rapidly because most women who would otherwise face social isolation.…”

Use of Aphrodisiacs amongst women in Kano, northern Nigeria

“…Such women usually find it difficult to approach senior women when faced with sexual problems. The culture of male dominance in all domestic matters in such societies makes women with sexual problems afraid of voicing out such problems for fear of husband`s rejection and divorce 10 . They usually resort to seeking help from their peers or to self-medication sometimes with serious consequences.…”

Changing Patterns of Marriage Courtship among the Hausas: The Case of Emerging Role of Marriage Brokerage in Contemporary Kano Metropolis

“…In other words, there is a gap between the ideal and the obtained, subsequently leading to the emergence of new patterns of courtship, marriage, residential arrangements, and the totality of relationships. Solivetti (1994) attributes the changes in Nigerian family system, especially the Hausas' to the shift from the traditional agricultural, collectively pursuit economy to an alien, individualistic, incompatible "industrialized" economy. This shift, the author argues, has affected the efficacy and 3…”