Identités plurielles des hommes mossi (Burkina Faso) : entre autonomie et précarité

Abstract

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«No money, no honey»? Poverty and young men’s unmarried relationships in urban Burkina Faso

“…Although the impact of young men's characteristics on their transition to marriage in Africa has attracted little attention compared to women's, a growing number of studies have recently shown the determining effect of economic activity on union formation among younger cohorts of city dwellers, and illustrated the marginalization of unemployed men on the marriage market (Antoine, 2006;Bocquier, Khasakhala, 2009;Calvès, 2007;Pike, 2016). The rising cost of bridewealth and of wedding expenditures, and the fact that these costs are increas-ingly borne by the groom alone in several African countries including Burkina Faso, are believed to explain this critical role played by male employment in the contemporary delayed transition to first union (Mokomane, 2005;Attané, 2002;Masquelier, 2005).…”

“…With a growing number of young city-dwellers forced to live with their parents longer and to remain single because they feel they cannot afford to do otherwise, observers throughout Africa report high levels of bitterness and frustration among male youths who feel «stuck» in poverty and are unable to take the expected social steps toward adulthood of marriage and residential independence (Sommers, 2012;Mains, 2012;Attané, 2002;Mazzocchetti, 2010). In a context where becoming a household head who provides for his family remains a keystone of masculinity construction, failure to do is perceived as a form of «male disempowerment» (Silberschmidt, 2001) or of «failed masculinity» (Sommers, 2012).…”

Generational control over young urban couples in West Africa : Involvement of elders in union formation and infant care in Ouagadougou

“…Not surprisingly, Meekers' study (1995) showed that partner selection was more likely to be controlled by parents when marriage took place at early ages. As for birth order, anthropological evidence from urban Burkina Faso (Attané, 2002) suggests substantial differences in the ability of young city dwellers to freely choose their partners, depending on their rank among siblings. Although arranged marriages used to be more common among the eldest sons, Attané's study suggests that today, contrarily, first-borns are granted more freedom in their choice of future spouses compared to their younger siblings.…”