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Society
Africa: Buy a Girl for 3 Cows
by Caroline Somanje
November 6, 2005
The
13-year-old struggles to free herself from the grip of her parents and a
few other relatives. They are too strong, however, and soon she is
pinned to the ground. They watch as an elderly businessman subdues and
rapes her. Her parents have threatened to kill her if she dares return
home. Confused and helpless, she watches her relations bid farewell to
the smiling businessman. He has just sealed a deal making the child his
wife. Some people would call it rape sanctioned by parents - a lifetime
of it.
It turns out
that the 'marriage' had been arranged as payment for the 4,000
kwacha (US$1=121.9 kwacha) that her parents owed the man. The two
parties
had agreed that the old man should have sex with their daughter and even
marry her if he so wished. The schoolgirl had escaped the old man
earlier
and fled back home, where she begged her parents to let her continue
going
to school. She was forcibly returned to the man's home, and this time
her
parents made sure that she would stay.
The custom of exchanging daughters in lieu of outstanding debts is as
old
as time among the communities living in Iponga, Songwe and Ngana in
northern Malawi, though it is practiced to a lesser extent throughout
the
country. Known locally as 'kupimbira', the practice has seen girls aged
between three and 16 being sold off to men as old as 60 in exchange for
cattle or as repayment of debts.
Once the transaction has been done, the girl involved moves from her
parents' home to that of her 'buyer'. If she is too young, her new
'owner'
might wait for her to mature before she assumes her 'marital
obligations'.
Kupimbira was initially meant to enhance friendship between families,
who
would arrange for their children to marry. It also applied where a young
man eloped with someone's daughter. The man's parents would offer
payment
to the wronged family because communities here believed that it was
taboo
to return home once a girl had entered a man's house. Other families
offered their daughters to witchdoctors in lieu of payment for
treatment.
Whatever the case, the girl's feelings and human rights simply did not
count.
The first to raise concern about this custom was the women's guild at a
meeting of the Livingstonia Synod's Church and Society Programme in
2002.
Jacobs Nkhambule, the deputy programme director, said local residents
had
been reluctant to speak about kumpibira. Their unwillingness to open up
was
probably triggered by a government ban last year, leading to fears that
they could be arrested if they admitted knowing anything of the
practice.
Nkhambule cited the case of Rahab Msukwa, 17, whose father arranged a
marriage with Willy Kalambo, 69, after he failed to pay for a few head
of
cattle. In another instance, a man from Iponga in northern Malawi had
collected up to 14 girls through kupimbira. A report of the Church and
Society Programme says such violations continue to take place because
the
people here are ignorant of human rights. "If people, especially
parents,
became aware of human rights, they would be able to appreciate the
rights
of others, including those of girls. This would help reduce the
prevalence
of kupimbira," says the report.
Not leaving anything to chance, the church has mounted a campaign to
sensitize villagers on the need to end the practice. Posters used in the
campaign bear messages such as: "Girls are crying. Forcing us into early
or
arranged marriages is a violation of our rights. We need a good future."
The Malawi Human Rights Commission says kupimbira has resurfaced among
the Nyakyusa and Ngonde peoples in the remote northern area bordering Tanzania and Mozambique, possibly due to the devastating famine that
ravaged the region. Girls attempting to resist these forced marriages
are threatened with death or a curse known locally as chighume. "Such
serious violations of human rights increase the chances of contracting
HIV/AIDS and traumatize the girls," says a 2003 report of the
commission.
Malawi's constitution outlaws forced marriages and discourages the
marriage
of children under 15. But there is little evidence of prosecutions
arising
from kupimbira. Baxton Mpando, a deputy secretary in the ministry of
education, says his ministry has received no complaints about children
being withdrawn from school because of the custom. "In any case, even if
we
received such complaints, there is nothing we can do about it," says
Mpando. "Our role is limited to providing and facilitating education. We
cannot go around punishing those who do not attend classes."
Elder Patson Kalinga from Karonga denies, however, that kupimbira is
still
in practice. He argues that it is increasingly difficult to convince
women
and girls to accept arranged marriages; many would rather go into
prostitution to flee that kind of bondage than stay at home. He says
nothing of the fate of those barely into their puberty. They might as
well
be classified as lost children who have fallen between the cracks of a
social system that has no consideration for the reproductive health or
education of girls on the verge of adulthood.
By arrangement with
Women's Feature Service
Top
| Society
The Week of November 6, 2005
Clearance Sale: Politicians Going Cheap! by Rajinder Puri
Indian Governments Soft-Kneed Counter-Terrorism Approaches by Dr. Subhash
Kapila
Varga Chakras (Kundalis) in Jyotish Classics?
by Rohiniranjan
Chanchala Lakshmi: The Restless One! by Aparna
Chatterjee
The Map is NOT the Territory by Vikram
Karve
Greed Makes for Strange Trading Bedfellows
by Michael Levy
How much should we correct children’s poor
behavior? by Michael Grose
Africa: Buy a Girl for 3 Cows by Caroline
Somanje
Canada: Leaving Out the Shariah by Naunidhi
Kaur
Living in the Shadow of Violence by Linda
Chhakchhuak
'Food Passports" for Migrants by Aparna Pallavi
The Seeds of Change by Ruchika Negi
Master Mahashai by Kumud Biswas
Vande Mataram! by Anamika Banerjee
Oriya Press: Then and Now by Alipta Jena
Universal Phonetic Roman Script by Swachid
K. Rangan
Therapeutic uses of Honey in Ayurveda by Dr.
Krishna R.S.
In Our Own Hands
by Stephanie Hiller
Trouble with Purity Pill by Aparna Pallavi
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