#BREAKINGTHEBIAS: Cultural Practices That Harm Women

It is women’s month of celebration and also a time to bring awareness to some practices that are detrimental to the physical and psychological welfare of women globally.

In the spirit of #BreakingTheBias, here are some harmful cultural practices that women face in some parts of the world.

FGM

Despite the reality that we are in the 21st century but UNICEF has drawn attention to female genital mutilation (FGM) or female circumcision that still plagues most African societies. In Nigeria, it is estimated that over 20 million of the female gender in Nigeria have passed through this process, with Nigeria ranking third on the highest occurring list. UNICEF’s representative to Nigeria, Peter Hawkins estimates that 19.9 million women and girls have survived FMG and that 86 percent of females were cut before the age of five. 

Considered a rite of passage in Kenya, the risk of objecting to circumcision in Kenya implies that such defiant girls were not fit for marriage and face the consequences.

Breast ironing 

Breast ironing, otherwise known as breast flattening, is a popular cultural practice that cuts across all ethnic groups in Cameroon, Africa, including Douala, one of the most populous and largest cities in the country. Girls who turn 9 or have developed breasts are believed to be ripe for sex. As such, mothers pound the breast with hot objects such as a stone, hammer, an umbilical belt or a pestle to prevent it from developing. They also believe that it stops breast cancer. 

Money wives

In Becheve tribe, in Obanliku LGA, Cross River, parents believe that girls will be used to settle off debts. Some of these girls as young as six are used to play bets, settle hospital bills while others are given off for as little as N3500. Here, a 10-year-old girl is considered ripe for marriage and is taught to cook and clean.

Parents who owe debts sometimes give their daughters to the lender until the debt is completed. During that period, he can do to her as he pleases, including getting her to give birth to his children. It is only on the condition that the parents can pay the incurring interests on the girl that she is returned. When she is sold, her father does not share the proceeds he gets from the transaction.

In Thailand, the case is slightly different. The women of Padaung have to stretch their necks and shackle their legs with gold coils before being given off as a toot of settlement.

Gypsy Bride Market

In other parts of the world, like Bulgaria, particularly in the village of Stara Zagora, women are sold to prospective husbands, and the woman’s dowry cost rises in value if she is pretty and has a good reputation. This cultural practice dates back to hundreds of years ago and takes place in the fields outside town. Popularly known as the ‘‘Gypsy bride market’’ it takes place on the first Saturday of Orthodox Christian Lent. Women come out with their daughters to the bride market with hopes of getting a husband. This society largely places a girl’s worth on her virginity.

Marriage by Abduction

Common in Central Asia is marriage by abduction or bride kidnapping. Bride kidnapping is a prevalent practice in Southeast Asia, Mexico and Europe. The abduction is usually carried out by a man, sometimes with the help of his friends and relatives for fear that another man might take interest in the woman and marry her. 

Honourable mention- Marriage Market

Every weekend, at popular public places such as the People’s Park in Shanghai and several parks and other public places in Beijing, concerned parents (and sometimes grandparents) congregate to advertise and scout out potential spouses for their unmarried children.

Typically, parents post sheets of paper detailing their child’s eligibility as a potential spouse and the qualities a prospective son- or daughter-in-law should have. According to a 2018 survey of the Shanghai Marriage Market, some of the qualities include Age, Education and employment status, Ownership of significant assets, and Zodiac year & astrological sign. The phenomenon can be attributed to several major factors; a severe gender imbalance, deep anxiety felt by parents and a wave of emancipated women with a different marriage ideology. The marriage ideology is also shifting for many young women in China. Highly educated, high-earning women in the country are in less of a hurry to get married. They have more options than women in past generations and are not afraid to put their careers first. They are even urged to lower “unrealistic” standards during their search for a partner.