Is lobola still relevant in our society?


Dowry, bride price, lobola, roora are its many names. The practice is as old as time itself.  A customary token traditionally offered by the groom when he is marrying his bride. A barter trade some would say, daylight robbery, others would chime in. Regardless of the different opinions that many people hold about the practice, the customary process is still religiously observed in Africa, paying attention to Zimbabwe. But is this lobola practice still relevant in our contemporary society?

With the emergence of the democratic space in this fast-paced society, let alone the ‘woke men’, the ‘free-spirited’ woman, the feminist, the liberated and educated woman, more than ever, the practise has come under scrutiny.

While some think that the complexity of the custom is not understood and that masses do not have superficial knowledge of it, including Africans themselves, and that it is over-simplistic and reductionist to say that the abolishment of lobola will end abuse and relegation of African women to minority status, I would like to think otherwise.

If you ask me, the payment of bride price is unconstitutional and reduces women to mere assets. Of course there are many complex factors which need to be addressed and many cultural reforms to be undertaken in the continuing quest towards a more equitable and just society, but roora is the main factor.  I find a serious dichotomy between our modern day and constantly-evolving notions of gender equality and the archaic tradition of lobola.

The truth is, the paint has now peeled off from the cultural wall, exposing the practice for what it now is; an overpriced extortionist cultural practice. Now that virginity, obedience and  loyalty are not guaranteed when a man pays the bride price as formerly expected, could it be that women were sold into marriage all this time? Or could it be that it is time to deal away with it as it no longer serves its purpose.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against the tradition but its functions and meaning have changed from the primary significance it used to have. The core reasons of practising lobola were to bring two families together and binding the two lovebirds in one ancestral spirit.  Contrarily, it has now been widely misinterpreted to a ‘payment’ custom as opposed to its ‘offering’ purpose.

In my perspective, words such as ‘paying lobola’ should never be used because this was an offering made by the man to a woman’s ancestral family. Taking a close analysis of today’s lobola practise, it has become an institution that is highly sexualised. One may be not so wrong to think the practice of roora oppresses women as it culminates in men thinking they buy women and own them.




Comments

  1. wow, very insightful thank you so much. Its time we go back to the drawing board as Africans to redefine our culture

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