The Colonization of African Marriages
time, the traditional customs were in place. During independence, these customs began to change, and there was more diversity. By the time Robertson dealt with women who were born after independence, it became clear that it was difficult to predict whether a family would choose to follow tradition or not. Some did, some did not, and some mixed tradition with new ways of life. Robertson concludes that the economics of marriage in Kenya had changed. The lack of land after independence contributed to a decline in cooperative households. Women in search of security became traders, prostitutes, mistresses, or farmers when their marriages ended (Robertson, 237). These facts imply that economic independence plays a very important role in women's identity and security, in their discovery of "self," all of which are factors that contribute to a relationship's stability.
To westerners, the elimination or disruption of female circumcision and polygyny are positive developments. Nevertheless, the introduction of new methods and morals disrupted much of what African society had relied upon to raise children. Today, Colonial disruption can be seen across all of Africa's political, economic, social and religious spectrums.
For further reading: Berger, Iris and E. Frances White. Women in Sub-Saharan Africa. Restoring Women to History series. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana UP, 1999. Davison, Jean. Voices from Mutira: Change in the Lives of Rural Gikuyu Women, 1910- 1995. 2nd edition. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1996. Robertson, Claire C. "Grassroots in Kenya: Women, Genital Mutilation, and Collective Action, 1920-1990." Signs Spring 1996: 615-642. Robertson, Claire C. Trouble Showed the Way: Women, Men and Trade in the Nairobi Area, 1890-1990. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana UP, 1997. Schmidt, Elizabeth. Peasants, Traders, and Wives: Shona Women in the History of Zimbabwe, 1870-1939. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1992. White, Luise. The Comforts of Home: Prostitution in Colonial Nairobi. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1990.
Latest Articles