Cows over girls: Tanzania’s child brides

It’s the 21^st century and things are much better for women than what they used to be a century ago. Owing to many brave women who fought for equal rights in the past centuries, we have now gained many basic rights which we were deprived of in a misogynistic society: basic rights which we women should’ve naturally been entitled to in an otherwise utopian world. But are things really that different for women in some parts of the world? Taking you to the other side of the globe, Tanzania, Shinyanga Province, where society is still stuck in archaic gender roles and extremely discriminatory ideologies against women. A society where cows are more valuable than girls. That’s right. Cows. Despite how absurd it may sound, in this particular social hierarchy, women are below cattle. 

Watching documentaries is one of my favorite modes of entertainment. That is how I came across the topic of child brides in Tanzania. Titled as “Bride Trade: Fighting Tanzania’s child tradition” (2017), this documentary was aired by RT Documentaries on YouTube. This documentary not only left me flabbergasted, but also left me thinking how such irrationality was possible in this day and age?  The scene opens with two groups of men engaged in a deep discussion. They were negotiating about the number of cows they would receive, form the groom’s family, for marrying off their daughter. I initially thought this is something similar to what we call a ‘dowry’ in Sri Lankan culture. Except for the fact that the whole scenario was completely twisted in reality. The next scene revealed the very scared, anxious bride, who to my horror, was a young female child of 13 years of age; she was to be married off to a man at least two times older than her. Unfortunately, the tradition of child brides still exist in some parts of the world; and is culturally embedded. Hence, such communities find nothing ethically or morally wrong with this whole phenomena. The fact that it’s a tradition justifies all the other ugly aspects surrounding it. What left me speechless was what followed after this revelation.

The anxious child was seated in between her mother and another woman who was explaining how a daughter is seen as an opportunity to get cattle. The next statement that casually followed this left me both shocked and angry at the same time- “traditionally, cows are more worth than daughters.”  Shocked because the position of women was completely insignificant and detrimental in this society, they were worth less than an animal; and extremely angry because this statement was made by another women. Her own family. The fact that these values and beliefs were sustained by women themselves made me realize how socially and culturally ingrained such ideology was within this rural community, despite how absurd it may sound to you and I.  Such ideology is also fuelled by poverty. Living in extremely harsh economic conditions, it is far more practical and important for them to trade a daughter for cows than keeping her home. Rearing cows in turn, offer them with a means of survival by providing them with food. Thus, women fall under these animals in their social hierarchy. However, as there are two sides to a coin, there are some women who are not comfortable with this tradition. The mother of one girl states how guilty she felt when she had to marry off her teenage daughter to a man twice her age. Unfortunately, she is unable to raise her voice against her husband simply because it is an unimaginable thing to do. A woman must always obey her husband in this society.

The scene quickly changes to show a man in his mid-30s. The background captures his pride and joy, a herd of cows, approximately 50 of them altogether.  According to this man (who himself, mind you, is a father to two daughters), very young girls aged between twelve and fifteen are preferred as brides because they adjust easily into their new families. This idea, of course, is deep-rooted in the entire society. What he had to say next left my blood boiling- according to this community educated girls aren’t valued as highly. Apparently they aren’t “good” for the household and they are “spoiled” because they want to have a say in everything. In a nutshell, in this very misogynistic and patriarchal society, a woman is all good as long as she is dumb and keeps her mouth shut. There’s more. Apparently an educated woman is no more worth than five cows. While an uneducated girl is worth between ten to fifteen cows. As unbelievable as it sounds, this particular society materialistically gives value to women, and that is based on whether she is educated or not.

Watching this documentary has been a real eye-opener for me. It made me realize how little I know about the world beyond my privileged, cozy bubble; and how different our worlds are. Even though in this day and age most women have freedom and rights such as freedom of expression and equality, as well as right to get education; in some parts of the world such as the Shinyanga Province, Tanzania,  these are merely alien concepts. Thankfully, Tanzanian authorities are taking action to stop these illegal child marriages. They have introduced strict laws where anyone who is caught marrying or marrying off a child under the age of eighteen is imprisoned for thirty years. Even though such laws were not able to completely eradicate these atrocities, they have been reduced by great numbers. Unfortunately, in addition to Tanzania, harrowing incidents as such can be found in a handful of other rural parts around world such as India and Afghanistan. Therefore, it is extremely important to put a stop to these events with the involvement of the government authorities and with awareness programs around the world, in order to ensure the eradication of the suffering of the female children around the world.

PS: this is the link if anyone is interested. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SwrXYJE6xw

Sanduni Wijesiriwardana