(Re)constructing the African notion of girls' readiness for marriage: insights from rural Malawi
This ethnographic study is concerned with examining how communities in Chauma of Dedza district in Malawi construct “girls' readiness for marriage” as the immediate lens through which child marriage can be understood. The social label of girls' readiness for marriage refers to the complex constructions of notions of girlhood and girls' sexuality, conscious and subconscious, that define the maturity of girls to enter marital arrangements. The choice of exploring the social construction of “girls' readiness for marriage” is odd, as it may be mistakenly assumed obvious and unnecessary. However, this choice places emphasis on the process itself – that of ‘becoming ready for marriage', one of the ways of understanding marriage decisions for young girls. And yet, this phenomenon has not received much scholarly attention in recent times. In this study, I adopt a social constructionist perspective to question and challenge how communities have constructed and reproduced notions of girls' readiness for marriage. The study argues that girls' readiness for marriage is a complex construction that is informed by interrelated and yet, exclusive, conceptualisations. It is crystalised by multiple, intertwined, politicised and, sometimes, contradictory, motifs, created by girls themselves and by other actors around them. These constructions are multiple layered and centrally revolve on the formulation and maintenance of traditions. The first layer in these constructions is a dyad of pull forces that shape and influence girls' readiness for marriage. One part of these largely constitutes customary and religious traditions, which not only define girls who are ready for marriage, but also influence the acceptance of girls' maturity for marriage. The other part comprises the symbiotic relationship between traditions and the power of traditional authorities. Perched at the fulcrum of maintaining the institution of chiefship are gendered and sexuality-based traditions, which are used to legitimise the exercise of chiefly powers over their subordinates. As this form of power is being exercised, girls' readiness for marriage is shaped. Foregrounded by the pull of social forces of traditions and the political economy of chieftaincies, is a second layer, where girls' readiness for marriage is conceptulised in other distinctive ways. These include physical and mental maturity, sexual maturity, perceived loss of innocence (pregnancy and dating), ability to perform gendered household chores and commencement of menstruation. In these constructions, despite its popularity amongst development and human rights discourses, the chronological age of 18 is not considered as a fundamental marker for girls' readiness for marriage. The study therefore stresses that activists, development practitioners and governments working on child marriages should be conscious of local contextual conceptualisations of girls' readiness for marriage before developing policies and programmes that aim at eradicating child marriages. The facets of the context-specific nature of girls' readiness for marriage are missing in the conceptualisation of the main childhood scholars, yet they emerge as important aspects in this study. The study points to the need for these facets to be incorporated into the core elements of programmes to create a more holistic framework of analysis. Through girls' readiness for marriage, this thesis also highlights many other aspects; it challenges several other assumptions around gender, sexuality, religion, universality of childhood and on power of chiefships.
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