subject: Marriage for a Traditional Kenyan Girl Child [print this page] Marriage for a Traditional Kenyan Girl Child
Traditionally, getting married is the most important time of a girl's life. From birth up to the time she is betrothed, the women around her teach her on everything she has to know about maintaining a family. It is an exciting journey that climaxes when she gets to her new husband's home. Everyone in the family looks forward to this. According to African tradition, the parents had the right to choose a marriage partner for the girl. This was sometimes unfair for the suitor was most often chosen according to how wealthy he was.
Some girls ended up being married off to very old men to become the fifth or seventh wife. The girl child once she reached puberty, she was seen to be ready to be given off in marriage. The more daughters' one had, the better as they could fetch him a hefty bride price. Girls were supposed to keep themselves pure and not be touched by any man before the marriage. On the wedding night, the aunts would arrange for her and the new husband to sleep on a clean white sheet. Later on, they would inspect if it had any blood stains which was a sign that she was a virgin until that moment. I
f it did not have, the girl was seen to be promiscuous and she would bring shame on herself. Once the girl was taken to her new home, she ceased to be a member of her family. She now belonged to the husband's family. She even adopted her husband's surname. She would only visit her family when there was a special occasion or with permission from her husband. She was not allowed to spend more than a few nights in her parent's home.
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