The experiences of cultural marriage practice( "Ukuthwala ") amongst young african women : a case study of Libode , Eastern Cape

Abstract

The study set out to investigate the experiences of young African women in Libode village in Eastern Cape regarding Ukuthwala cultural marriage practice. The objectives of the study included; to find out the experiences of the young African women who have been forced to go through Ukuthwala; to examine the kind of support these young African women receive from their social networks; to examine the kind of assistance that the social service professionals could provide to these young African women and lastly to find out from them the kind of empowerment services they require. Qualitative method was used whereby in-depth interviews were conducted with fifteen participants and five service providers and data was analyzed through thematic analysis. The findings revealed that Ukuthwala is an immense challenge and has affected many of the women in Libode, educationally, health wise, emotionally, physically and psychologically. The study recommends that the parents, community and government should be the major stakeholders in the fight against Ukuthwala practice. Parenting and awareness programmes should be held as to educate parents about the rights of their children and counselling should be offered to those who would have been the victims of this practice.