Must She Get Married : Cultural Authoritarianism and the Travails of Unmarried Ladies in Nigeria

In most Nigerian cultures, girls are prepared for marriage and motherhood because it is believed that one day the girl shall leave her parents to go and procreate her own family. Therefore, it is expected that at maturity girls should get married eventually. But when such girls are steadily going beyond marriage age against the expectations of her immediate environment it elicits comments and reactions from parents and concerned public. Constrained and challenged by the expectations of the cultural environment the girl may therefore go out of her way to get married to whoever comes her way all in a bid to meet up with her parents’ expectations and to satisfy the curiosity of her cultural environment. It is also possible that this marriage would be characterized by contentions and conflicts which, often times, may lead to breakup with the attendant consequences to be borne by the girls. Whatever happens to these girls in the course of thier marriage is not as important as having fulfilled the cultural obligation to get married. Hence these fundamental questions: must all girls get married even at their own detriments? Why is marriage and motherhood necessary and obligatory for Nigerian females/girls? Can’t these girls choose to be single and not married without encumbrances? What are the cultural implications for the unmarried girls if she could not get married? The nature of this study requires that we source data from in-depth interviews and focus groups discussion with some traditional authorities, community opinion leaders, women groups, the academia, religious clerics etc. It is hoped that from these data relevant findings will be obtained to help us make related and useful recommendations.

Keyword: Marriage, motherhood, cultural environment, cultural obligation