Draft:Women and Women's Marriage
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Women and Women's Marriage
[edit]In some parts of the Southeast of Nigeria, some cultures allow something that surprises many outsiders: a woman can marry another woman and still have children that can bear her name.[1] [2] [3]
But before you conclude, I want you to understand that these women are not lesbians. This practice is rooted deeply in tradition, family continuity, and inheritance.
Early Stage
[edit]To explain further, when a man dies, his brothers may “inherit” his wife. This means the widow has the freedom to remarry or to have relations with one of her late husband’s male siblings - especially if her husband died without leaving behind a male child.
Furthermore, if the widow has entered menopause and still desires to have children who will carry on her late husband’s lineage, she can marry another woman.
Stages
[edit]She must first inform her husband’s kinsmen of her intention. If they approve, the kinsmen pay the bride price on her behalf, and the younger woman moves into her home as her “wife.”
Once married, the new bride will have relations with men - sometimes one of the late husband’s brothers, or if none is available or willing, another man from outside the family.
Whoever the man is, he has no claim over the children born from that union. The children are regarded as the legitimate heirs of the widow’s late husband, and no one disputes it.
This cultural practice ensures that a man’s lineage continues, even after his death, and that his property and name are preserved within the family.
References
[edit]- ^ https://oxfordre.com/africanhistory/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277734-e-1546
- ^ Alozie, Bright (6 April 2025). Spooner, Moina (ed.). "Woman-to-woman marriage in west Africa: A vanishing tradition of power and agency". doi:10.64628/AAJ.47fkxqfd6.
- ^ "The Woman Who Married a Woman in Igboland". 21 February 2025.
- https://oxfordre.com/africanhistory/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277734-e-1546
- https://theconversation.com/woman-to-woman-marriage-in-west-africa-a-vanishing-tradition-of-power-and-agency-251919
- https://rpublc.com/vol9-no1/woman-who-married-a-woman-igboland/