ABSTRACT
This paper examines the customary marriage practice of kuzvarira among the Ndau
people of Mozambique. It investigates the perception of the Ndau people towards the
customary practice of kuzvarira. Kuzvarira is a traditional customary practice of marrying
off, without her consent, an underage girl (sometimes as young as eight or even before
birth) to a rich man who already has another wife or wives in exchange for money, food
and other material possessions that guarantee the girl’s family not to suffer acute
economic deprivation ever again (Financial Gazette, 2/12/2004). To establish the
receptivity of the traditional African marriage custom, kuzvarira, a study was conducted.
Forty people (24 females and 16 males) from Manica and Sofala provinces participated in
the study. Ad questionnaire comprising closed and open items was used as a data
collection tool. The collected data was summarized by means of frequency tables and
analyzed qualitatively using evaluative descriptions. The paper makes a critique of the
practice of kuzvarira due to the prominence the subject has assumed in African
philosophical discourses on human rights in recent years. Among the Ndau this is
particularly so, because despite some mounting intellectual controversy over the practice,
it continues unabated owing to a range of economic deprivation and aggravating social
circumstances. Our philosophical argument as substantiated by the results obtained is that
kuzvarira is a psychological ‘death sentence’ meted on defenseless minors and is a gross
MAWERE, M (2021). Violation And Abuse Of Women’s Human Rights In The Customary Practice Of ‘Kuzvarira’ Among The Ndau People Of Mozambique. Afribary. Retrieved from https://afribary.com/works/violation-and-abuse-of-women-s-human-rights-in-the-customary-practice-of-kuzvarira-among-the-ndau-people-of-mozambique
MAWERE, MUNYARADZI "Violation And Abuse Of Women’s Human Rights In The Customary Practice Of ‘Kuzvarira’ Among The Ndau People Of Mozambique" Afribary. Afribary, 08 May. 2021, https://afribary.com/works/violation-and-abuse-of-women-s-human-rights-in-the-customary-practice-of-kuzvarira-among-the-ndau-people-of-mozambique. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
MAWERE, MUNYARADZI . "Violation And Abuse Of Women’s Human Rights In The Customary Practice Of ‘Kuzvarira’ Among The Ndau People Of Mozambique". Afribary, Afribary, 08 May. 2021. Web. 22 Nov. 2024. < https://afribary.com/works/violation-and-abuse-of-women-s-human-rights-in-the-customary-practice-of-kuzvarira-among-the-ndau-people-of-mozambique >.
MAWERE, MUNYARADZI . "Violation And Abuse Of Women’s Human Rights In The Customary Practice Of ‘Kuzvarira’ Among The Ndau People Of Mozambique" Afribary (2021). Accessed November 22, 2024. https://afribary.com/works/violation-and-abuse-of-women-s-human-rights-in-the-customary-practice-of-kuzvarira-among-the-ndau-people-of-mozambique