Employed and unemployed women’s perceptions of lobolo: a Q-methodological approach

Abstract

Lobolo is one of the most long-standing African customs and appears to be a significant aspect of African marriages. The practice has been criticized for how it promotes gender inequality in the manner in which it is practiced and the expectations it places on men and women. In light of these concerns regarding gender equality and African customs, this study aimed to explore perceptions of lobolo among South African black women. The study also aimed to reveal whether women’s perceptions of lobolo were a reflection of their employment status/economic activity. Q-sorts were completed by each participant, and these were analyzed to extract the factors. Three factors that reflected the women’s perceptions of lobolo emerged from the analysis. The first factor was African feminism, which represented the women who had positive regard towards lobolo but still had reservations about its gendered aspects. The second factor was Traditionalism, which represented the women who advocated for the practice and showed no reservations towards the aspects that might hinder the achievement of gender equality in African marriages. The third and last factor was western feminism, which represented the women who shared strong feministic views about the practice and had no positive regard towards any aspect of the practice. Thus, these factors indicated that there are differences in how women perceive lobolo. However, their views on the practice did not indicate a significant effect on their economic activities nor their labour force participation