CULTURAL MARRIAGE PRACTICES AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: TEARS OR TRIUMPH FOR WOMEN IN SOUTH AFRICA AND INDIA?

Abstract

This article examines the prevalence of domestic violence against women in South Africa and India and identifies the legal measures that exist for the protection from domestic violence in both countries. The article further investigates the notion that the cultural marriage practices of lobola in South Africa and dowry in India, because of having mutated into unbridled consumerism, undermine women’s autonomy and contribute to gender-based violence. A brief examination is also conducted of the health and economic consequences of domestic violence against women. The article concludes with the recommendation that those cultural practices that undermine the autonomy of women and contribute to domestic violence be eradicated.