A magistrate’s court made a decision that may turn the essence of customary law marriages in a direction that many have never thought it would ever take.
The issue of payment of dowry or gifts as marriage settlement to the bride’s family by a man as a condition for marriage has been contentious in Kenya since a judge referred to it in 1917 as “wife purchase” rather than a marriage.
While the apologists for African customary law argue that the money, livestock and other property presented to the bride’s family is never a purchase but a mere token of appreciation to the bride’s family by the suitor, this case belies that claim.
A father-in-law sued a man for unpaid dowry. He sought 10 heads of cattle, two goats, Sh10,000 and two blankets from his son-in-law.
The court considered this as a debt and ordered that the man should pay the unpaid dowry.
This means that dowry can be a debt enforceable by court action. The overall impact here is that time may have run out for all men who owe their fathers-in-law. They will meet in court.
For me, the most monumental decision of the year was the case that struck a blow against misogyny in India and possibly worldwide.
In September, the Supreme Court of India struck down a ban that prevented females aged between 10 and 50 years from entering the Sabarimala Temple in the State of Kerala.
The reason for this ban was that the temple is dedicated to a Hindu deity considered to be an eternal celibate.
In striking down this ban, the judges held that the religious devotion cannot be subjected to gender discrimination.
The judges added that the use of a discriminatory principle of this kind was a denial of women of their right to worship and permitting such discrimination to continue would be to blink at the right to equal treatment irrespective of gender.