Plateau Community Reduces Bride Price To Encourage Legal Marriages

Gyel district in Jos South, the local government area of Plateau State, has introduced reforms to the traditional marriage rites.

Naija News reports that the change aims to make marriages more accessible to young men by reducing the required dowry, giving women a more respected position in their homes and preventing violence stemming from dowry disputes. The announcement came during a panel discussion held in the community to mark the 2024 International Women's Day. The event, which focused on stakeholders from the Berom tribe, highlighted various strategies to promote women's inclusion and address the root causes of SGBV within the community. The District Head of Gyel, Da Nga Dangyang, announced the Traditional Council's enactment of bylaws through his secretary, Rwas Jonathan. The district head stated that the legislation not only reduces the bride price to N30,000 to counter the prevalence of unlawful marriages but also ensures women's representation in the traditional council. The district head said,  “The Gyel Traditional Council has developed a bye-law which gives women the opportunity to be in the traditional council, determine the type of punishments given to anyone who is involved in any form of violence, spells out ways to mitigate insecurity. “The Council has reduced bride price to N30,000 because it was discovered the high rate of the bride prices were the cause of unlawful marriages and the reduction has swelled up the number of legitimate marriages in the District. The bye-law also says women who don’t work should be given a percentage of their husband’s salary.” The by-law also provides women a say in the punishments for violence perpetrators and outlines measures to combat insecurity. Furthermore, the bylaws stipulate financial support for unemployed wives by allocating them a portion of their husbands' salaries.

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