Go to AfricaBib home

Go to AfricaBib home African Women Go to database home

bibliographic database
Line
Previous page New search

The free AfricaBib App for Android is available here

Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:High bridewealth, migrant labour and the position of women in Lesotho
Author:Murray, ColinISNI
Year:1977
Periodical:Journal of African Law
Volume:21
Pages:79-96
Language:English
Geographic term:Lesotho
Subjects:women
family
marriage
labour migration
Abstract:This paper explains the persistence of high bridewealth in Lesotho. It argues that the structural conditions of its persistence have changed over time and it develops a macro-economic perspective on which to apprehend its contemporary significance. The outstanding theme of Lesotho's economic history is the transition from granary to labour reserve. Thus oscillating migration assumed greater functional significance in determining the conditions of household viability at the same time as it undermined the stability of the household. Women play a critical role 1. within the household which consists of a migrant and his relict kin in the rural area, and 2. between households in the rural area. This offers the key to understanding the persistence of bridewealth as high as in the 19th century. Sections of the paper: Social and economic changes Contemporary constraints on household development and dissolution. Theoretical discussion - Conclusion. Notes; ref.; three household profiles in an Appendix.
Views