Bride price and marriage under cameroonian family law

Abstract

Marriage is not a prison neither is it a “do or die affair”, but the customary law in Cameroon has transformed marital links into a dungeon where women are forced into because of the material and financial gain to be obtained by the girl’s parents called bride price. The absence of legal regulation and non-acknowledgment of bride price has made parents to often force their girl child into marriage without the girl’s consent. Most times, the parents demand exaggerated amount from their daughter’s suitors and hand her over to the highest bidder. Such practice mostly leads to adultery, domestic violence, human right abuse and marital instability amongst other, added to the fact that divorce under the customary law setting can only be acceptable after the refunding of the entire bride price. Thus, making divorce very difficult and almost impossible, as the parents of the bride will be unable to refund, and the bride with her limited resources will be bound to remain in an abusive marriage. From here, we notice that, bride price instead of being a means to consolidate families, instead frustrate it. It is worthy to note that, Family law has as main aim to protect the family which is the bases of all society and as such, it should see into the question of bride price, either to legally regulate its payment and give it an explicit legal value or get rid of it. This is because, if this customary rule cannot be abrogated by statutory law, the legislators should regulate its payment and regulate it by limiting the maximum amount to be demanded and also harmonize its payment throughout the national territory.