Bantoevroue se houding met betrekking tot die huwelik en gesin : 'n ondersoek na die waardering van die huwelik en gesin deur 'n groep stedelike, professionele bantoevroue in Pretoria in vergelyking met tradisionele opvattinge

Abstract

The attitude of Bantu women towards marriage and the family. (An investigation into the value attached to marriage and the family by a group of professional urban Bantu women in Pretoria in comparison with traditional ideas.) This research was carried out through the medium of personal interviews with a group of twenty nurses of diverse tribal origins. Among them were qualified nurses and student nurses, married and single women, some of the latter being unmarried mothers. All grew up in urban environments, albeit in different towns of the Republic. A great diversity of views was expressed, arising from differences in character and personality. Nevertheless,certain general tendencies can be formulated . A profession spells economic and social security to these Bantu women themselves and to their fa.mi= lies or future families. Their main concern is still to provide for their families, although they them= selves work outside the family context: they wished to complete their training before marriage or they em= barked on training after marriage and they do not in= tend stopping work once married . A profession is not followed in preference to marriage: most of the women want to combine the two.

The community as a whole and the women in particular still regard getting married and bearing children as a woman's basic calling. Thus the idea of the unmarried professional woman has not yet taken root. Nevertheless, there is evidence that the unmarried state may be regarded as acceptable on condition that the individual performs useful work. Companionship based on mutual love is the ideal for the conjugal relationship. ~he procreation of children for the patrilineal kinship group is no longer their primary concern in marriage. Moreover, they prefer small families so that they may provide their children with opportunities, including occupational training, to build a good future. The women place high value on family life and they expect their husbands to be worthy of the position of authority as head of the home. They are, as a rule, much attached to their kin, often giving them financial assistance . Although all the women are members of Christian churches very few condemn premarital sexual inter= course on moral or Christian grounds, but rather be= cause it creates practical problems, principally with regard to illegitimate children. Most of the nurses favoured marriage by lobolo because, i n their eyes, it represents security for the wife. A church ceremony in addition t o the transfer of lobolo was the most favoured form of marriage . Various requirements such as standard o f education and good character play a part in the choice of a husband, but mutual love is the most important. The professional Bantu woman is not dependent on her husband nor her patrilineal kin for her social and economic status, but she suffers from a sense of insecurity for a number of related reasons. The decline of kinship ties has resulted in a change in the function of lobolo, a lack of interest by kin in the success of the marriage and the virtual absence of protection for the bride and her children as exercised by either affinal or consanguineal kin. In addition the traditional division of labour which emphasized the complementary nature of the roles of husband and wife is no longer operative, so that a woman frequently has to take the place of her husband. In these circumstances these women consider their profession, their children and the fact that lobolo has been transferred for them in marriage as compensation for the loss of the security and protection previously afforded her by kin. The women from refined and highly educated families are proud of their traditions and ethnic origins. They believe that the best from traditional culture must be retained and combined with the best from Western culture. In view of the diversity of tribe and place of origin represented among the women studied, the question arises why these general tendencies in attitude

towards marriage and family emerge so clearly. In my opinion, tribal origin as a factor in cultural differentiation is of little importance among Bantu women bred in town. Similarities in attitude and views can rather be ascribed to the similarity of the socio-cultural environments in which these women grew up, presenting them with similar problems and challenges, similar interests (nursing in the particular cases investigated), similar aspirations and personal qualities such as idealism and determination.