Partnering in Africa

Oluwaseyi Dolapo Somefun, Boladé Hamed Banougnin, Kirsten Stoebenau and Emily Smith-Greenaway

Chapter Chapter 25 in Research Handbook on Partnering across the Life Course, 2025, pp 304-315 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Partnering in sub-Saharan Africa features a multitude of social and cultural complexities surrounding the formalization, nature, and form of romantic relationships. In this chapter, we review research outlining some of these longstanding complexities, including customs like bridewealth and polygyny. We discuss the persistence of these practices in the region and describe evidence of selective changes in romantic partnering as young people adopt new ideas about, and desires for, marriage and childbearing. We review emerging research outlining the increasingly unequal landscape of marriage and childbearing as an understudied dimension of growing inequality among young adults in Africa. We conclude by outlining directions for future research on marriage and partnering in the region.

Keywords: Sub-Saharan Africa; Partnering; Marriage customs; Inequality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781803923376
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