Prof. Dr. Peter Felix Omonzejele
Projekte & Publikationen
The bride price is a widespread practice in Africa and involves cash or payment in kind by the groom's family to the bride's family to finalize a marital arrangement. The moment the transaction is finalized, the bride (now wife) can no longer make independent decisions about many matters that directly concern her, including her health, without deferring to her husband and her husband’s family members. This is because the bride price practice strips the wife of her individuality, and she is now considered the property of the groom’s family. This has implications for her mental health, sexual/reproductive health, and participation in clinical trials. The aim of this project is to highlight and discuss the bioethical issues raised by the bride-price practice. This ethics analysis will also include an integrated study of the extent to which cultural beliefs, socio-economic background, and women’s roles in the bride-price practice impact decisions effecting women’s health. We will use interviews with research subjects as our empirical framework.