By Godwin Otang
In a sharp twist on the harmful cultural practice of Money Marriage in Becheve Community, Obanliku Local Government of Cross River State, the Becheve Youths Elites, a youth organization in the community has admitted such exist after it had refuted a documentary stating it still exists.
The Organization shortly after the documentary by Prime Progress was published, in several press releases refuted the report and said it was staged and geared to tarnish the image of the community.
However, speaking in a Twitter Space stakeholders engagement tagged: Money women culture: what is it? Where is? How is it?”, hosted by Prime Progress on Friday 7 June 2023, the President of Becheve Youth Elites, Alabor Albert assured that the organization upon admitting that the harmful cultural practice still hovers, called on the relevant stakeholders to join hands with the community to totally eliminate and enforce the abolition.
The President represented by the organization’s Public Relations Officer, Elam Joshua said efforts have been made since the 90s to abolish the “obsolete” culture, but enforcement of the abolition has hit the rock: “What my organization is doing is to try to arrest anyone involved and ensure that they are persecuted. My people of Becheve are not as barbaric as you may be thinking; relevant stakeholders should swing into action and punish in accordance with relevant laws, whoever is found engaging in the practice.
He sued: “The Police, Ministry of Women Affairs, and other organizations should come in. I have never denied that the culture never existed in Becheve, am only saying that we too as a people have since the 90s made efforts to abolish the obsolete culture, now we want to enforce arrest; we should work together to ensure that practices like these are eradicated, relevant organizations should swing into action, and anybody caught in this act should be dealt with in accordance with the relevant laws.”
Explaining some major legal prohibitions against the money marriage practice, Human Rights Lawyer – James Ibor, Esq said Trafficking Act 2015, the Child Rights Act 2023 (as amended), and the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law all criminalizes, make illegal, and condemn the money marriage cultural practice, especially as children are involved.
“The money marriage has very conflicting historical accounts; the people may have lost the reason for the culture. They may have had reasons and need for the practice in their community when it was designed, but that need is currently conflicting with our laws today, which is why legally, it has been criminalized.”
Narrating his observation on the practice and his field experience at Becheve community, an Investigative Journalist who authored the documentary, Mr. Jeremiah Archibong, painted a picture of the fate of victims of the practice.
“Money marriage is a practice in which you give out a person in exchange for goods and services; hunger can make you give your daughter even for N5, 000, N100, 000 as the case may be.
“Imagine a community where you have two kinds of marriages, the love marriage, and the money marriage; you find people being proud that they have these money wives at home. But for the moneyed wives, a lot of them are slaves in the hands of men who are supposed to be their husbands.”
Jeremiah who doubles as the Managing Editor of CrossRiverWatch, meanwhile, resolved to support the renewed decision of the Becheve Youths Elites to eliminate the cultural practice.
Also kicking against the repugnant practice (money marriage) in Becheve, the State Ministry of Women Affairs in the Twitter Space called for its end.
Listen to the conversation:
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