Prearranged marriages might be the norm in some cultures, but are they palatable? Should you let someone choose your life partner? Paida Mpaso asks women on the streets of Blantyre, Malawi’s commercial city, how they would react if their mothers found a husband for them.
Chikondi Ndilipa from Chilobwe
We all know that mothers have their children affairs at heart, but when it comes to prearranged marriages, they possibly can’t. We are talking about a lifetime commitment here. I feel such decisions should be left in the hands of the owners.
If my mother did this, I would not accept it and I would do all in my power to free myself from such an arrangement. Money may of course come into play, but that alone is not enough to guarantee love. I believe people should find their own partners.
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Suzanne Pinto from Baluti
I would not agree to prearranged marriages. Not only do I detest such marriages; I also find them strange. Money and love may go together as some people put it, but it never lasts and most of the acts done in such scenarios are usually to show off. Mothers should let their sons or daughters chose their own wives and husbands respectively.
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Agness Lukhele from Naperi
Love is a beautiful thing which, I believe, emanates from the heart. If my mother chose a husband for me, that would be the same as killing me. Otherwise, why should they choose a husband for me? This is my life and not theirs, so the choice is mine alone.
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Silvia Khonde from Soche- East
As a mother, I would not do this. Of course, money may make some mothers fall into this trap, but love should not be based on money alone because when it is gone, homes break apart. I would not want my daughters or sons to go through that. I think it’s better to let children choose for themselves who they want to marry. I can choose a husband for my daughter, but she is the one who will be with him and not me, so every minute spent with this man would be like a punishment to her.
