It was Rakiatou Idi’s wedding night. She waited for her new husband on their new mattress in their new house while a joyful gang of young wedding guests filed in and out to take pictures of her on their phones.
As is the tradition in Niger, the bride wasn’t invited to the ceremony so when Mohammed Yaou’s friends delivered him to her, carrying a ceremonial cloth over his head, it was the first time she had seen her new husband all day.
A few months earlier Mohammed, a city boy, had come to their village on the green banks of the Niger river and asked her to marry him.
He brought with him some suitcases full of new clothes and shoes, and 300,000 CFA (£400) in cash – the brideprice.
“It was an unforgettable evening,” he said.
The couple’s friends and siblings made a photo montage of the couple and the gifts, posting it on social media.
“It’s to avoid any doubt,” Rakiatou said.
In some parts of the world, a couple announce their betrothal with an engagement-ring selfie on Facebook. Among the urbanites of Niger, a pile of suitcases and a wad of money have become the equivalent. On heart-themed backgrounds peppered with kiss emojis these montages now fill Facebook feeds and WhatsApp groups across Niger. And, according to Nigerien women’s activists, they heap pressure on young women to get married too soon.
Brideprice photos fill Samira Ousmane’s social media feeds. But the activist and founder of Nigerielles magazine lamented the fact that the money, formerly a secret between the couple and their immediate families and usually ranging between 50,000 and 15m CFA, has become something to show off about.
“It creates a desire when you see others posting these kinds of photos and it pushes you to accept men you don’t love or when you’re not ready,” Ousmane said. “You don’t know anything about the guy but, because you see everyone else posting pictures with a brideprice of 2m CFA, you want it too; you want to be married; you want to be called madame rather than mademoiselle.”
For more read the full of article at The Guardian
