Marriage And Ethnographic Research

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Marriage transactions occur all over the world, and there are many varying opinions on whether they turn women into property or not. Though there are many cases of marriage transactions in which women can be seen as property, it is also imperative to recognise that within different cultures, women may see dowry, bridewealth and brideprice as a positive thing, and they may not believe that they are property in any sense. Western and European feminist critics have often been forerunners in the argument against transactions in marriage, though many anthropologists oppose their homogenous views.

To a large extent, we can argue that transactions in marriage do turn women into property. Amali Philips carried out ethnographic research in Kerala, …show more content…
Philips notes that when considering dowry amount, the level of education of a woman and her employability are not taken into consideration, rather her physical appearance is. Similarly, in Alexey Pamporov’s study of brideprice in Bulgaria, the amount of money received is determined by physical appearance and whether or not the bride is a virgin. Being a virgin ‘shows the moral principles of the maiden and her family’ (Pamporov, 2007, page 472), this quote amplifies the feminist theory that marriage transactions lead to women not being credited on their independence, and being seen as objects that can be judged like inanimate property. Furthermore, if property is defined as items belonging to someone, then one can see that within some marriage transactions, women are definitely seen as property. In Pamporov’s study, a father explains how brideprice is used to secure their daughters safety within the marriage, he says that a husband may ‘enjoy her for a month or two and kick her out later. We can, more or less, avoid this situation due to the money’ (Pamporov, 2007, page 473). In this scenario, the use of money is essential to ensure that the bride is not mistreated, this devalues her independence and thus the bride becomes akin to a piece of property which can be moved to and from …show more content…
However, they were still able to show agency in different manners. Philips shows ethnographic evidence of three women who use everyday forms of resistance to show agency and reject their transformation into property. The three women mentioned in the text rejected their dowry amounts, one claiming that ‘she would no longer wear that “shameful price-tag of Rs. 500 (which) I had worn in my mind for 25 years”’(Philips, 2003, page 254). By resisting these dowries or unequal compensation from their families, the women were able to make a stand against becoming property, though this is not a widespread phenomenon in Kerala, it still shows that marriage transactions need not turn women into
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