The Town Union leaders in Imo State were over the weekend urged to combat the spate of exorbitant marriage dowries in the communities.
This was part of the concerns expressed during a one day training of Town Union leaders in Owerri North local government area of Imo State organized by a non-governmental organization, Community Life Project for the communities of Umualum, Umuorii, Umuoba and Okwu in Obibi Uratta of Owerri North.
Speaking on the theme: the role of men in building just and healthy families, the Program Manager of the organization, Celine Osukwu noted, “men play a crucial role in fostering justice, fairness and well-being within their families. Their responsibilities go beyond financial provision and include emotional, social and moral leadership that promote equality and care for all members”.
“By ensuring that there’s peaceful coexistence of everyone in the communities, there should be open communication that addresses challenging harmful gender norms. Men must embrace healthy masculinity, foster safer, more inclusive spaces where everyone is treated with dignity”.
Osukwu urged men and women to work together to promote justice at home by setting a powerful example for the wider community. “Ultimately, a just and healthy family leads to a society built on fairness, respect and shared responsibility, where everyone has the chance to succeed and live free from discrimination and harm”.
The traditional ruler of Obibi Uratta, Eze Boniface Ariri encouraged the men to treat their wives with respect. “We must learn to align with the trend of the new age. Today, male chauvinism is no longer in vogue. We cannot continue to hold tenaciously out of fashion traditional practices like widowhood practices. Men should learn to let go of certain issues so they live long here on earth”.
Some of the harmful traditional practices the men frowned at were among others, exorbitant marriage dowries, drunkenness by men, marriage divorce, infidelity, humiliation of widows, oath taking and female inheritance as all these according to them will enhance healthy families in the communities.
