Many people consider Africa a very beautiful continent, where many tribes live, having interesting, and sometimes rather strange traditions. Life in Africa for modern people who use mobile phones, they know what drugs, nanotechnology, etc. are, it seems primitive and ridiculous. But these tribes honor the memory of their ancestors, follow their advice, instructions and teachings. Today we will talk about African women and their plight.
Dance while you are young
In many tribes, there is a tradition of gathering for the so-called gathering brides. Girls who will soon be married off, come to the general "bachelorette party". During it, they prepare a dowry, share their plans for the future and pass a virginity test. If the girl had sexual relations before the wedding, she can be burned at the stake.
Also, girls are tested for endurance. This is logical, given that African women must do hard physical work daily under the scorching sun. But the check takes place in a rather interesting form of disco. Girls are forced to dance and sing. The dance of the African women being tested lasts for 10 days. Of course, there are small sleep breaks, but only for a couple of hours. Eat only give a couple of bananas, which are allowed to drink with a few sips of water. In the evening they make a big fire in the center of the dance floor.
If the girl does not pass this test, she will be expelled from her parental home forever. No one else will marry her, and there will be no “retake” either.
Another test is for posterity. Women of African tribes who are not pregnant for 3 years after marriage are considered inferior. In the best case, such an unfortunate return to their parents, but some tribes prefer to expel them from the village.
There is an explanation for such a strange tradition. It is believed that such African women pass their barrenness to the earth, gardens, men and animals. The consequences can affect even the neighbors of a barren woman.
But there is one tribe that treats this tradition very gently. Rundu African women can pretend to be pregnant while wearing a false stomach. After 9 months, childbirth is staged, then a newborn from a large family is adopted or adopted. At the same time, no one has the right to talk about the secret of a small child, since this forbids the leader.
African beauty
Most likely, African women have not heard about the model parameters 90 × 60 × 90. Each tribe has its own ideals of beauty. For example, women with a narrow and long face are considered very beautiful in the Bantu tribe, and beauties with long and even noses are especially popular in the Akan tribe.
Mendi women whiten their skin throughout their lives using special clay.
African girls are considered very attractive , on the body of which there are many scars, earned not in battles, but at home. To do this, the beauties specifically cut their body, rub the wounds with ash or sand so that the scars remain as noticeable as possible.
African fashion
Even at school, every student probably thought about why rings were needed on the neck of African women. For representatives of the Ndebele tribe, this is a kind of decoration that testifies to the husband's wealth. Accordingly, the richer the husband, the more rings on his wife’s neck. They remove these jewelry only in case of death of the spouse.
Mursi tribal residents from the age of 12 strive to become fashionable. It is at this age that girls are allowed to insert a plate made of baked clay or a smooth disk from a tree into their lips. To do this, a small incision is made in the lower lip. First, a small plate is inserted, which is changed over time. The desired size of the disk, which girls aspire to, reaches 12 cm in diameter.
Kenyan women adorn their faces with fashionable designs. Residents of the Mwila tribe prefer to focus on a stylish hairstyle. To make it, a special onkul paste is applied to the hair. It is made of red stone, grinding it. Then oil, dung, plants and tree bark are added.
Female circumcision
If male circumcision is considered a tribute to religion and a way to prevent the development of many infections, then female circumcision is a rite that every member of the fair sex must endure. He is considered humane in more than 30 countries in Africa. For their inhabitants, this rite is a kind of purification. They believe that a woman is called to give birth to children, while there is no place for pleasure.
The circumcision procedure has not changed for hundreds of years. To do this, use a ritual knife. There is no way to avoid the rite. In addition, from early childhood, girls are told that this procedure will improve her life.
Although many women's rights activists have raised the issue of eradicating this tradition, the problem has not been resolved. If circumcision is put on a medical stream, the tradition will take root even more, but if nothing is done, unsanitary conditions during operations will continue to provoke the occurrence of genital infections.
Weekdays
Women in Africa are constantly working. They carry water themselves, prepare food, work in the fields, clean, wash, trade in the market and still have time to look after the children. Therefore, having seen a woman with bales in her hands and a child on her back, only tourists are surprised. The responsibilities of men include only financing their families.
If the hostess has any surplus of any crops, she can freely dispose of them. For example, to sell. At the same time, finance can be spent at your own discretion.
African women who live in villages are attached to their land, as this is the only thing they have.
Urban life of African women
All villagers want to move to the city and work. But illiterate people find it very difficult to find work. In addition, although positive changes are observed in the legislation, discrimination against women is still visible in all spheres of life. Active and purposeful ladies become entrepreneurs, trying to develop their small business.
The financial injections that many countries provide do not practically change the overall picture of the economic and social development of the continent. Legislation is trying to make changes that will simplify and ease life in Africa, but unfortunately these changes are too slow.