A tradition of the Kurya tribe in northern Tanzania that allows women to marry is experiencing a modern-day revival, an investigative report by Marie Claire Magazine has revealed.
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The tradition, known as Nyumba ntobhu or “house of women” unions, is a tradition that exists as a means of allowing husband-less women to keep their property.
According to Kurya tribal law, only men can inherit property, meaning women without sons who are widowed or are left by their husbands can lose their property.
The tradition allows for a woman to marry another younger woman who can take a male partner and bear sons for her wife on her behalf. The men who partake in the tradition relinquish their paternal rights.
According to the report, the women in Nyumba ntobhu marriages live and work together and may even share a bed, but as homosexuality is forbidden, sexual attachments were not reported.
These marriages are not recognized by the state but are respected in the Kurya communities.
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Young women who opt to marry another woman through this arrangement are finding there are significant advantages to the unions.
The Kurya tribe is patriarchal, with women often married off in exchange for a dowry. The Nyumba ntobhu marriages allow for women to chose their partners.
“They realize the arrangement gives them more power and freedom … It combines all the benefits of a stable home with the ability to choose their own male sexual partners,” Dinna Maningo, a local reporter, told Marie Claire.
The end result is an empowering situation for the women.
According to a government survey cited by the magazine, domestic violence is highest in the region where the Kurya people live, with 72 percent of women aged 15 to 49 experiencing sexual or physical violence in their homes.
Tribal tradition dictates that men are not allowed to be violent toward women in Nyumba ntobhu marriages.
“Nobody can touch us … If any men tried to take our property or hurt us, they would be punished by tribal elders because they have no rights over our household. All the power belongs to us,” says Mugosi Isombe.