Authors : Innocent A. Nwosu, Joseph Ekpechu, Vivian Njemanze, Kennedy Ololo and Emmanuel Eyisi
Abstract: Marriage is a socially sanctioned union between spouses. Procreation is one major reason for marriage but in Africa, the choice of whom to marry is determined by culture. In Igboland, surrogate marriage which is propelled by procreation, causes psychosocial and health conflicts. In spite of this, no serious attempt have been made to determine why young girls enter into such marriage or its consequences among the Igbo. As a result, this study seeks to determine reasons for such marriage and its consequences. Therefore, the study adopted qualitative research design using in-depth interviews. The study conducted in Southeast Nigeria used a sample of 52 participants (women) selected through snowball sampling. The study revealed that surrogate marriage is being sustained by several factors including infertility. It was also found that young girls enter into such marriage as a result of poverty, physical or social challenges. The study has shown that wives of female-husbands do have sexual intercourse with multiple partners unprotected in order to get children. Therefore, surrogate marriage becomes the easiest conduit for the spread of STDs including HIV/AIDS. Surrogate marriage causes marital conflicts, psychological trauma and death. Its elimination will save humans from health, social and psychological problems.
Innocent A. Nwosu, Joseph Ekpechu, Vivian Njemanze, Kennedy Ololo and Emmanuel Eyisi, 2019. Conflicts in marriage, consequences of surrogate marriage, the Igbo, marriage, surrogate marriage, HIV/AIDS. The Social Sciences, 14: 80-92.