Notwithstanding attempts from the Eastern Cape Department of Health and other organisations to regulate the process of initiation, each year initiates still die or are mutilated. The challenge is to keep the boys safe without interfering with the traditional customs. It appears that women's voices are rarely heard on this issue.
We investigate links between the practice of ilobolo [bridewealth] and marriage outcomes in contemporary Zulu society. We present quantitative data which describe very low marriage rates particularly among Zulu adults, and which suggest also that the majority of Zulu adults identify ilobolo as a constraint to marriage.
Africa Spectrum, first published in 1966 by the GIGA-Institute of African Affairs in Hamburg, is an inter-disciplinary fully refereed journal, indexed by ISI, focusing on social science dealing with Africa. In 2009 it has become an open access journal and is published in cooperation with the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation.