HARMFUL TRADITIONAL PRACTICES

                           JSS 2 SOCIAL STUDIES

                                 WEEK 8

                   HARMFUL TRADITIONAL PRACTICES

          Harmful traditional practices refers to traditional practices which cause physical and psychological distresses and damages on individuals. Such distresses include fear, emotional pain, stigma, death etc.

                  TYPES OF HARMFUL TRADITIONAL PRACTICES

1. FEMALE CIRCUMCISION: This is also known as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). As the name implies,it involves the painful removal of sensitive female genital organs.  It is mostly performed on infants. This is practice in many communities in Nigeria to prevent the girl child from being promiscuous.

      However, this act exposes the girl to disease or death where it is not properly done or taken care of.

2. SLAVERY: It is a state of being subjected to all forms of hardship, suffering and violence without any right to resist or fight back in any form. It is one of the most horrible practices in human history.

3. CHILD MARRIAGE: This is a practice in which female children are given out in marriage at their teenage years. Some communities in Nigeria especially in Northern part practice this to collect high bride price on the children whom they strongly believe are virgins. Some people also engage in the practice because of their belief that female children are not useful in the family.

4. WIDOWHOOD PRACTICES: Maltreatment of widows is very prevalent in many communities in Nigeria. This maltreatment differs from culture to culture. Some cultures force the widows to drink water used in bathing the dead husbands,some widows can not have their bath until the husbands are buried.

       In some other societies, women cannot go out of the house until certain days while some communities will compel the woman to wear black dress for certain days,weeks or months after the death of the husband.

      Furthermore, other culturescompel the woman to re- marry from the family of the late husband. All these are against the fundamental human rights of the woman as a citizen of Nigeria.

5. PREFERENCE FOR MALE CHILD: In many Nigerian cultures, there is a strong preference for a male child. A woman is considered childless in such family until she has a male child even if she has given birth to female children.  She would receive all sorts of insults and embarrassments scolding and maltreatment from the husband and his family until she has a male child.

6. VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: Thisis common in many societies. Some men beat their wives with cane,horse wipe, etc.this could be for coming back home late, for not cooking on time, or not taking care of the children.

7. AGRICULTURAL LABOUR: Through home education, children are taught that they have an obligation to their parents to generate income for the family. Poverty stricken parents have hired out their children as farm hands to earn money for the family. It has been typical for the children to be terribly exploited.