Cultural expert, Dr Gugu Mazibuko, says steep lobola prices; young women prioritising education and climbing the corporate ladder are some of the contributing factors to the decline in marriage within the black community.
According to a recent Stats SA report, the number of South Africans getting legally married has plummeted from 35.6% in 1996 to 23.8% in 2022.
The white community is leading the pack of those who still believe in the institution with 54.8% of marriages recorded from the group during that period. Black people came in last with only 19.2% of legal marriages.
According to the report, the community that’s historically known for staunch belief in the nuclear family, is now opting for cohabitation or remaining single.
Dr Mazibuko says high unemployment is another factor that deters young black men from getting married.
She says some of them decide to hold off marriage in order to establish themselves.
Mazibuko says the increasing divorce rate has also contributed to why some young people fear getting hitched.
According to Stats SA, 20 196 divorces were granted in 2022 – marking an increase of 10.9% in comparison to the 18 208 divorces granted in 2021.
“The most prevalent age recorded for male divorcees was 42 years, comprising 796 cases, while for females, the most prevalent age at divorce was 39 years, with 902 cases granted in 2022,” reads the Stats SA report.
Dr Mazibuko says while cohabitation has become prevalent due to the high cost of living, it has a bad impact on the desirability of marriage.
According to the expert, societal shifts and evolving attitudes towards relationships also has an impact in the matter.
She says some young women decide not to get married to avoid child-bearing as they feel that pregnancy delays career growth.
The Stats SA study also looked into how the country continues to be a melting pot linguistically and culturally, showing that over 1.2 million South Africans spoke non-official languages in 2022, with Shona leading the pack with 721 124 speakers.
This is also evident in the rise in multiracial households increasing from 1.3% in 2001 to 11.4% in 2022, leading to households becoming more multi-cultural and lingual.
Sociology PhD candidate at UJ, Lydia Moyo, says this shift in linguistic landscape is positively adding to the richness of the country’s diversity.
Other common languages in the country include Chichewa / Chewa/ Chinyanja / Nyanja and Portuguese.
She says these additional languages along with 12 official languages are a key part of South Africa’s national identity.
While some have raised concern over the change in social identity eroding on national identity, the Sociology PhD candidate differs.
She says what forms a nation’s identity is multifaceted and language isn’t the only way of defining a person’s nationality.
She is urging South Africans to engage, constructively, in conversations about this societal shift and accept that change is the only constant thing in life and society.
Professor of Sociology at UJ, Luke Sinwell, also says the growth of languages like Shona in the country is a welcome change.
“It points to the diverse tapestry of cultures that constitute the country…. But the true marker of being South African lies neither in the language one speaks nor in an ethnic, religious, or racial categorisation. As the struggle against apartheid and for the ongoing fight for the liberation of Palestine has demonstrated, one’s South African-ness may best be measured by his or her steadfast commitment to social justice. It lies in our decision to stand with the prisoners and the landless – on the side of those who are the most oppressed in society,” Sinwell adds.
