Bring Enough Cows to Marry: Brideprice, Conflict, and Gender Relations in South Sudan

Brideprice is a constant topic of debate in South Sudan. Brideprice is commonly understood to be high, but at the same time, is accepted as an indispensable factor in keeping family ties and kinship intact, particularly among communities with pastoralist traditions.

This report aims to provide the first thorough empirical assessment of brideprice in South Sudan and its impact on gender relations and armed violence in the various parts of the country based on quantitative data from fifteen counties in ten states across South Sudan, supplemented by qualitative interviews. In so doing, the report aims to broaden the contextual knowledge about the social fabric of South Sudan and its ongoing transformation. It hopes to offer a contribution to the transition of the country out of decades of violent conflict. A clearer understanding of the socially deeply embedded practice of negotiating marriages – and divorces – and its economic, social, and political implications can also help improve the targeting of external support for South Sudan’s transition process.

The report starts with an overview of the key characteristics of brideprice payments in South Sudan, mainly from a comparative angle, before focusing on brideprice economics, including the increasing trend to monetisation, followed by a discussion of its modalities and the ways brideprice is negotiated and paid. Finally, the report dives into the two main questions it seeks to answer: the impact of brideprice on gender relations in South Sudan, and the relationship between brideprice and violent conflict. Several conclusions, including reflections on what would be possible ways forward to tackle the challenges around gender relations and violent conflict, are presented at the end of the report.