by Aisha Yesufu | Aug 18, 2016 | 2016, Advice, Africa, Africa and Middle East, Family, Humor, Husband, Marriage, Nigeria, Relationships, World Motherhood
I recently attended a wedding and observed one of our local customs that gave me pause. In a Nigerian wedding, there it is tradition for elders to offer marital advice to the new couple during the ceremony. Interestingly, in most cases, all the advice is directed to the bride. Is this because people believe that a man is hardwired with knowledge of how to make marriage work? Or because they feel there is no reason for a man to know anything about making marriage work? Or is it simply because most of the wedding attendees who give advice happen to be women? I watched as speaker after speaker gave the couple advice, consistently directed only to the bride.
Since the groom at this particular wedding received no advice, I thought I would offer some, just for grooms.
- Don’t be afraid to say I AM SORRY. Your wife may forgive easily, but this is no reason to keep offending her deliberately. Apologies should be sincere, and you should never apologize just for the sake of it.
- Make your wife feel important. Treat her like she matters, and be considerate of her feelings. Respect begets respect. My husband once said to me, “We are not just spouses we are friends.” Be sure to build a strong friendship with your spouse.
- Make family decisions together. Communication is key in every marriage! Don’t try to shield your wife from troubling situations. Instead, let her know what is going on whether with work, and let her share your burden.
- Be grateful. Appreciate your wife for all that she does, and never ever take her for granted. Always recognize her for her contribution to the family, work and household.
For marriage to work beautifully, I believe that BOTH parties must make a conscious effort. Most of all, the couple must set goals together, and review them regularly.
What advice would you give to a groom? Is it the same advice you would give to a bride? What are the wedding customs where you live?
This is an original post written for World Moms Blog by Aisha Yesufu in Nigeria.
Photo credit to the author.
by Jennifer Burden | May 3, 2014 | 2014, Girls, Human Rights, World Voice
How can this have happened TWO WEEKS ago and no one has intervened yet, and many haven’t heard of it? In northern Nigeria, over 200 girls were kidnapped under the cover of dark last month from their school by a group of men, Islamic extremists who call themselves Boko Haram. Boko Haram translates to “western education is sin.” The men burned the girls school as they left. According to the Washington Post, relatives of the those taken report that there were mass marriages, and the girls were taken into Chad and Cameroon and sold as brides for Islamic militants for $12.
Why has nothing been done?????? Please Sign the Petition to #BRING OURGIRLSBACK:
ALL girls are important!! Please, sign this petition below to show the world that they need to be rescued and brought home. THIS MUST STOP. Time is ticking!! And contact your government officials in your country to ask them what they are doing about this and/or brief them on the subject. Without our help, this CANNOT go on unnoticed.
It takes such a small amount of time to add your voice to something sooo important!!
This is an original post to World Moms Blog by Founder, Jennifer Burden of NJ, USA.
Photo credits to the author.
Jennifer Burden is the Founder and CEO of World Moms Network, an award winning website on global motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. World Moms Network writes from over 30 countries, has over 70 contributors and was listed by Forbes as one of the “Best 100 Websites for Women”, named a “must read” by The New York Times, and was recommended by The Times of India.
She was also invited to Uganda to view UNICEF’s family health programs with Shot@Life and was previously named a “Global Influencer Fellow” and “Social Media Fellow” by the UN Foundation. Jennifer was invited to the White House twice, including as a nominated "Changemaker" for the State of the World Women Summit. She also participated in the One Campaign’s first AYA Summit on the topic of women and girl empowerment and organized and spoke on an international panel at the World Bank in Washington, DC on the importance of a universal education for all girls. Her writing has been featured by Baby Center, Huffington Post, ONE.org, the UN Foundation’s Shot@Life, and The Gates Foundation’s “Impatient Optimists.” She is currently a candidate in Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs in the Executive Masters of Public Affairs program, where she hopes to further her study of global policies affecting women and girls.
Jennifer can be found on Twitter @JenniferBurden.
More Posts - Website
Follow Me:
