Another type of software used to calculate lobola has brought South Africa by the violent storm, with quite a few feminine (and you may dudes) using it to determine exactly how much he could be worth
Software creator Robert Matseneng has generated a good Lobola Calculator – an application which allows people to level how many cows they can be worth.
Lobola, otherwise magadi as it is named during my society, try a longstanding heritage in which men will pay a certain price having a good female’s hand in wedding. Prior to now, the purchase price will be paid in the type of cows, nevertheless these months cash is an even more basic treatment for spend lobola.
Regarding fascination, We installed the fresh software observe what which barometer used to measure a ladies worthy of when you look at the society was about.
However in fact, this would be an absurd amount of money to inquire of having
Among other things, the latest app examines an excellent female’s top, weight and exactly how glamorous she is (ranging from “extremely sizzling hot” so you’re able to “not at all”), features I believe have absolutely nothing to do with just how much lobola men will be shell out. In practice, questions relating to their education as well as the quantity of pupils this lady has would also be studied into consideration because of the family inside it just after transactions have begun.
With respect to the application, immediately after factoring each one of these inside the, my family you can expect to inquire about lobola of R74,five hundred personally – the equivalent of nine actual cattle. My dad might possibly be so pleased.
A possible suitor is within the same ages as i was and you can would not likely be in a position to manage that form of money. The new affordability away from lobola, and you can planning for lifestyle following matrimony, are a very important factor many families to consider prior to purchasing an expense.
Matseneng need to have kudos for having the brand new software inquire profiles to help you imply whether or not they are male and female. This shows the app isn’t especially targeted at feminine. That said, we simply cannot overlook the fact that this application aims at female more than it is within dudes.
A good Nigerian equivalent of new lobola app, Fiance Speed, premiered last year. Fiance Rate uses a certain barometer for the calculating an excellent female’s worth; they takes into account their particular cooking show, skin, whether or not she’s got tattoos, and you may whether or not this woman is “prayer warrior” otherwise “bar girl”.
We have started to just remember that , lobola is not regarding to purchase a female, but instead from the partnering family until the wedding – during my people, fulfilling the prospective groom along with his moms and dads usually only goes once defines lobola have taken put (otherwise when a couple falls pregnant outside of matrimony). Delivering Mandla otherwise Tshepo domestic to have a week-end is extremely looked down on within my household members, as it is in lots of almost every other black family.
Even though there is actually commendable, social reasons for lobola a large number of some one nonetheless have to keep onto, one cannot simply refute the patriarchal nature of your own practice – a beneficial female’s well worth is said to decrease with respect to the matter away from children this lady has and you will, in some instances, whether she is a virgin or not. Which requirement has never been applied to guys.
There clearly was a tip regarding humour to software such as (Matseneng states that “honestly it absolutely was all of the a joke”) however,, because thinking of morality and respectability can be used to police women’s conduct, it is quite annoying.
Who’ll forget the diving teacher, Tim Osrin, exactly who take down a women who happened to be strolling down the street, next justified his methods by the claiming the guy imagine she are a great sex employee (towards implication you to sex gurus ask and you may are entitled to violence), or perhaps the dudes exactly who stripped and you may defeat an earlier lady during the an effective Johannesburg cab rank simply because she dared to put on a great small skirt.