This is Veronica. She is the bride and she is 25 years old. She finished her high school and she went to beauty school, in both cases, with the parish’s support. She has a 2 year old son from a previous boyfriend (father Luis Carlos told me that). Even though she told me that her son’s father was the man she was going to marry, they have only been together for 2 years (at this point I’m not sure). Veronica is currently pregnant with her soon-to-be husband’s child.
Veronica and her husband are modern Samburu. He is an army soldier who comes home every three months. Veronica has her own beauty business. They rent a small bedroom in town. Her plans are to have a small family, just 3 children in total. She mentioned that she would like to have girls because they take care of the mom, while the men do not take care of their mothers (this perception has really changed). Remember, in Samburu culture men are very important. They are the family’s legacy. In a family that has boys, the boys are guaranteed to take care of their parents when they get old. But, lately families have seen daughters as taking care of the parents more that men, so this perception has been changing little by little. This is very important for women. If the society sees them as valuable, they are going to take more care of their women!!!
Veronica met her husband while she was young, and she is in love. This is a big difference between and educated women and one who isn’t. The educated woman can choose her husband, while the uneducated woman is married off to the man the parents choose. Also, the uneducated woman gets married at a much younger age.
One of the problems for the Samburu women are the mother in law. Veronica is lucky because her mother in law likes her. However, some women have told me that they have decided not to get married with a man because the man’s mother does not like them. My idea of this problem is as this culture is focus in men power. The power of a family is in the man: the father or the oldest son. So, when the oldest son gets married and leaves to make his own family, the mother feels unprotected and fights for her son!!