The impact of immigration on the concept of African marriage – A pastoral theological study

Abstract

One of the issues characterising South Africa after the apartheid regime is the rural-urban migration. Apart from this becoming a fast-growing practice, it also poses a serious challenge to the service delivery of urban municipalities because of the extended need for human settlements. It is evidenced that young people, educated and uneducated, are leaving their rural homes into metropolitan towns and cities in search of employment and education opportunities. The biggest movement is towards towns and cities; Gauteng Province is the most likely destination because it is regarded as the economic hub of the country. Statistics indicate that this is a growing trend which, despite challenging metropolitan municipalities, also poses serious challenges towards African marriages as most unemployed females are left behind in rural homes or join their husbands in the city, where their lives slowly drift away from the typical African marriage that is expected by the elderly in the ancestral homes. This article provides pastoral guidelines towards the relevant problems.