Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Banner Left
Banner Right

Does Marriage Guarantee Happiness?

Many people believe that marriage is a close-ended answer to guarantee happiness. Well, that cannot really be justified by many married couples in society today.

Why? Things like sexual or physical abuse, rape, assaults and death threats that the minority of married couples go through on a day to day basis are just a few things to consider before supporting the statement. Let’s try to look at these points in detail.

Despite the fact that many couples are married, abuse is just something that features within the covenant. Abuse in most cases is said to be from the one party which is often the male but the females are not to be left out. Abuse, whether physical or sexual, affects both and is most likely to be caused by a lack of trust in a relationship which is the same case with death threats. When one or both parties are not sure of their positions as the only partner, this introduces negative tension between the two.

In most cases, children are involved and children are known to be very sensitive. They can easily go astray, because nobody really knows what goes on in their mind. That is why one can surely say they are vulnerable and should be treated in a highly cautious manner.

To continue, the fact that married women stay under the same roof, eat the same food and sleep in the same bed with their husbands does not really guarantee them an armour of safety from rape. Women who are married are raped by their husbands which is another reason to believe that many women are not really safe, even in the presence of their husbands. This leads us into a awestruck state, even though there are people who are skillfully trained on how to deal with such matters like marriage councilors, ministers and even traditional leaders. They are all equipped with remedies on how to deal with what married couples go through, but women who are victims of abuse are said to hardly report to them.

Or maybe one should go back to the drawing board and blame tradition. Tradition plays a very big role on its own. Because it is said to be traditionally wrong for a woman to go against her husband no matter what, if she is to do so, there are certain circumstances that follow thereafter. That is why many women easily become subject to an abusive relationship. Despite the number of unions in the country that are in the interest of women, they still fail to bring their abusive husbands to the spotlight. There might be many other mind-blowing reasons to it but they are only known by the victims themselves. Not only is the above mentioned reason to disagree whether marriage really is the answer to happiness but there are many other not mentioned in this piece.

That brings me back to the fact that marriage is for many a great achievement in their lives, and is still right to assume that their marriage certificates mean much more to them than their academic achievements (degrees and diplomas). Yes, it brings joy, however the joy, laughter and vows engaged in marriages become a living nightmare to many married folks.

I would like to point out that the question whether marriage really guarantees happiness remains an individual’s opinion, however if there are men or women out there who think of marriage as a way to make someone else’s life miserable, I would like to make it clear that it is not worth it. Like a wise man once said: “What goes around comes back around”. This has over the years in many instances been proven to be true. And still on my fellow man, there is a mighty African proverb that says “do not boil hot water if you are not ready to drink tea”, in other words, do not get married if you know very well that you are not ready to take the punch.

Stay informed with The Namibian – your source for credible journalism. Get in-depth reporting and opinions for only N$85 a month. Invest in journalism, invest in democracy –
Subscribe Now!

Latest News