The iron heart.

Abstract

Anyango, a teenager at Makerere University comes from Busuwu village Busia North Consituency, Busia District. Being a student of social sciences and having attended various feminist conversations and trainings with Girls not Brides, she believes in equality and getting a man who can treat her like a queen. However, her father Makoha, a chief in the Obwenego (Samia chiefdom), decides that her eldest daughter ought to get married to a fellow chief's son to keep the cultural heritage since he is one of the custodians of culture in Samia land. The different ideologies about the best marriage suitor between Anyango and her father Makoha birthes a huge cultural crush where the former believes in a civilized way of getting a marriage partner and a church wedding while the later believes in a traditional way of parents identifying a best partner from within the locality. The continued fights between the two parties leave Anyango confused since she cannot leave Festus, her fiancy to get married to a "rigid and conservative village man." When Anyango realises that she is losing both the battle and the war, she commits suicide. Should parents leave their children to identify best marriage partners for themselves? How far has the crash between tradition and modernity affected the search for the best marriage suitors for teenagers? How has feminism changed the mindset of young girls about marriage and ideal men?