|
Mogadishu, Somalia, November 7,
2009 – Somali courtship was different in Hassan Aden's day. When he was
a teenager, you gave the girl's parents 11 camels and an AK-47 assault
rifle as bride price, and then waited respectfully.
Now, the 55-year-old says, a cellphone service that seems to be the only
thing working in the failed Horn of Africa state is helping drive a rise
in elopements and pregnancies out of marriage.
"The youth of today enjoy modern technology, fast transport and
free-of-charge marriages," Aden, a store owner, says at a coffee shop in
Mogadishu. "Today, even reasonable boys pay just $50 (R390) bride price
and a copy of the holy Qur'an after making the girl pregnant or seeing
her secretly for months."
In a land where rebels are trying to topple a fragile government and
nearly 20 000 civilians have been killed since the start of 2007, cheap
mobile communications are one happy diversion.
The entrepreneurial spirit of Somalis and an absence of taxes have
helped domestic cellular operators thrive despite the chaos.
Many older residents say the prevalence of handsets and cheap tariffs -
among the lowest in the world - makes the lives of youngsters
unrecognizable. A month of local calls costs about $10.
The cheap calls and extended mobile network make it easier for Somalis
to arrange quick assignations. – Reuters
Source: Business Report, November 6, 2009
|
|
