Afro-Caribbean Family Essay

Within the Afro-Caribbean population women have been acknowledged as the backbone of the family. Marriage is not considered necessary for procreation and many women may choose to have and raise children independently. For this reason, there is a high prevalence of family forms such as the matrifocal household. ( Mustapha, 2013) Matrifocality is a feature of the Caribbean communities in which mothers and adult daughters often form the household core. The Caribbean matrifocal family is described by Mustapha (2013) as the household which is female- headed and authority is in the hands of the woman. There are no residents husbands, nor are there necessarily long-term sexual relationships. Literature suggests that female household headship has been

Rather they view this unit as an institution of exploitation that is solely to meet the needs of the capitalists economic system. The institution of the family therefore is a system of power relations that reinforces and reflects in the inequalities of society. (Mustapha, 2013) Surely these inequalities can be seen reflected in the matrifocal household where the female is left to play the greater role in supporting and rearing children. Matrifoclity takes toll in various corners of the Caribbean region. The harsh economic climate within the region is a possible factor weakening families which have led men being marginalized and women being the authoritative figure in the household. (Mohammed, 2002) Conditions such as these have led to poverty. Children normally inherit poverty from their parents as they are part of the unbroken poverty cycle. As a result poor children find themselves disadvantaged and deprived of basic economic social and human needs. These sorts of deprivations tend to destroy the social and mental functions of these children. Ultimately, this leads to inbuilt hostility and anger that leads to destructive criminal activities later on in society. Griffiths (2007) opines that poverty undisputable is linked to matrifocality. Inevitably this leads to social ills such as school drop outs, criminal activities among

The presence of such a household in the Caribbean has led to the shifting of the traditional family. This is seen in numerous cases of dysfunctional families and a high case of divorce. The long held traditions of the family structure have been disrupted as a result of matrifocality. Additionally, matrifocality has led to a high increase of criminal activities, teenage pregnancy and gang affiliation. Furthermore, this form of family has led to an escalation of poverty. It is no longer the case where women are seen as housewives who perform traditional roles only. They have now taken a step to run their households and become the sole breadwinner of the family which is an avenue for encouraging certain societal ills that are now