Sharo: Beating To Earn Wife's Respect

Do you know that in the Fulani community of Benin, to get married to a lady a man is faced with three options which is to be picked by the bride's parents. These three options are Koowgal, Kabbal and Sharo. The bride's parents can pick the koowgal, which is a dowry payment, or they can pick the kabbal which is an Islamic ceremony similar to marriage only with the absence of the groom and bride, then the last option which is the sharo is where the problem is, should the parents of the bride choose the sharo for the groom; i think the groom must be an unlucky fellow. The sharo means that the groom has to be flogged severely by the elders of the community, this is believed to earn the man respect from his wife. The ability of the man to withstand such pain till the end seals the marriage but should he fail, the marriage is cancelled and he is seen as unfit to marry the woman.