Article Married Women’s Lived Experiences on the Value of Traditional Premarital Counseling “Go Laya” on Marital Stability in Botswana Bakadzi Moeti 1 , Setlhomo Koloi-Keaikitse 1 , and Hildah L. Mokgolodi 1 Abstract Traditional premarital counseling seems threatened and not benefiting the couple as it should be. This has negatively impacted on the establishment of marriage. The purpose of the study was to explore married women lived experiences on the value of traditional premarital counseling, go laya, on marital stability. Traditional premarital counseling has always existed to help prepare couples for the future challenges and expectations in marriage. The study adopted a qualitative phenomenological research design. A purposive sample of 10 married women with varied durations in marriage provided the data through interviews. These interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed. The transcripts assumed a phenomenological approach where bracketing and eidetic reduction were employed. The findings indicate that the traditional premarital counseling is very valuable and has a potential of keeping marriages firm. In addition, although the traditional premarital counseling is an appropriate antidivorce strategy, the main problem is that it has lately lost its meaning. Unlike in the past, it is no longer given the honor and not conducted in depth. Despite the major role go laya has in marriage, its implementation must be reviewed and documented to give direction on how it should be done. Keywords marriage, traditional premarital counseling, go laya, divorce Marriage is generally respected worldwide. While many people marry when their time to marry comes, statistics show that the same marriages break down. The increased divorce rate among couples has lately attracted much attention to researchers across different countries of the world. For instance, Hungary has been reported to have the highest rate of divorce with 67%, Czech Republic 66%, Spain 61%, Luxembourg 60%, Estonia 58%, Cuba 56%, France 55%, and United States 53% (Plunkett, 2014). Joseph and Subhashini (2012) asserted that people find it very easy to get married; they focus on preparations of the wedding day than marriage itself. Botswana, an African coun- try with a different culture from the above countries, is not exception to this concern. There is a rapid escalation of divorce cases (Mmolai, 2015; Moeng, 2009; Moeti, 2015). Table 1 shows the rate of divorce in Botswana. Efforts to address the high divorce rates have been made worldwide. To help maintain marital stability, marriage pre- paration programs such as premarital counseling to prepare couples for marriage have been provided (Silliman & Schumm, 2000). Stahmann and Salts (1993) argues that premarital coun- seling should be seen as a process designated to enhance and enrich premarital relationships. According to the authors, this process leads to more satisfactory and stable marriages with intended consequence to prevent divorce. Similarly, Echebe (2010) was certain that premarital counseling should be services provided to assist couples who are planning to marry with a view to reinforce their communication and problem- solving skills in their relationship. In addition, Stahmann (2000) noted that premarital counseling is given as a preventive measure as an attempt to help the newlyweds to transit well into marriage life by providing teachings that can assist them to have happy marriages. Previous research has shown that Western premarital coun- seling can be an effective process for marriage stability (Adi, 2008; Echebe, 2010; Otondo, 2008; Sukori, 2011; Tambling & Glebova, 2013; Teibowei, 2011). Stahmann and Salts (1993) have stated that premarital counseling helps couples adjust well from singlehood to married life; increases cou- ples’ stability and satisfaction; enhances skills such as com- munication, problem-solving, and decision-making among the couples; and increases couples’ friendship, commitment, and intimacy. It is through premarital counseling that couples are provided with strategies to help them reduce cases of 1 Educational Foundations, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana Corresponding Author: Bakadzi Moeti, University of Botswana, Educational Foundations, P/Bag 00702, Corner of Notwane & Mabuto Road, Gaborone, Botswana. Email: bakadzi.moeti@mopipi.ub.bw The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families 2017, Vol. 25(3) 247-256 ª The Author(s) 2017 Reprints and permission: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1066480717710951 journals.sagepub.com/home/tfj