In the final months of 2009, Uganda’s parliament passed two monumental bills that prohibit domestic violence and female genital mutilation. Jane Alisemera Bibiha, chair of the Uganda Women Parliamentarians Association, hopes the recent reforms in the name of women’s rights will continue into 2010 as she avidly promotes a bill that will revise the outdated laws concerning marriage and divorce. Under the new bill, which Bibiha hopes will be passed by the end of this January, women will have the right to divorce her husband in circumstances of abuse and impotence. The new law will not only require a woman’s consent to marriage, an issue frequently ignored in traditionally arranged marriages, as well as her consent to sexual relations within the marriage.

In an effort to promote equality between spouses, elements of the bill provide motivation for co-ownership of land. The new bill does not prohibit certain marital traditions, such as the gifts given to the bride’s family, commonly known as the “bride-price”; However, should a divorce occur, the law requires an equal division of assets between spouses and prohibits the husband from reclaiming the “bride-price”. In the event that a woman’s husband dies, a widow will be able to choose whom she remarries, as opposed to the common tradition that demands a widow to remarry her brother-in-law with or without her consent.

In a 2006 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey, it was reported that a 60% of women have been subjected to domestic physical abuse and 30% of women have suffered from sexual abuse. As demonstrated by these alarming statistics, it is vitally important that Ugandan lawmakers continue developing new legislation that protects women from domestic violence and promotes gender equality in the home. While the laws under this new bill will only pertain to Christian, Hindu, and traditional African and Baha’i marriages, it is expected that a law concerning Muslim marriages will soon follow.

WCI commends the Ugandan parliament for the recent progress they have made for the benefit of women’s rights, specifically in regard to the laws concerning female genital mutilation and domestic violence, and will continue to support Uganda in their endeavors to develop a legal system that equally protects the rights of men and women alike.

To read more please click on the following link: http://www.womensenews.org/story/equalitywomen%E2%80%99s-rights/091225/ugandan-lawmakers-set-vote-marriage-divorce?page=0,0&%24Version=0&%24Path=/