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In the aftermath of the recently passed bills on domestic violence and
female genital mutilation, female lawmakers in Uganda hope for an
approval in January of long-awaited modernization bills on marriage and
divorce.
Uganda’s parliament recently banned female genital mutilation. Anyone convicted of the practice, which involves cutting off a girl's clitoris, will face 10 years in jail. If the victim dies, the perpetrator faces a life sentence.
Jane Alisemera Babiha, chair of the Uganda Women Parliamentarians Association, is hoping for the support of her fellow parliamentarians to pass a modern bill on marriage and divorce.
"It is only natural that as women, we should champion for the cause of our fellow women who we represent. But in our campaign, we are also enlisting the support of men," added parliamentarian Mary Karooro Okurut, representative of the Bushenyi district.
Among the propositions of the new bill is the right for women to divorce their spouses in case of cruelty and impotence. It also gives women the right to consent to marriage, something which is often overlooked in African arranged traditional weddings.
The bill prohibits widow inheritance and gives the widow the right to remarry and to choose her own spouse. The bill also prohibits sex without consent in marriage and gives incentive to promote co-ownership of property between spouses as an equal division of property and finances in a divorce.
Alisemera expects the bill to win similar support in the 30-percent female parliament as the domestic violence bill passed in November.
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