In an effort to get the views of Ugandans on the contraversial Marriage and Divorce bill under discussion by the Parliament, Members of Parliament are finding it hard to convice their electorate to support the passing of the bill which many have regarded as "Not relevant".
Parliament had been sent on recess by Speaker rebecca Kadaga before Easter to collect views of their electorate as regards the Bill and then present the same to parliament on return.
In some Districts, MPs were tasked to explain the relevance of the Marriage and Divorce Bill to Uganda, to which many could not explain.
In Eastern Uganda forexample, people said the bill is an insult to their cultural norm and if passed, it will lead to conflicts in homes instead of solving them. The Bill in one of the clauses seeks to abolish the payment of bride price as a token of appreciation to the bride's family. In many cultures, pride price is mandatory as it shows that the groom's family really values the bride to be and hence has the capacity to look after the girl.
In some places, where the groom's family fails to raise the required bride price, they are denied the chance to take the lady home as it proves that they may fail to look after the girl.
Some Ugandans urgue that the people pushing for the passing of the bill are failures in marriage and therefore do not mind whatever happens in homes after the bill has been passed.
The Church has also opposed some clauses of the Bill saying that they contradict the bible and the intetion of marriage. At the Way of the cross address on Good Friday at Old Kampala play ground, Archbishop of Kampala said the Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC) has written to the speaker seeking a change of the name of the Bill from Marriage and Divorce to Marriage and the family. This is because according to them, people dont marry to divorce but to live together as a family.
Members of Parliament were also tasked to explain why they were not asked to consult their electorate when the Oil and Exploration Bill was under debate and why it was passed despite growing opposition to the bill.
The consultations of these MPs with their electorate have cost the tax payers a whooping shs. 2 billion as each of the over 300 MPs will bag shs. 5 million.
Parliament had been sent on recess by Speaker rebecca Kadaga before Easter to collect views of their electorate as regards the Bill and then present the same to parliament on return.
| Parliament Speaker Hon. Rebecca Kadaga |
In Eastern Uganda forexample, people said the bill is an insult to their cultural norm and if passed, it will lead to conflicts in homes instead of solving them. The Bill in one of the clauses seeks to abolish the payment of bride price as a token of appreciation to the bride's family. In many cultures, pride price is mandatory as it shows that the groom's family really values the bride to be and hence has the capacity to look after the girl.
In some places, where the groom's family fails to raise the required bride price, they are denied the chance to take the lady home as it proves that they may fail to look after the girl.
Some Ugandans urgue that the people pushing for the passing of the bill are failures in marriage and therefore do not mind whatever happens in homes after the bill has been passed.
The Church has also opposed some clauses of the Bill saying that they contradict the bible and the intetion of marriage. At the Way of the cross address on Good Friday at Old Kampala play ground, Archbishop of Kampala said the Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC) has written to the speaker seeking a change of the name of the Bill from Marriage and Divorce to Marriage and the family. This is because according to them, people dont marry to divorce but to live together as a family.
Members of Parliament were also tasked to explain why they were not asked to consult their electorate when the Oil and Exploration Bill was under debate and why it was passed despite growing opposition to the bill.
The consultations of these MPs with their electorate have cost the tax payers a whooping shs. 2 billion as each of the over 300 MPs will bag shs. 5 million.
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