1 December 2004
Parliament — A women rights agency has proposed that bride-price be abolished completely.
The women told the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs committee that many young men and orphans could not afford the price, which is a requirement for marriage.
The Executive Director of Mifumi Project, Ms Turner Atuki, said the act should stipulate, “It shall be an offence to demand marriage gifts,”.
Mifumi is a women rights NGO based in Tororo.
The Parliamentary Legal committee is currently getting views on the Domestic Relations Bill 2004 (DRB) whose purpose is to harmonise all laws relating to marriage.
Article 20 of the Domestic Relations Bill states that marriage gifts shall not be an essential requirement for any marriage under the Act.
Atuki said the definitions of marriage gifts and bride price were inadequate.
“The meaning of marriage gifts should be made substantive enough to include alternative forms already being practised such as gifts to the couples, gifts from couple to couple, gifts from the boy’s family as well and the use of symbolic tokens,” Atuki said.
She said the Bill should explicitly repeal all previous laws and byelaws relating to bride-price.