KAMPALA, UGANDA: The Minister of Gender Labour and Social Development Hon Peace Mutuuzo has urged Ugandans to denounce dowry/bride price among other cultural practices she says undermine the value of women in the country.
According to Wikipedia, A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride’s family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage.
The minister while officiating at the National Symposium On the Well-being of the Girl Child in Kampala said such prevailing practices like dowry payment make women appear like commodities in a home.
“The practice of selling our children in exchange for goods in the name of traditions is unworthy. It’s shaming that some women are fighting hard to have their husbands pay dowry to their parents and when it is not done they feel like they are worthless,” she said.
“Many young people have ended up cohabitating in fear of being asked for dowry which is very expensive; some parents have ended up looking at their children as items for sale.”
Minister, as such called for the abolition of dowry saying this wouldn’t be against culture because culture evolves all the time.
“In the past, women used not to work but now they do. Girls used not to go to school but now they have been educated, and became engineers and doctors,” she said.
Mutuuzo, therefore, urged parents to give priority to their children first than always thinking about their businesses.
Speaking at the event, Francis Xavier Ejoyi, the country Director of Action Aid called upon stakeholders to join efforts in ensuring that the rights of the girl child are observed and all violators brought to book.
Xavier also expressed concern about lack of reliable statistics on girl child which can be used in planning and improving upon the standards of the girl child.
The symposium which attracted participants from government agencies, several Civil Society Organization’s actors and members from communities from various parts of the country, was held under a theme “Protect the girl: Protect the nation.”
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