UGANDA: Museveni wants NRM caucus to discuss Marriage Bill

By Monitor reporters, Nakasongola.

The National Resistance Movement Caucus will tomorrow convene and discuss the marriage Bill ahead of the Tuesday debate and before it is passed into law, President Museveni has announced.

According to Mr Museveni, some of the provisions in the Bill if not thought out well, may cause disharmony in society. He added that they require careful analysis from the perspective of the society.

“The issues concerning the Marriage and Domestic Bill should not be rushed because they need proper scrutiny. Some of them can lead to serious distortions if not handled properly. We have not had a party caucus to discuss this debate but we shall have to first discuss it as a caucus on Monday,” President Museveni said during celebrations to mark Women’s Day in Nakasongola on Friday. He said issues concerning the Marriage and Domestic Bill should be discussed in the perspective of “a liberated society and not the traditional and old society that has shallow ideas.”

The day was marked under the theme: “Connecting Grassroots Women to Development”. Several woman leaders and their male counterparts were awarded the Nalubale and the Golden Jubilee Independence medals for their outstanding service to the country.

The women, through the acting chairperson for the National Women Councils, Ms Pauline Kirasa, called for the creation of a women fund to support the women activities, including arrangements to have women elect their councils which she said was long overdue.

Meanwhile, the UN has commended the Uganda government for empowering women and fighting gender-based violence. The international body noted in a statement that Uganda had been at the forefront of fighting harmful practices. “Progress towards ending harmful practices such as sexual and gender-based violence, including female genital mutilation, has been made while efforts have also been made to increase women’s access to sexual and reproductive health services,” the statement reads in part. “Women’s education has been boosted by ensuring universal access to primary and secondary school education while more women are supported to participate in development processes in various sectors that include agriculture and employment,” the statement adds.

The UN outlined a number of challenges facing women today, noting that whereas the people and government of Uganda have a lot to celebrate, the Uganda Demographic Health Survey 2011 indicates that challenges still remain. Ms Paulina Chiwangu, the UN Women representative, observed that gender equality is central to human development and security, as stated in the Millennium Declaration.

Source: Sunday Monitor (10/03/2013): http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Museveni-wants-NRM-caucus-to-discuss-Marriage-Bill/-/688334/1715570/-/8ewilt/-/index.html