Culture to blame for gender-based violence in Uganda, says Ogoola

Women activists march during the peace exhibition against Gender-based Violence in Busia Town at the weekend.
PHOTO BY Ephraim Kasozi.

What you need to know:

Former Principal Judge says some negative aspects of our culture put women under men.

Busia

The rampant occurrence of sexual and Gender-Based Violence is a result of the negative cultural practices in the various communities, a senior judicial officer has said.

The chairman of the Judicial Service Commission, Justice James Ogoola, said despite the legal and institutional framework in the country, there is need to study and improve some elements of culture that have contributed to the violence.

“There are elements which put girls and women under the authority of boys and men such that when they grow up, they fear them. For instance refund of bride wealth and cursing a divorced woman are major issues that prevent women from fleeing a bad marriage and many other issues which give men chance to cause trouble,” said Justice Ogoola.

Speaking at the fifth annual peace exposition on rising to end Gender-Based Violence in Busia, Justice Ogoola appealed to government and women rights activists to carry out a research that would help the country get solutions to the vice.

“Our culture is good. We cannot do without it, abandon it or condemn it. But Gender Based Violence is real and rooted on these negative cultural practices which are not fit for the modern day life,” Justice Ogoola, the former principal Judge said.

The Institute of Social Transformation (IST) in partnership with women advocacy body, ISIS-WICCE organised the peace exposition to appeal to government to speed up the enactment of the policy to implement the Domestic Violence law.

Dr Thelma Awori, the executive director of IST attributed the rampant gender-based violence to lack of mechanisms in society to bring the culprits to book. “Women are not aware of the laws and their rights to property and others have not realised that they are married because there is not system to empower them. They are being exploited despite working hard and this calls for change,” she said.