Lugbara chief roots for better upbringing of boys
Lugbara perform a traditional at a function in West Nile recently. PHOTO BY MONITOR REPORTER
What you need to know:
- Mr Lambert Adroa, the cultural chief of Terego under the Lugbara Cultural Institution, said often in homes, when women give birth to many boys, they feel secure and therefore detest anything said against these boys by their father.
Officials from the Lugbara Cultural Institution have called for better preparation of the boy child to prepare him to be a better person in the future.
They said while the emphasis is being put on the better upbringing of the girl child, the result has been rampant domestic violence spearheaded by what they called ‘unruly husbands’.
Speaking to this publication on Tuesday, the speaker of the Lugbara Kari, Dr Christopher Yiiki, said a deliberate effort needs to be put in place to prepare the boy child into a responsible man.
“For a long time, the boy child has not been strategically prepared to take on the role of the father and husband. The boy child has been neglected in a way because society has prepared the boy child to be like a king, they are not assigned roles to do, they are not supervised,” he said.
He added: “So they grow up with the mindset that they are kings, they should be served, they do not need to serve, and that has resulted in men becoming a problem in the society.”
He said there was a need to change the narratives by preparing the boys from childhood to play their role.
Mr Lambert Adroa, the cultural chief of Terego under the Lugbara Cultural Institution, said often in homes, when women give birth to many boys, they feel secure and therefore detest anything said against these boys by their father.
“Our children need to be punished when they are wrong to correct them into becoming better persons in the future. Avoid raising boys as useless beings,” Mr Adroa said.
Patriarchy
These reactions followed recent dialogue meetings organised by Strategic Initiative by Women in the Horn of Africa involving men in Arua City.
The men-only discussions, involving male journalists and religious leaders, revealed that patriarchy was the main cause of gender-based violence in communities in Arua.
Mr Andrew Cohen Amvesi, a journalist, said: “Some men think they have access to sex with their wives at any time regardless of the spouse’s health or emotional condition. The supremacy of men dominating over their wives is what is fuelling the gender-based violence in families. We need to change this mindset.”
