Fresh to the scenes, we witnessed the New Marriage Bill tabled by the Tororo District Woman Representative, Sarah Opendi, a proposal that got social media buzzing and the married people uncomfortable in their own skin.
However, what largely attracted the population to this bill were the heavy penalties on individuals found in violation of the supposed law.
Apparently, this bill strongly emphasizes equal property rights, the protection of minors, and new regulations on marital arrangements, but I realized that the bill might not actually hold given the polygamous nature of families and attitude changes today.
Since ancestral times, men have taken for themselves many wives who in turn bear an uneven number of children with the same male.
When all is said and done, it eventually translates that this man is legally entitled to property sharing with all the females individually and their children involved in this marriage.
This could be termed as unjust through the unequal distribution of this property, and what criteria is supposed to be followed in the allocation of this property?
Which brings the question, does prioritizing the marriage bill address some of the pressing issues currently affecting the population in such harsh economic times?
Moreover, the recent population census statistics revealed that Uganda is a predominantly young nation, with children aged zero to seventeen years making up 50.5%, which is approximately 23.1 million of the population.
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Besides their ineligibility to have a spouse by the law, this percentage of the population consists of the vulnerable and excited GenZ group, mostly unbothered about marriage and its constituents.
Historically, the Marriage and Divorce Bill, which was first introduced in 2003 as The Domestic Relations Bill, apart from being another legislative endeavor, has a reputation for failed implementation through Parliament.
In 2006, after continued pushback, particularly from religious groups, the bill was split into two: the Muslim Personal Law Bill, which covered Muslim marriages, and the Marriage and Divorce Bill that applied to other recognized marriages in Uganda.
Like watched and forgotten seasons of an overrated long production, the bill kept creeping back to the floor of the August House through 2009 and still failed to pass.
In 2016 and 2017, it was revived with the goal of passing the bill quickly; however, its chance of failure to pass the test surpassed its success.
Factors like strong opposition from religious groups, especially the Muslims and parliamentarians, negative public sentiment, and personal biases, as well as controversial clauses, played key roles in the loopholes in the Marriage Bill.
Similarly, on this episode of Keeping Up with the Marriage Bill in 2024, we can see a new cast with a slightly different plot twist to suit the time, a new face tabling it, but in all the charade, your guess is as good as mine.
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The marriage bill, which requires newlywed couples to consummate their marriage within six months for risk of having their marriage declared voidable, will only increase domestic violence, early divorce, and insecurity in families.
By passing this bill, the cultures and beliefs of different religions will be undermined, the rights of women will be undermined, children will be left homeless because their parents have been imprisoned and divorced for defying the bill, and couples will drown in postmarital debt from a failed marriage.
However, before its ‘reburial,’ the prime movers of the Bill should indulge in a thought-provoking discussion and pay attention to culture and traditional myths.
Legislators should reflect on the equality of men and women as enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda and decipher aspects like property sharing, polygamy, and bride wealth.
