By Juma Nsubuga

Women MPs under their umbrella organization Uganda women parliamentary association have clashed in a breakfast meeting over the marriage and divorce bill.

The meeting that was called to come up with a harmonized position over the marriage bill ended up in a disagreement.

Most of female members of parliament  support the bill while others  not in support of the clause which legalizes cohabitation.
The bill recognizes the rights of those who cohabit in sharing properties at the termination of cohabitation but does not recognize cohabitation as a form of marriage.

The bill also prohibits contracting of the marriage in Uganda without the consent of either party.

The MPs who don’t support cohabitation says that cohabitation will render church marriages irrelevant and that marriages will be turned into business as couples will be after properties.

Women activists have been calling upon parliament to pass the marriage and divorce bill as the way of protecting the women’s rights in the family in cases of marriage failure.