Jumah Nsubuga

Women activists under their umbrella body UWONET have called for the registration of all forms of marriages that are recognized in the country and  demanded the exclusion of the cohabitation clause in the Marriage and Divorce Bill .

In a heated up news conference held today in Kampala, the chairperson of the group, Shilah Kamala emphasized the need to clear the myth that is currently spread around by various groups of people in the country portraying the bill as being oppressive to a big group of people mentioning, men and uneducated women in rural areas.

One , Rhoda Kalema while giving her opinion on the bill noted that the bill that is yet to become a law is for the good of society and not for  women alone .She insisted that the cohabitation clause be dropped and bill passed into law expeditiously.

The women activists say that Uganda is a secular state therefore can not legislate basing on different religious.

“This Bill acknowledges that the conventional courts have jurisdiction in matrimonial cause thus prudent to leave determination to them” One of the ladies at the conference said

The activists also feel that there is no need for further consultation into the bill as some MPs and the president demand.