Uganda's top
court on Thursday banned the practice of refunding bride price — normally
livestock given by the groom to his bride's family — when a marriage ends in
divorce.
The Supreme Court agreed with activists that the practice
undermines the dignity of women but it upheld the practice of paying bride
price.
Activists who petitioned the court had hoped the whole
culture of giving gifts would be declared unconstitutional on the grounds that
it reduces women to the status of property.
Still, Leah Nabunnya, a spokeswoman for a Ugandan group that
launched the case, said the court's decision is a victory for women's rights.
"The court's pronouncement is a win for us," said
Nabunnya, of the Mifumi Project.
Nabunnya said studies conducted by her group show that many
women are stuck in abusive marriages because quitting means their families will
be obligated to make a refund of the bride price. Such women's families often
cannot afford to return the gifts, she said.
In banning the practice of returning gifts in the event of a
failed marriage, the judges said Thursday that women were not commodities being
traded in the marketplace.
The case against bride price was first launched in a lower
court in 2007 by activists who argued that bride price is a major cause of
domestic violence in this East African country.
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