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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Multiple Partnering, Gender Relations and Violence by Women in Uganda |
Author: | Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza, Lillian |
Year: | 1998 |
Periodical: | East African Journal of Peace and Human Rights |
Volume: | 4 |
Issue: | 1 |
Pages: | 15-40 |
Language: | English |
Notes: | biblio. refs. |
Geographic terms: | Uganda East Africa |
Subjects: | assault and battery polygamy women law Women's Issues Law, Human Rights and Violence Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) Law, Legal Issues, and Human Rights Marital Relations and Nuptiality Cultural Roles Family Life Status of Women urbanization Sex Roles gender violence Family environment social status economic conditions |
Abstract: | Polygamy is not a new phenomenon in Ugandan society and rivalry between co-wives is as old as the practice of polygamy itself. The conflicts inherent in the relation of co-wifeship are by virtue of the very nature of that relationship competitive. Patrilocality further compounds the potential for conflict between co-wives. Conflict between co-wives is a consequence of the fact that a subsequent wife is a threat to the earlier wife's socioeconomic status and it is usually the latter wife who is a 'victim' of the violence of an earlier wife. Rivalry between co-wives in contemporary Uganda is a reaction to the socioeconomic and cultural changes which have occured in society. While the 1995 Constitution entitles women to equal opportunities with men, women's familial status is still principally determined by culture. While the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights emphasizes the importance of African culture, it limits the individual's duty of preserving and strengthening African cultural values to those that are 'positive'. Since many manifestations of polygamy render women's rights meaningless, the practice cannot be regarded as positive. The article is based amongst others on a study of the Uganda High Court records of women prosecuted for violent crime between 1967 and 1993 and interviews with women incarcerated for violent crime in various Ugandan prisons between December 1993 and September 1994. Notes, ref. |