The tradition of paying bride price is widespread throughout the world, and it is also an important cultural feature in the majority of Sub-Saharan African countries. A bride price is a mandatory payment made by a man to the family from which he obtains a daughter in marriage. Bride price varies according to a people's custom, religion, and tradition, and is such that a prospective husband (usually assisted by his family) provides a considerable amount of money, cattle, or other commodities that are highly prized to his future wife's family prior to contracting a marriage. The payment of bride price is widely accepted and is as well considered a custom that proves honor to the woman and her family; hence it has been traditionally justified for various reasons. The most and the widely accepted reason for paying the bride price is that it strengthens the union as it brings two families together, and ultimately causes acceptance. Also, the bride price is given on the justification that the wealth received will to some extent compensate the time, money, and also trouble experienced by the bride's family in raising the daughter, who is later allowed to go live with a new family. Nonetheless, in some regions, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, most families are in abject poverty which prompts them to wed their daughters at a very tender age in order to get the bride price. The paper assesses the question of whether bride price (known as Lobola in Uganda) violates the Constitution of Uganda and other binding International Human Rights laws. The main focus of the paper is the Lira Kingdom in Northern Uganda.
Importance and Impact of Bride Price
Most kingdoms in Uganda places great emphasis on the need for bride price (Lobola) whenever a man is taking a girl for marriage. The payment of bride price is argued as a significant practice as it is believed to contribute to the stability of the marriage since the family of the woman gains an interest in resolving any problems that would arise between their daughter and her future husband. In that light, there is a guarantee of the stability of the union as the bride’s family would be required to refund the bride price in the case the relationship fails. There is also the consensus that the union is strengthened by bringing together families after there is acceptance of the new members of the family. There is the need to note that various factors such as level of education are considered in determining the value of the bride price. The culture of the Lira kingdom also considers bride price as a sign of fulfillment of traditional marriage that further offers assurance and confidence of a lasting union between the two parties involved. In her book, Memoirs of a mother, Anne Wangusa describes the challenges experienced by Elizabeth Sera in trying to fit into a society where the woman is subordinated and treated as a man’s property.
Traditionally, bride price has been associated with various positive impacts such as bringing the families of the man and the woman together, and thus ensuring that the marriage is stable. Besides, there is considerable prestige and acceptance linked with the practice of paying the bride price in most communities. The underlying reason as to why bride price is highly valued is that it brings a sense of recognition and honor of the woman’s family.
However, the paying of bride price has increasingly turned out to be a tool of oppressing women since they are considered as a possession that can be associated with price tags. In most rural areas in Northern Uganda where there are high levels of poverty, families, and parent of the woman have completely commercialized the practice, and they tend to charge the prospective groom exorbitantly. Also, there is the tendency of parents marrying off their young girls who are under the legal or marriageable age of 18 years (or at age 16 for girls with parent’s consent) thus they are kept out of school. For instance, according to the UNICEF's State of the World's Children, 2016, 10 percent of girls are married before age 15 while 40 percent are married off by the time they reach age 18. Most parents of the future bride view their young daughters in terms of the wealth they will bring to the family. The primary contributing factors to such child marriages is, therefore, poverty as parents marry off their daughters with the hope of gaining financial security.
When the society views girls in terms of the wealth they will bring to the family upon marriage, the status of the woman is reduced to property. As a result, the women are exposed to side effects such as all sorts of abuse and domestic violence, Widow inheritance, high risks of being infected with HIV/AIDs, poverty, and also being married off at younger ages or as children.
Since most of the families are in abject poverty, it becomes quite difficult for them to give back the bride price in the case of a termination of marriage. Therefore, the woman is forced to stay in the abusive marriage despite being abused. The payment of bride price places such a woman from a poor background in a vulnerable position even in a union where she feels violated. In that light, bride price is considered a great contributor to domestic violence and abuse as her parents are the ones encouraging her to stay in the marriage despite the numerous challenges, simply because they cannot afford to return the bride price to the husband’s family.
Legality of Bride Price
There is the need to note that bride price is not a provision under any written law, even though it is generally accepted under customary law. As further noted by Sekaggya (2004), courts have the power to enforce the observance of any given custom to benefit any person, provided that it is not repulsive of any equity, natural justice, and good conscience, and also if it is compatible with any written law. The courts in Uganda have held that the validity of the traditional marriages depends on whether an individual has fully paid the bride price. For instance, in Uganda v. Kuranimo Oliyo and Another case, there was the conclusion that a customary marriage will only be considered valid when there is proof of completion of bride price payment.
Nonetheless, the practice of paying bride price can and should be challenged if the custom is repugnant to good conscience and equity, and differs with the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda. The Ugandan Constitution has provisions for equality where it states that ‘all people are equal before and under the law in all spheres of economic, political, social, as well as cultural life and every other respect and shall enjoy equal protection of the law.' As further explained by Sekaggya (2004), the Constitution also provides that all women be treated and accorded equal and full dignity of the person with men. The Ugandan Constitution also states that ‘men and women of the age of eighteen years and over have the right to marry and to found a family and are entitled to equal rights in marriage, during the marriage, and at its dissolution.'
With the provision of the Ugandan Constitution, men and women are entitled to equal rights in marriage, during the marriage, as well as after (in case its) dissolved. Therefore, the payment of bride price, which as stated earlier, puts the woman in not only a vulnerable but also an inferior position and also reduces her to a property status and not equal to her man, is a violation of the Constitution. Regardless of whether the man pays the bride price to the woman, there is an expected portrayal of equality when the two are in the institution of marriage. Just like the Ugandan Constitution, there exist other International Human Rights laws that call for equality for both men and women in marriage, during the marriage, and also at upon its dissolution. For instance, Uganda is a member of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, which is among the most influential international instruments that fight for human rights. The body is against the subordination of women in various spheres of life such as economic, political, legal, as well as cultural aspects of the society.
Conclusion
Bride price has been noted to have various significance in most cultures around the world. Particularly, countries in the Sub-Saran Africa, Uganda included, greatly value the practice of paying the bride price. Bride price is particularly important as it strengthens the cohesion between the man and woman’s family. However, there have been negative impacts associated with paying the bride price, and they include perpetuating poverty in the society, domestic violence and all sorts of abuse, child marriages, and thus a violation of the provisions of the Constitution of Uganda and also other binding international human rights laws.
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