Cross-posted at Daily Kos.
Angry Muslims in Uganda are protesting the Domestic Relations Bill, due to be debated in parliament. “One of the contentious issues in the bill,” reports the BBC, “concerns polygamy. It states that a husband should seek permission from his first wife before taking a second.”
In his interview with Charlie Rose last night (taped March 24, before the earthquake), Jan Egeland — Under-Secretary-General for
Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations — said that Uganda suffers from a mis-impression that it’s doing better than most other African countries. Rose piped in, “Lower rates of AIDs, …” Egeland nodded, and then talked about the largely unreported nightmare unfolding in Northern Uganda with children kidnapped by the “insane” Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) to be soldiers. Egeland pointed out that, to put a spotlight on the problem, he made his first visit as U.N. Under-Secretary to Northern Uganda.
Once again, as Booman emphasized below regarding Nigeria, we have religious fervor trumping human rights and self-curative measures. Writes Booman, “It appears that the United States has no monopoly on anti-science zealots.” Or zealots who oppose basic rights for women.
: : : More below : : :
Below, more about the domestic relations bill, which is wholly moderate, by the way. First, here’s what Egeland has written about Uganda:
According to the UN in 2004, more than 80 percent of LRA fighters were abducted children – the rebel group has kidnapped more than 20,000 children since 1988. This has left a gaping hole in the traditional family system of northern Ugandan society.
“Thousands of children have been raped, brutalised, drugged and forced to inflict unspeakable violence on others. The result: a generation whose childhood has forever been stolen from them,” wrote Jan Egeland [PHOTO, IN UGANDA], UN under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs, in the foreword to the 2004 book published by IRIN: “When the Sun Sets, We Start to Worry: An Account of Life in Northern Uganda“. [See SPECIAL NOTE about the book BELOW.]
In a 2004 report, HRW said rebel commanders considered child soldiers “cheap, compliant and effective fighters”.
Former child soldiers report that children are frequently killed or left for dead if they are either injured in battle, become too weak to keep up with the rebels or refuse to perform tasks allocated to them by LRA commanders.
SPECIAL NOTE: I searched the Web to find how you can purchase a copy of the book, When the Sun Sets, We Start to Worry: An Account of Life in Northern Uganda. I found that you can download — or view, chapter by chapter, photo by photo — the entire book, free of charge, at IRIN. The preface is written by Egeland.
About the proposed Ugandan Domestic Relations Bill, from BBC, beyond the bill’s section on polygamy:
But the Muslim community say aspects of the bill contravene Islamic law. Some protesters stood outside the gates of parliament holding placards urging MPs to leave the holy book alone.
They see the bill as an attempt to rewrite the Koran. …
On the issue of inheritance, the proposed law calls on women to be given a fair share of a husband’s wealth.
The Muslim community reject this noting that the Koran stipulates what women may inherit if their husband dies.
One of the key aims of the bill is to protect the rights of women.
Parliamentarians will be debating whether to end cultural practices such as wife inheritance and the paying of dowries or bride price.
But for some, the bill does not go far enough … it does not … condemn marital rape.
Although this demonstration was peaceful, some Muslims say they are prepared to use violent means to resist the proposed law.
Muslim leaders have called for the law to exempt Muslims as they say Islamic law cannot be compromised.
Muslims account for some 12% of the country’s 28 million people.
To read a personal story about polygamy in Uganda, see CNN International’s report.
In particular, members of Uganda’s Muslim majority are up in arms at the mere idea of a ban on polygamy — even though such a ban is unlikely.“If you tell me that I’m not allowed to marry a second wife, but you allow me to have a prostitute, to have a concubine, to have a girlfriend, that would be restricting my civil liberty,” said Sam Sentongo, an Imam at Makerere University.
Detractors say there is no need for legislation on polygamy. The Koran has its own rules about it.
“Most of these [marriage] laws date back to 1904, 1916 and so on,” said Irene Ovongi-Odida of the Uganda Law Reform Commission. “We haven’t had substantive reform over the years, although there’s been a great push for it from various interest groups such as women in the society.”
Emphases mine>
Winston Churchill, who ought to know (snark), called Uganda the “pearl of Africa.”
All that’s needed, Egeland keeps emphasizing — as he did again last night on Charlie Rose — is that world leaders pay attention. Let’s help them pay attention.
ALSO: Catholicdoctors.org.uk points out that polygamy is an under-reported factor in the spread of AIDS.
in failing to distinguish between Islam and pre-Islamic customs. Polygyny pre-dates Islam by many millennia, and was practiced almost everywhere in the world at some point.
There is a verse in the Koran that sets quite a revolutionary precedent. In the context of a (not unique) culture of no limit to number of wives, Mohammed did just that. And who cannot see the twinkle in his eye when even to that, he adds the deal breaker. 😉
Of course no man can “do justice” to more than one wife, and this verse is almost universally interpreted as including emotional as well as financial justice, in other words, love them equally.
At the same time, he is acknowledging the reality in which he lived. Women whom no one married were pretty much screwed. In the proud tradition of diary pimping, I have posted more about this topic, for those interested.
is a nice compliment to this story and the story from Nigeria.
It’s incredible and, as always with Duct-y, the eloquent use of language:
From The Prophet Mohammed as Feminist (recommended!)
I just posted on another site about my email pal in Iraq, then I saw this story and now have to post that I have an email pal in Uganda as well.
I found these two penpals on the Jolly Roger site for penpals, I contacted the Iraq person and the person from Uganda contacted me first. He is a black native, a preacher of sorts. I said that “black native” because there are many other nationalities there predoninately Indian I believe and the groups are very different.
So if you have any questions you would like me to ask him I will. He is very poor, but has access to computer in the computer cafe where he works. He has self taught himself English and communicates quite well.
Suggestion, others may want to try finding email pals from other countries, as I have. Gives one a very unique perspective when you have info from the people who actually live in these countries and that was my goal in reaching out.
In the case of Iraq, I wanted also to reach out to say, we are not all bad, and indeed found she is the most pro American person I have ever met. She can really make you see this country in a different light. She is anti bush however. She longs to come to this great country, as she says, it will be the realization of her lifelong dream. I think I have some of that on my blog. how she feels about America. I had posted a lot of her letters on my blog, but she was very uncomfortable with that and I removed most.