A Ugandan woman, Dorah Muhanuuzi, has sparked debate online after she pushed for polyandry in wake of a court ruling allowing polygamy.
The Constitutional Court recently dismissed a petition filed by the Women’s Probono Initiative (WPI) which had challenged the legality of polygamy in Uganda.
Court ruled that contrary to WPI’s argument, polygamy does not violate equality, non-discrimination, or protection from inhuman treatment as guaranteed by the constitution.
WPI had also argued that the fact that polygamous husbands were immune to prosecution for bigamy yet article 21 talked of equality before the law was a contravention of the highest law in the land.
Justice Margaret Tibulya delivered the ruling, which the panel of five justices unanimously agreed with. The judges agreed that that the constitution should keep protecting polygamy for both religious and cultural purposes as provided for under Uganda’s Customary Marriage (Registration) Act and the Marriage and Divorce of Mohammedans Act.
“The equality necessary to support legal protections does not require identical treatment of all groups… There is no greater inequality than the equal treatment of unequals… Polygamy is not inherently torture… except in cases of coercion or forced marriage, which are themselves criminal, consensual polygamy among adults cannot be construed as cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,” the judge ruled.
ENTER DORAH MUHANUUZI
In response, Dorah Muhanuuzi argued that for there to be fairness, women should also be allowed to marry as many men as they wish.
“If polygamy is permitted in a legal system, then fairness and equality demand that polyandry (where one woman marries multiple men) should also be legal,” Muhanuuzi, a lawyer, noted.
“We cannot claim to respect freedom of choice or cultural diversity if those freedoms are only extended to men.”
Muhanuuzi continued: “Either we legalize consensual multi-partner marriages for all genders, or we admit that the current framework is not about culture or freedom but control and patriarchy and abolish it.”
According to the profile of Dorah Muhanuuzi on X, the microblogging site formerly called Twitter, this strong proponent of polyandry says she works or has worked with Children and Youth at The Fund for Global Human Rights and World Bank Africa.
And some people have been giving Dorah Muhanuuzi some reactions. The Pearl Times Media Buzz captures some of them below:
“Alright, let’s push this further if you legalize polyandry, how do you handle disputes over paternal responsibility, DNA rights, child support, and parental consent for one child with multiple legal fathers?” asked Brian Wekesa.
“Which man’s lineage does the child inherit, and how would this reshape property succession laws that have been culturally and legally defined for centuries? Be honest, are you ready for that level of legal chaos?”
“The CC: the law permits polyandry and polygyny. The fact that Ugandan women don’t contract polyandry is not the function of the law. Rather it is the function of the rites of the cultures and religions from which they come. The law is okay, change your culture and religion,” argued Prosper Ategyeka.
“Women are not f0olish enough to support polyandry. It is absolutely of no benefit to them,” claimed James Onen.
“I doubt if polyandry is the first marriage equality women will be fighting for in such a discourse. There are several other things in marriage that African women in your position would advocate equality for and I’m sure marrying several husbands is definitely not top of the list,” submitted Benard Aloo.
“I’d like to ask, do we have laws that prohibit polyandry? Or, do we have cultures in Uganda that practice polyandry? If not, then maybe we need to ask why women are not practicing polyandry if there are no prohibitions in place,” noted Conrad Johnson Wasike.
The debate on polyandry vs polygamy continues…
Meanwhile, a Ugandan socialite has confessed that she cheated on her broke radio presenter boyfriend with a rich man in Dubai – yet her broke boyfriend had sponsored the same trip. (See Details Here).
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