BRIDE PRICE AND WOMEN MISTREATMENT

I accidentally came across the discussion that was being aired by BBC Swahili service yesterday evening. The topic in discussion was on the bride/dowry price. The discussion followed the dicission of some Ugandan activists who took the case before the Uganda High Court demanding that the bride price be abolished. However, the case was rejected under the quoted grounds below:

"Kampala — Court has declared the custom and practice of paying bride price a condition precedent to marriage as legal because it is intended to show appreciation to the parents of the bride'

During the discussion,the presenter consulted two activists on line, one from Kenya and one from Tanzania. The interesting part of their arguments was that though the two differed in their explanations, they shared the same position that Bride Price undermines the status of women. During the discussion , it was later added that the higher the bride price the higher the possibility of the woman being mistreated.

I understand that in most African or developing countries so to speak the status of women is very low as comperad to men due to social,cultural and economic reasons that deliberately put men at the pic of everything. This is indeed the clear manifestation of the inherent patriarchy system in our societies that presupposes that women are objects that should abide to whatever is decided by men. This situation become even worse when some people dare to cite some religious verses that accidentally support their wrong deeds.

However, i would like to differ abit from the conclussion that my fellow activists have been making by making an absolute link between bride price and women mistreatment. Why am I arguing this? because if that has been the case, then i would expect Indian Men to be mistreated as according to their culture its women who pay bride price(I stand to be corrected). I do not deny the fact that to some extent bride price has been acting as a price tag and a permission to to the husband for treating his wife as he wishes.

The topic in dicsussion is crucial and timing, i welcome other activists to contribute their ideas on how best women mistreatment can be addressed.