Govt warns local courts against handling early marriages cases

By Violet Nabatanzi

The minister of gender and social development has warned Local council courts against handling cases of child, early and forced marriages but instead refer them to higher courts.

Mary Karoro Okurut   yesterday said that these are criminal cases and should not be handled at local level.
“For instance you find an old man with a 10 year old girl, and then he is brought to the LC court and they fine him with a chicken; those cases should be tried in court,” she disclosed.

Speaking ahead of the Girl summit 2014, slated to take place in the United Kingdom (UK) this month, Okurut commended the police for arresting old men who have married their granddaughters.

The summit aims at mobilizing domestic and international efforts to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and child, early and forced marriage (CEFM) within a generation.

In Uganda, 49 percent of married women aged 20-49 report having married before the age of 18. And 2 million of the 4 million teenage girls in Uganda will get married before they reach the age of 18.

“Government has made a lot of strides and during the summit, we shall share to the rest of the world what has been done in Uganda, because we have put laws and policies in place and people have been sensitized, Uganda outlawed the FGM and we have followed up, ” Karoro  said  while addressing a pre-event consultative dialogue  in Entebbe.

The event was organized to hear children and youth views on FGM and Child, Early and Forced Marriage.

Okurut said some of the surgeons who carry out FGM are giving up and they are being integrated into programs like NAADS.
In Uganda, FGM is prevalent in the Karamoja and Sebei regions. It is estimated that 90 percent of girls in these regions have experienced FGM.  

UNICEF’s child protection specialist Harriet Akullu said, “When a girl undergoes FGM, no matter how early the FGM is practiced,  that girl can get married, and that is why we are focusing on FGM and child marriage together,”

She however said that the practice is beginning to change face because a lot of girls cross into Kenya to carryout FGM.

“Uganda has begun to enforce its law however the practice has suddenly changed, so we want to bring in our neighbouring countries to help us,” Akullu said.

Patience Ndagire of Mary Preparatory secondary school advised government to apprehend parents who force their children into early marriages.

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