'We want a law against lazy husbands'

Jan 31, 2014

Women in Mayuge town have asked the Government to enact tough by-laws to punish men who engage in non-productive activities during working hours.

By Jackie Nambogga

MAYUGE district - Women in Mayuge town have asked the Government to enact tough by-laws to punish men who engage in playing games such as ludo (a board game), pool and omweso during working hours.

They said their husbands have left all family responsibilities to them and leave their homes early morning to go to trading centres to gamble.

This was during three separate meetings organised by the Bunya West MP Vincent Bagiire in Mayuge town on Friday as part of his ongoing food security enhancement campaign and giving hoes to women in the constituency.

“Our husbands are becoming too dependent on us, they do not want to dig but instead, after having breakfast, they go to trading centres to play board games and politicking.

"The Government should come up with laws to restrain them so that they become productive to the economy,” Saida Samusa from Katwe village, said.

She said they wait when women have harvested food and they sell it to get money for marrying other women.

Fatuma Naikoba from Ddwaliro zone said as a result of irresponsible behaviour by their husbands, their children drop out of school due to lack of fees.

“We have three school-going age children but they are not studying because whenever I want to sell part of the food to raise money for their school fees, he restrains and threatens to beat me saying the land on which I grow the food belongs to him,” Naikoba said.

Bagiire who donated 1,200 hoes to the women, said he was impressed by the residents for growing food unlike other parts where sugarcanes are grown without sparing land for food crops.

He asked them to reinstate granaries for food storage to be used in times of drought and famine. However, the residents complained of the rampant theft of food in the area saying they instead keep it under their beds.

Florence Tibiwa, a resident of Ssesse zone thinks idle husbands should be arrested because they have turned into dependants.

She also suggests that Parliament comes up with a specific law to penalise those who engage in gambling during the day.

In her view, Farida says such men are giving a bad example because "our children will follow the same trend", and adds: "Let them be jailed as a lesson to others".

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