Otaala, MPs clash over Bill
Jun 24, 2009
MPs and minister Dr. Emmanuel Otaala have clashed over a private member’s Bill on female genital mutilation.
By Madinah Tebajjukira
MPs and minister Dr. Emmanuel Otaala have clashed over a private member’s Bill on female genital mutilation.
Dr. Chris Baryomunsi, who is spearheading the campaign, had said the Bill, titled Prohibition of Female Genital Cutting Bill, would be presented to Parliament for first reading on July 15.
Baryomunsi made the disclosure at a workshop organised by the Uganda Women Parliamentary Association in Kampala to lobby male MPs to advocate for gender issues.
Baryomunsi said once the Bill is passed into law, any person who violates or attempts to violate the integrity of the female genital organ would be liable to imprisonment for five to eight years.
However, Otaala, who is the state minister for gender, labour and social development, opposed the move.
He said the ministry was preparing a similar Bill and advised MPs to harmonise with the ministry to avoid duplicating content.
Otaala disclosed that the Cabinet had approved the principles of the Bill drafted by the ministry.
He added that the ministry had already asked the First Parliamentary Council to draft a Bill on female genital mutilation.
“What we can do is to strike a deal and the Government takes over the private members Bill,†Otaala said.
The remarks angered MPs, some of whom booed him. They accused the Government of hijacking private members Bills for political reasons.
“It appears the Government is determined to frustrate MPs to move private Bills. Some time back, I moved a private members Bill seeking amendment of the national youth Act. The Government hijacked it and they are sleeping on it since then. Let us abandon the multi- party politics because the executive has failed,†said Denis Obua, (Youth Northern).
Rubanda West MP Henry Banyenzaki noted that blocking the Bill indicated that the Government was not bothered about the plight of the women subjected to genital mutilation.
He wondered why the Government wanted to block the Bill at this stage yet the gender ministry had participated in its drafting.
The Bill was drafted by East African Legislative Assembly MP Dora Byamukama in conjunction with Law and Advocacy for Women in Uganda.
The Parliamentary Forum for Food Security and Population, and about 180 MPs resolved to move the Bill last year on the grounds that the Government had failed to curb the practice.
The practice involves the cutting off of parts of the female genitalia. It is practised in 20 districts in Uganda. It is most common among the Sabiny, Pokot, and Somali in Nakivale Camp, Isingiro district.
MPs and minister Dr. Emmanuel Otaala have clashed over a private member’s Bill on female genital mutilation.
Dr. Chris Baryomunsi, who is spearheading the campaign, had said the Bill, titled Prohibition of Female Genital Cutting Bill, would be presented to Parliament for first reading on July 15.
Baryomunsi made the disclosure at a workshop organised by the Uganda Women Parliamentary Association in Kampala to lobby male MPs to advocate for gender issues.
Baryomunsi said once the Bill is passed into law, any person who violates or attempts to violate the integrity of the female genital organ would be liable to imprisonment for five to eight years.
However, Otaala, who is the state minister for gender, labour and social development, opposed the move.
He said the ministry was preparing a similar Bill and advised MPs to harmonise with the ministry to avoid duplicating content.
Otaala disclosed that the Cabinet had approved the principles of the Bill drafted by the ministry.
He added that the ministry had already asked the First Parliamentary Council to draft a Bill on female genital mutilation.
“What we can do is to strike a deal and the Government takes over the private members Bill,†Otaala said.
The remarks angered MPs, some of whom booed him. They accused the Government of hijacking private members Bills for political reasons.
“It appears the Government is determined to frustrate MPs to move private Bills. Some time back, I moved a private members Bill seeking amendment of the national youth Act. The Government hijacked it and they are sleeping on it since then. Let us abandon the multi- party politics because the executive has failed,†said Denis Obua, (Youth Northern).
Rubanda West MP Henry Banyenzaki noted that blocking the Bill indicated that the Government was not bothered about the plight of the women subjected to genital mutilation.
He wondered why the Government wanted to block the Bill at this stage yet the gender ministry had participated in its drafting.
The Bill was drafted by East African Legislative Assembly MP Dora Byamukama in conjunction with Law and Advocacy for Women in Uganda.
The Parliamentary Forum for Food Security and Population, and about 180 MPs resolved to move the Bill last year on the grounds that the Government had failed to curb the practice.
The practice involves the cutting off of parts of the female genitalia. It is practised in 20 districts in Uganda. It is most common among the Sabiny, Pokot, and Somali in Nakivale Camp, Isingiro district.