Kazibwe row sparks debate on gender violence

Ugandan Vice-President Specioza Kazibwe's recent public admission that she left her marriage as a result of beatings she received from her estranged husband has sparked fresh debate on the subject of domestic violence, a serious human rights concern in the country but which many women suffer in silence. Kazibwe said at a recent women's workshop that she been forced to throw her engineer husband out of their house, which she had built, after several beatings, according to Ugandan media reports. "Why should I continue to stay with a man who beats me. I told him, 'How can you beat a vice- president?'," the BBC on Tuesday quoted her as saying. Kazibwe's comments, first reported by the Ugandan government-owned New Vision newspaper, have given brought attention to the issue of gender violence, which is generally taboo in Ugandan communities, where women are expected to be subordinate to their husbands. Women groups have aired differing opinions on the issue, with some, notably the umbrella National Association of Women's Organisations in Uganda (NAWOU), accusing the media of "trivialising" the subject of gender violence by portraying the Vice-President in a negative light. Ugandan Minister for Ethics and Integrity, Miriam Matembe, entered the fray on Sunday, attacking Charles Kazibwe for portraying his wife as a monster and blaming the media for publicising the matter, and for demonising the Vice-President. "You [the media] have portrayed Charles Kazibwe as a victim who needs public sympathy and our Vice-President as a monster, irresponsible and bad woman," the New Vision on Monday quoted her as saying. "The VP was talking to us as colleagues and as a fellow woman leader. You should not have brought this matter into the press," she said. Charles Kazibwe told the Sunday Vision on 17 March that he had only slapped the Vice-President twice for insubordination, which was not a good enough reason to destroy their marriage of 10 years. "The first time was in 1993, when she was Industry Minister, and the second in 1995, when she was already Vice-President," the paper quoted him as saying. "Let her, as a medical doctor, produce evidence of any harm I inflicted on her. He said he was confident that the couple's four children, aged between 14 and 22 years, would testify in his favour in any court action that might arise, the report added. The Vice-Secretary-General of NAWOU, who declined to be named, told IRIN on Wednesday that the media's exposure of details regarding Kazibwe separation from her husband had - instead of enriching the quality of the debate on spousal abuse - resulted in a "backlash" which was likely to have severe implications for many other women in Uganda. "Its good to open up and give one's own personal experiences, but not at a certain level where one can be misunderstood," she said. "The Vice-President was speaking to her colleagues, and the issue should not have been picked by the media." The NAWOU official argued that current debate could even encourage more violence Ugandan men to beat up their wives. "Our concern is that what women do often cause a backlash. Some men are now saying: 'If the Vice- President can be beaten, then what about other ordinary women?" The local chapter of the International Federation of Women lawyers (FIDA) has, however, welcomed Specioza Kazibwe's admission, saying it was a bold step that could encourage more women to open up and stand up against domestic abuse. Mary Kusambiza, Executive Director of FIDA-Uganda, told IRIN on Wednesday that, although the media had portrayed the Vice-President in a negative light, her admission highlighted the plight of many professional women who continued to quietly withstand spousal abuse. "We support her for standing up, Kusambiza said. "Violence is not a private thing: it is a human rights issue and shouldn't be put under covers. People have kept silent for a long time. A lot goes on in homes and is banded 'private', but it is abuse." Wife-beating is a widely accepted norm in Uganda, as in many other African countries, where cultural dictates require women to be subordinates in the home, according to observers. A new Domestic Bill, which sought to address culturally sanctioned gender imbalances considered responsible for much of the violence in the home, including outlawing polygamy, was last year introduced in Uganda's parliament. The bill was withdrawn after much protest from Muslims who claimed it violated Islamic provisions that allowed men to marry four wives. Eva Mulema, a member of FIDA-Uganda, recently told IRIN that - although Uganda is currently viewed as an example for its leadership in recognising women's rights, by putting in place laws that criminalise domestic and sexually related violence - economic factors and the lack of supporting infrastructure (such as shelters for abused women), continued to prevent many women from complaining about their abusers. [see EAST AFRICA: Special Report on violence against women] "The law is not perfect. There are criminal provisions for domestic violence. But women don't want their husbands arrested and locked up in jail. So the law still does not meet their needs," she said. "It is generally agreed that gender violence rates are quite high in Uganda. What worries us more is that, the perception that it is a problem is not very apparent," she added.