afrol News, 5 April - Thursday becomes a day of victory for women in Uganda after the Constitutional Court in the capital Kampala quashed a law they claim discriminates married men and women. The court ruled that cheating is no longer a criminal offence in Uganda.

"From today, the laws are null and void. They have been inconsistent with the constitution of Uganda," read a judgment by a panel of judges.

With effect, any spouse that catches his/her partner committing adultery can either seek redress for compensation or file a divorce. This implies that the police do not have the powers to arrest or imprison anybody for committing adultery in the country.

The Law and Advocacy for Women in Uganda challenged the marriage laws at the Constitutional Courts last year, arguing that they were unfair to both women and men.

The women activists have been crying foul that the laws penalise adulterous married women while allowing married men to go scot-free with similar crimes. Uganda’s marriage laws do not punish unmarried men and women who commit sex with married men or women. .

While women activists see the scrap as a victory for justice, the Attorney General said it will succeed in encouraging immorality and promiscuity.

Activist lawyers also called for the amendment of certain sections of the Succession Act, which unequally share the wealth of spouses when they die. This law permits a husband to take all the assets or wealth of his dead wife but is not the case when it is otherwise.

The law allows a father to choose a carer for his child after death, which disqualifies the widow’s right to own him/her.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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