By Andrew Cohen Amvesi
ARUA
Malon Avutia, the Mayor of Ayivu Division in Arua City has warned men to stop beating their wives because of the dowry they have paid, adding that no dowry is worth a woman’s life.
According to Avutia, it has become a common practice for some men to mistreat their women because of the dowry paid to their relatives, an act he said is costing many lives of women across the country.
“As you take these small-small dowries, you are busy producing children. I want to say in this meeting that those cows you have taken are not worth the life of a woman. Now on top of that, the man beats you, breaks your arm, pricks your eyes, you lose some of your teeth and you sit there and say you are comfortable because the man has paid your dowry,” Avutia wondered during the commemoration of 16 days of activism to end gender-based violence (GBV) at Ayivu Division Headquarters on Monday.
Avutia encouraged women to consider reporting men who mistreat them to relevant authorities like police. He said women should forget cultural practices like ‘Aru’ba’ which used to bar them from reporting domestic violence cases to police.
Avutia observed that cultural leaders in the West Nile region recently agreed to ban Aru’ba so as to allow women to report the men who mistreat them to police.
He equally encouraged men who are always beaten by their wives not to shy away but come out to report such women to police for action too.
“Now I also want to inform this meeting that in reverse, we also have some stubborn strong women who beat men. Sometimes, they will beat you when you are drunk. Now for us here, ideally a man is supposed to be stronger than a woman. So, now when your wife beats you, how do you come in the morning and begin to report that you were beaten by your wife?” Avutia said.
“Instead, it is shameful and the men shy away. So, as women activists, as a community facilitator on programs of GBV, I want to say to those of you who are men here that if you are very sure that your wife has been beating you, please you report, we shall not mention your name. We are aware some women are very powerful both in terms of resources and bodily strength, so when you are getting married, be aware of whom you are marrying,” Avutia advised.
Avutia, pledged total commitment of the council he leads in the fight against GBV.
Centenary Driciru, the representative of Arua City Community Development Officer said their target is to end cases of GBV that are happening in the community by working hand in hand with the different partners.
In her remarks, Caroline Paparu, the Mentoring and Empowerment Program for Young Women (MEMPROW) Programs Manager said they are committed to work with the community at different levels involving different stakeholders to ensure that they reduce or end GBV incidents in the communities.
“As MEMPROW alone, we can not say we are coming to fight GBV alone but collectively with different partners we have a chance to reduce the incidents of GBV in our communities. If you look around in the communities, you are going to see some young girls breastfeeding and others are pregnant and you wonder why this is so. These are all reflections of what GBV is doing in the community and at our household which we collectively need to end,” Paparu said.
In West Nile, the 16 days of activism were marked by different activities including radio talk shows on investing in positive parenting to end GBV at household level, training of community champions by MEMPROW, advocacy football matches on investing in male participation to end GBV, an advocacy procession lead by trained Boda Boda champions, a legal booth on information on justice for GBV survivors and a health booth on sexual reproductive health and rights information, family planning and other health related information around GBV among others.
This year, the United Nations marked the 16 Days under the theme UNiTE! Invest To Prevent Violence against Women and Girls. By using #NoExcuse as a slogan and hashtag, the campaign calls for financing different prevention strategies and transforming social norms to end violence against women and girls.
