KAMPALA, (Reuters) – Ugandan men can no longer demand a refund of the so-called bride price after divorce, the Supreme Court said yesterday, in a landmark ruling campaigners said would make it easier for women to leave abusive relationships.
The court declined to declare the bride price unconstitutional but agreed that the idea of refunds should be ruled out because it fails to recognise women’s contribution to a marriage and treats marriage as a commercial transaction.
It is common in Uganda and other African countries for husbands and their fathers to demand a refund of the payments – commonly paid in the form of cattle – they have made to a woman’s family in cases where the woman seeks a divorce.
