Why bride price?
The issue of bride price and women s rights has been debated in Uganda mainly in the academic forum. In 1960, a national conference on women s rights discussed the issue of bride price and its conclusions, contained in the Kalema report, were that bride price relegated women to an article of trade, to be bought or sold . The work of gender activists, especially through the women s world conferences since 1975 in Mexico, helped to bring women s rights issues to the fore, including gender based violence. More recently, a seminar on bride price was conducted in Kampala, Uganda supported by the UNFPA, following various research studies (see UNFPA, 1996: Report on Round Table on the UNFPA initiative on Bride wealth). These sporadic forays into the question of bride price have acted like a feeble light that has nevertheless allowed a glimmer of hope to inspire gender activists in the fight for social justice. What marked the Mifumi Projects work on this subject from the above is that while t
