By Mercy Nalugo, Daily Monitor

Women activists are pushing for the re-introduction of the Marriage and Divorce Bill in Parliament. The activists demanded on Friday that the Bill be re-tabled as a matter of urgency so that it is debated and passed immediately after Parliament completes the budget process. “The Marriage and Divorce Bill is one of our priorities and we are requesting the minister for Gender to expedite the process of bringing it to Parliament so that it is passed into law,” said Ms Salome Nakaweesi, the chairperson Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE) chairperson during FOWODE’s annual general meeting at their head offices in Kampala. Ms Nakaweesi noted that some of the controversial clauses in the Bill were harmonised and that the Bill will go a long way in “blending families and marriages”. The Eighth Parliament at the closure of business early this year had 22 pending Bills which were not passed into law including the Marriage and Divorce Bill.  Former Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs Kiddhu Makubuya said the Bill could not be tabled in Parliament as government was still consulting on the matter prompting women legislators to storm out of the House.

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