Experts on Culture have revealed that there are a number of positive cultural values that once harnessed can aid in the fight against Gender Based Violence in the country.
This was revealed during the launch of a study done by the Cross Cultural Foundation of Uganda (CCFU) a Non-Governmental Organisation that promotes culture.
The research was carried out in six cultural communities of Acholi, Buganda, Busoga, Tooro, Alur and Karamoja.
The Lead Researcher, Dr. Jimmy Spire Ssentongo noted that the study has revealed that culture isn’t an impediment to ending violence against women but rather an enabler to ending the vice.
“You will always find that culture is presented as an impediment and because many have got that thinking, even when there are positive things to learn from our cultures, we don’t take them. We simply ignore them. This study was meant to pick out these elements that could help end violence against women and girls so that we can amplify them,” Dr. Ssentongo said.
He added that, “Whereas there are many aspects that are bad and need to be abandoned in culture, there are many other good aspects that have been put under that blanket yet they are good. We are not saying culture is perfect but there is something we can learn from it other than things from outside which on several occasions fail in our context because they are not really grounded.”
In a statement by the State Minister for Gender and Culture, Peace Mutuuzo read by the Ag. Director Social Protection, Prosper Muhumuza, noted that the survey saying culture is a great tool to help end violence against women and girls in society.
“Often times, culture has for long been looked at as an inhibitor rather than a solution to the challenge of violence against women and girls but the research poses opportunities for the recognition of cultural resources such as the cultural principle of obuntu bulamu, the traditional learning spaces as relevant to end the problem of gender based violence,” Mutuuzo said.
Mutuuzo noted that traditional transmission and learning mechanisms, for example ekyoto all aim at transforming young people into responsible adults, men and women and promote respect and protection of women and girls from violence,” Mutuuzo said.
“The traditional justice systems of truth telling (ajaa) in Alur and mechanisms like akiriket in Karamoja all pose great opportunities to ease access to justice for the women and girls within the cultural communities,” Mutuuzo noted.
Minister Mutuuzo said that the survey is an important eye opener which reveals the role of culture in promoting the rights of women and girls but also reveals that culture is rich with a wealth of resources which if harnessed can help in preventing violence against women and girls and also promote sexual reproductive health and rights of women.
CCFU Executive Director, Barbra Babweteera said that if well harnessed, culture has a big role to play in protection of girls and women.
“There are positive cultural resources in terms of practices, values and principles, proverbs and old history that helps in ending violence against women and girls. The whole notion of humanness (Obuntu bulamu) has a lot of values if we all respected, violence would be history in our country,” Babweteera said.
