Amuru District Passes Bylaw To Curb Early Marriages

Gender-based violence, referred to as an act that is perpetrated against a person’s will based on gender norms by UNHCR may have become a common incident in some parts of Uganda, and the people in Amuru district continue to suffer the damages.

The residents agree that the vice has taken a toll on society and they demand immediate intervention. Some community leaders said that violence is on the rise in Gulu, while others stated that the statistics to justify that fact may not be available but confirmed that violence does exist in the communities of Amuru district.

Though the causes of gender-based violence are known, the people in Amuru district believe that this vice cannot be reversed assuming that it is intertwined with cultural practices.

According to the district local leaders, early marriages and teenage pregnancies are equally on the rise. This has prompted them to come up with a bylaw targetting families that are aiding their children into early marriages.

“When the parent is caught accepting his young children to get married especially the girls of lower ages of 17 and below, we shall arrest that parent,” said the LC1 James Opera.

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