Women Legislators Ululate As House Passes Domestic Bill

November 8, 2006 - (The Herald) The Domestic Violence Bill that seeks to provide for protection and relief to victims was yesterday passed in the House of Assembly with amendments. The proposed law now awaits transmission to the Senate for consideration. There was jubilation and ululation among female lawmakers from both sides of the House when the Bill finally sailed through.

Amendments were made to the contentious Clause 3 of the Bill, which deals with the scope, and definition of domestic violence that stirred spirited debate inside and outside Parliament. Among the changes was the incorporation of the terms "forced virginity testing" and "genital mutilation" as constituting domestic violence.

A number of cultural practices now deemed dysfunctional were outlawed. These included pledging of women and girls for the purposes of appeasing avenging spirits and forced marriage, forced wife inheritance and intimacy between fathers-in-law and newly married daughters-in-law, the latter a ritual among a few communities that a woman had to undergo before acceptance into her husband's family.

Amendments were also made for the deletion of the terms "jealously" and "unreasonable denial of conjugal rights" as constituting domestic violence. Clarifications were made to the proposed law that emotional, verbal, psychological and economic abuse shall not constitute an offence but be subject to counselling.

Community courts shall have jurisdiction to deal with cases involving emotional, verbal, psychological and economic abuse. The proposed Anti-Domestic Violence Board would be transformed into a council mandated with promoting the provision of services necessary to deal with all aspects of domestic violence, among other issues.

From: http://allafrica.com/stories/200611080264.html