Ugandan Women Have Become Too Violent on Their Men

For a long time in my country, women have been known to be on the receiving end of male perpetrated domestic violence. It was almost normal to hear that a woman has been battered in the neighborhood or even killed by her husband. Recent studies and news reports however, indicate a completely surprising evidence of a reversal of the trend of domestic related violence in Uganda. The surprise is that it is the women who have now made an about-turn to inflict all sorts of physical and psychological violence against their Ugandan men.

 In Northern Uganda where war and now famine is impacting on the social life of the population, men have suddenly found themselves on the receiving end of domestic violence. The women in this part of the country have formed themselves into economic groups, with many of them doing gifting circles, farming, charcoal burning and generally shouldering the burden of providing food for the family. The men, the majority of whom have continued to  live in the Internally Displaced camps are generally  idle and disorderly, concentrating on  drinking alocohol and basically depending on their wives for their very survival. They have lost so much of their family positions as providers that even their claim as heads of household are now being contested by the women.

Unfortunately, power comes along with dominance and as it would be expected, the women have started exercising this power. They order their husbands to go on errands that normally they would have done themselves. They go ahead actually to beat heir husbands up for any mistakes they make. The traditional family home of a peasant in Northern Uganda has been taken over by women. The men may be physically strong, but because the fortunes have changed in favor of women, they are suffering the full wrath of domestic violence exacted on them by women.

In Eastern Uganda, a woman known to be habitually battering her husband actually killed him a year ago. The man was a district official who went for official duty in another district. When he returned the following day, his wife cut off his genitals in his sleep, accusing him of having slept out with another woman.

In Central Uganda, a woman actually beheaded her husband in his sleep when rumors got to her that her man was having an illicit sexual relationship with the housemaid. Reports from Western Uganda also show a similar trend-women are acting very violently to their husbands. One housewife stabbed her husband several times on the neck and chest and set the house ablaze, having locked him inside. Luckily, neighbors were handy to break the door and rescue the man. He died on his way to hospital.

This turn around of the nature of domestic violence is worrying many men in the country. It is not clear whether this worry will improve marriages or simply destroy the Institution of marriage altogether.