Leaders in Lugazi Municipality in Buikwe district are worried about the escalating domestic violence cases happening in the area.
Leaders have mainly attributed the cases to high levels of poverty ravaging the area and men maintaining their wives at home to only do house errands rather than supporting them to work.
Lugazi Municipality Member of Parliament, Stephen Sserubula Kinaalwa believes that once men in the area support their wives to work, in turn, they can also support them in hardship times.
“Discouraging women to work is backward, under this current financial crisis in the country, one source of dependence cannot make the family stand. The eventuality of poverty at home is domestic violence.” Sserubula noted.
According to him, there is a need for women to engage in small-scale businesses and urban farming such as poultry, piggery, and backyard gardening to enable families to secure alternative income.
Sserubula made remarks meeting women groups from three villages of Kibubu A, Kibubu B, and Luyanzi at Naalya Secondary School in Lugazi Municipality.
Women were initiated into financial literacy, healthy living, and positive conflict resolution to curb increasing numbers of domestic violence.
“We have hired experts to take them through poultry farming processes at small scale, urban backyard gardening among other developmental skills to ensure a change of their wellbeing. We intend to enroll the program in the entire municipality.” Sserubula further revealed.
The local council-LC5 of Buikwe District, Jimmy Kanaabi attributed increasing cases of gender-based violence to the failed implementation of government poverty alleviation programs.
He claims that corruption in every sector is moving the country to a backward track. Regardless of the level, Kanaabi says government officials frustrate equal and fair division of resources.
“For instance, in programs like PDM, beneficiaries are receiving 700,000 shillings and are coerced to sign for 1 million which affects the effectiveness of the program. The government is aware of this but has adamantly decided to ignore it.” Kanaabi says.
Annet Kijambu, a single mother of five expressed gratitude for the development program noting that if women are engaged into smaller groups and mobilized to raise initial capital, lives can change for good.
Annet Aseate, a mother of two, urged fellow women to consider the use of family planning as a remedy to having excessive numbers of children that they cannot fend for.
“Women should find ways of persuading their husbands to meet counselors for proper family planning methods especially when they’re still struggling to afford at least two meals a day” Aseate noted.
She also advises religious and cultural leaders to prioritize economic transformation messages to their audience to alleviate poverty rather than ignoring such an important role for the government alone.
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