the bride price demanded and verily believe that this practice denies the right of marriage to one’s choice and is therefore unconstitutional. 16. THAT I verily believe that due to the prospects of bride price, parents view their daughters as a source of income whereupon they are removed from school and forced into early marriages of serial marriages, that is if the first groom fails to pay the bride price, they are removed and married a second, third or even fourth time and that some are used as stakes to borrow money. 17. THAT the court process is abused through extortionist practice of bride price whereby parents accuse young boys of defilement when cannot afford to pay for bride price. 18. THAT in the course of my work I have come across cases where men have been jailed and their property confiscated, such as iron sheets, land or animals, when their daughters or sisters leave a marriage before refunding the bride price. 19. THAT I verily believe that bride price no longer resembles its original traditional form of being a token gift in marriage but has instead become a commercialized practice with a resulting negative impact on the status of women legally, socially, economically and as a human rights violation.[1] 20. THAT I verily believe that bride price in its present form objectifies and commodifies women and therefore has the effect of perpetuating inequality between the sexes as well as discrimination on the basis of sex and is a violation of the rights of women. 21. That payment of bride price places the women in a vulnerable inferior position and reduces her to a chattel and not equal to her husband which is a violation of Art. 31(1) of the Constitution which provides that “Men and women of the age of eighteen and above have the right to marry and to found a family and are entitled to equal rights in marriage, during marriage and and at is dissolution.” 22. THAT following research into the practice of bride price, MIFUMI held a referendum in Tororo district in December 2001 and won by a 60% YES vote to turn bride price into a non refundable gift. 23. THAT I verily believe that bride price is a custom that is repugnant to equity and good conscience and incompatible with the 1995 Constitution of Uganda that provides for equality under Article 21(1). 24. THAT I verily believe that bride price is incompatible with Art, 33(1) of the Constitution which provides that, “Women shall be accorded full and equal dignity of the person with men.” 61