Women have right to polygamy - Mensah-Williams

National Council Chairperson Margaret Mensah-Williams says women should also have the right to practice polygamy, if men are allowed to do so by customary law.
Mensah-Williams, a staunch women’s rights activist, is of the view that even if women are not inclined to have multiple spouses, they should be granted the right to do so, as the failure to do this would amount to discrimination against them.
She was speaking during the National Council debate of the Presidential Remuneration and Other Benefits Bill, which outlines the benefits for spouses and dependants of the country’s incumbent and future presidents and vice-presidents.
“We as women must also ask the question… I mean we have the Married Persons Equality Act, so it is right that only a man can have multiple spouses and not a woman?” she asked.
Women are increasingly taking on male roles, such as chieftainship and main breadwinners, and should therefore be given access to certain privileges, Mensah-Williams argued.
“When we have equality we must create the access. When we are making laws we have to project for the future, and not only for ourselves,” she said.
This follows an indication by some National Council members that they need more clarity on the provisions of the Bill, in relation to customary marriages.
“If the lawmaker is not really clear on the intention of this Bill, they cannot pass it. They have to amend it,” Mensah-Williams said.
Parliamentarian Damian Nakambare questioned the tax exemption on the remuneration, benefits and allowances paid to the president and the vice-president’s dependants and spouses.
He also questioned whether all the multiple spouses, stepchildren and adopted children will benefit from these exempted benefits.
“Even if a female president has more than one man will they also benefit? As a nation we need to think about our situation - especially the poverty, unemployment and current drought situation,” he said.
He also called for the rephrasing of the provisions for the president and vice-president’s “dependant child”, in order to clarify the age limit for such a dependant.
He also sought clarity on the clause that states that the “presidential spouse means the person who is the wife or husband of the president or of the vice-president and includes a wife or husband or a marriage under customary law”.
According to him, this particular clause is ambiguous and may give the impression that the president or vice-president is allowed to marry two or more wives.
“I would like to recommend that members be furnished with enough information about the Bill tabled, so that they can make informed debates and contributions to the Bill,” he urged.
These sentiments follow a storm of criticism in the National Assembly in April over the job descriptions of the president and vice-president’s spouses.
At the time, DTA acting secretary-general and MP Elma Dienda demanded clarity on the role of these spouses and to whom they are accountable.
She also wanted to know whether they would be entitled to subsistence and travel allowances, when they accompany their spouses on missions.
In terms of the Bill, the spouse of the vice-president must be paid a monthly allowance, equivalent to the monthly remuneration payable to a deputy permanent secretary.
It also stipulates that the president may, on the recommendation of the Public Office-Bearers Commission, grant further benefits to the presidential spouses.
The Bill also stipulates that the medical costs of the president, vice-president, their spouses and dependant children must be wholly covered by the State.
These allowances and benefits are also exempted from income tax.


JEMIMA BEUKES