As #MeToo is proving, women are becoming empowered all over the world. I have just read of another example, this time in Africa. Although I hesitate to repeat this for fear of publicizing radical ideas, this story is too good to ignore. So here goes (and I’ll start with a direct quote, so nobody thinks this is my idea) —
“Schoolteacher Annet Nanozi was mad at her husband. A vehicle mechanic, he was refusing to help raise their four children. She realized he was instead spending his paycheck on alcohol and his time sleeping with barmaids. The 34-year-old decided to teach her husband a lesson. Now, when he comes home and wants sex, he needs to pay her first.”
More and more, Ugandan women are demanding money in exchange for sex from lazy and irresponsible husbands. According to the Mothers Union, an Anglican organization that has been working in Uganda for over a hundred years, this movement has grown from 150 women three years ago to over 30,000 today.
Of course, such a strategy is bound to be controversial. Some men have either complied or changed their habits. Others have refused, and, since wife-beating in Uganda is relatively common, there have been reports of domestic violence, and even a few deaths. Some religious leaders and government ministers have come out against the practice, like Reverend Father Simon Lokodo, Uganda’s minister of ethics and integrity, who has said sex with his wife is a man’s right.
Ugandan women realize changing a culture is an uphill battle. The Mothers Union is trying to teach women to explain to their husbands that their demands are in the family’s interests. And there are signs things are beginning to change. Schoolteacher Nanozi reports her husband is again paying for the family’s food.
The complete article is “Ugandan Women Fight Lazy Husbands With $6 ‘Sex Tax’ ” ( https://www.ozy.com/fast-forward/ugandan-women-fight-lazy-husbands-with-6-sex-tax/87045? ). The quote and photo came from that article.