I would like to discuss culturally arranged marriages within our country Uganda. Firstly, marriage is often not seen as a personal choice but rather something organised by others on your behalf, often without your consent. This system comes with significant pressure and societal expectations, including dowries and other practices that can infringe upon human rights.​

Additionally, many young girls enter into marriage unprepared and underage, which constitutes a violation of their human rights due to the absence of consent. Young women and girls are treated as property in these arrangements, exchanged as if they were goods in a marketplace, which is heartbreaking. It is difficult to discuss these issues openly, as it is considered the norm in our culture, leaving many without support.​

I have personally experienced this, having been forced into a marriage with someone I had never met or even seen prior to the event. This lack of knowledge about one’s partner is distressing.​

When I share my experiences, it often does not elicit strong emotions from others, even though I have lived through it. Many of us are shaped by these experiences, and I believe that if we had been given the choice and rights, our lives would have taken a different path.​

Times are changing, more girls are attending school, and there are advocates fighting for their rights, which means they are not enduring the same experiences we did. We are pleased that our children will not have to face what we went through. There are laws in place now that help protect girls from these practices, unlike before when there seemed to be no legal protection. ​

But, in some regions in the western part of Uganda, such practices still exist.