KAMPALA , Uganda, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- The practice of refunding a dowry after a dissolved marriage was declared unconstitutional Thursday by Uganda's Supreme Court.
In many African countries a "bride price," or "lobola,"the paying of cash or goods to a prospective husband, is a typical part of the marriage ritual. The court declared the concept of returning the assets to the bride's family, after a divorce, should be banned; while the court called it a suggestion that women were part of a marketplace, and that it hindered a woman's access to divorce, it did not specifically outlaw the "bride price" arrangement.