The First Lady of Uganda, Janet Museveni, said her three daughters were married when they were still virgins, Daily Monitor reports.
Ms Museveni made the revelation while speaking to adolescent girls in Kyenjojo District during the commemoration of the Day for the Girl Child last Thursday.
“I made all my daughters to sign ‘true love waits’ cards and they would abstain from sex until the wedding night when they would produce these cards to their spouses. This can be achieved even today,” she said.
“That is how we, in the past, were brought up by our parents, there was
Mrs Museveni’s daughters include Diana Museveni (married to Geoffrey Kamuntu), Natasha Museveni (married to Edwin Karugire) and Patience Museveni (married to Odrek Rwabwogo).
“Whether a man is big or small, say no and run away, a man can use sweet language to persuade you, don’t allow any man to use you when you are a young girl, not even an adolescent boy, no man should engage you in sexual intercourse until you are married, true love waits,” Janet Museveni reiterated to the adolescent girls.
The First Lady, who is also the minister for education, said that most young girls in Uganda die while giving birth because their bodies are not yet ready to deliver babies.
She also rebuked parents who engage with the rape or defilement suspects to settle cases by receiving money.
“Please, parents, stop asking for money to settle rape or defilement cases. The parent is the biggest stakeholder in the development of the girl child,” she said.
Mrs Museveni blames “free supply of contraceptives in Uganda” for the “moral decadence witnessed of late”
“The use of contraceptives is not our culture, we no longer have pride to say no, people are given contraceptives to use them and do what they want, have sex, take pills, conceive and abort, this is not our culture in Africa,” she said.
“Just say, thank you, our culture does not believe in this, we should protect the values of our society”
-http://www.monitor.co.ug
Label: Marriage
So what of married people who are concerned about their family planning, should contraceptives not be available to them? What of girls who are raped should they not be provided with emergency contraceptives to prevent pregnancy? While she seem to have good intentions she need to have a level of sensitivity and compassion because none of us are flawless in life. She speak as though the average African is rich and can have as many children as they want. When the hardship of poverty reach people sometimes the only recreation they can find to feel good is sex, sometimes a mother with nothing to feed her children will have to make that decision to sell the only thing she still own, her body. Whether these things are right or wrong we should be conscious that not everyone's life is like our own and to have empathy towards others, not always just judgement.