Impact of AIDS on marriage patterns, customs and practices in Uganda.

Abstract

A study is being conducted to examine household composition and family structure in the context of high AIDS-related mortality in Hoima, Iganga, Kabale, Masaka, Mbale, and Mbarara districts. The first phase of the study involved the review of ethnographic materials on the populations in the six districts, collecting information from elders and youths through focus group discussions, and the administration of an individual elders' questionnaire. The second phase was a large-scale household survey in the districts to document recent changes in household composition and family structure, while phase three will be carried out three years after the second phase. That final phase will involve re-surveying areas covered in phase two to determine any subsequent changes which have occurred in the communities. This paper presents the focus group discussion results from phase one. The participating 231 men and 218 women were aged 19-92 years and 14-92 years, respectively. It appears on the basis of the focus group discussions that marriage customs and practices have changed over time due to factors related to socioeconomic development, modernization, and Western culture. Recent changes in marriage have been closely connected with the AIDS epidemic in the country. The fear of potential partners being HIV-seropositive makes boys and girls reluctant to marry, while mutual monogamy among spouses, especially the young, seems to be gaining popularity. Many customs, however, still persist, such as parental participation in the introduction and negotiation for children's marriages, bride price, dowry, circumcision of boys before marriage, fining boys who elope with girls, and rewarding virginity at marriage.