WESTERN PROVINCE

KIBUYE — At least 71 couples on Sunday tied a knot in a dramatic mass wedding, at which scores of men turned up with multiple partners for wedding in Gishyita Sector.

The event was part of celebrations to mark this year’s International Women’s Day.

Celebrations meant for Saturday March, 8, were postponed to Sunday, because the area is predominantly Adventist.

The wedding was arranged to coincide with the celebrations, to highlight the fact that women needed stable marriages to effectively engage in development activities, leaders said.

"When a woman is legally married, she is stable because she has a right to own family property," Auguste Museruka, the sector executive secretary said, urging men to be gender supportive in conformity with Rwandan laws.

Counseling the newly-wedded couples, Museruka urged them to respect each other in order to have stable marriages. "Most women work hard and in the end all the benefits of their hard work go to their husbands," he said.

Scores of women narrated their everyday chores ranging from tilling to other domestic work, noting that their spouses do nothing, other than giving orders on what should be done in their homes.

"Leaving women to work single handedly hinders development," Museruka warned.

The newly-wed couples were also cautioned against domestic violence; which has reportedly been prevalent in the area. Cases of women battering have been common, according to some of the brides.

"Just yesterday [Saturday] when I asked my husband about returning home late, he roughed me up; until our neighbors, who happen to be his parents came to my rescue," said Niwemugeni Mado, one of the brides.

The women were urged to report such cases to the police since they were legally married.

Meanwhile, the function turned dramatic, as some men turned up with two partners for the wedding. They claimed they had failed to choose between each of their partners, asking authorities to choose for them one, with whom to legalize the marriage. In conformity with the laws against polygamy in the country, scores of women, some with children were left stranded as their husbands tied the knot with their co-wives.

Sector authorities said cases of polygamy were not isolated in the area, and Sunday’s case was regarded as trivial compared to previous years.

"Enroll your children in school, work towards developing your families and country, and adopt family planning, since you are now regarded wives legally," Museruka said.

Ends