Ugandan women get divorce rights

In a famous case, Uganda's ex-vice president accused her husband of beating her

Women in Uganda can now divorce their husbands for cheating on them, a constitutional court has ruled.

Uganda's Divorce Act only allowed men to divorce on the grounds of adultery.

Wives also had to prove further grounds for complaint like desertion or violent assault before being granted a divorce.

Female lawyers successfully argued that the act was inconsistent with the constitution that says men and women are equal.

Locked kitchen

The constitutional court ruling also allows men to receive alimony from ex-wives and for women to collect divorce case cost from their female rivals, reports The Monitor newspaper.

Justice Amos Twinomujuni who led the bench of five judges said the act caused hardships to both men and women.

"The current law holds the concept that a man is superior to a woman. No article of the constitution can be evoked to justify the challenged sections," he said.

The ruling follows Ugandan media reports that a husband beat up his wife on International Women's Day for refusing to prepare his lunch.

She had reportedly decided to to go for an outing with friends instead.