Culture Must Guide Our People to Do the Right Thing in Their Families and Communities – TACI Premier Josel Obbo.
By Skika Reporter.
The Prime Minister of Tieng Adhola Cultural Institution (TACI), Rtr. Josel Obbo, has called on cultural, clan and community leaders to take an active role in guiding families towards peaceful coexistence, equality and respect, saying the Jopadhola Family and Gender Relations Guidelines provide an important framework for addressing conflicts and strengthening family relationships.
“Our position as a cultural institution is to guide our people as leaders to do the right things while they are in their families and in the community, especially the clan leaders and the different leaders in the community,” Obbo said.
He was speaking during the dissemination of the Jopadhola Family and Gender Relations Guidelines at Namwanga Catholic Church in Namwanga B, Namwanga Central Parish, Nabuyoga Sub-county, West Budama Central, Tororo District.
The exercise, organised by Tieng Adhola Cultural Institution in partnership with International Justice Mission (IJM), brought together clan leaders, cultural leaders, Local Council chairpersons and other community representatives, who were trained and provided with copies of the guidelines and educational booklets to support their work in the communities.
Obbo said the guidelines were developed through consultations with clan leaders and other cultural structures before being presented to the Tieng Adhola Supreme Assembly, which eventually adopted them for implementation and wider dissemination.
He explained that the guidelines seek to put into writing solutions to some of the recurring family and community conflicts, providing leaders with a common reference when handling sensitive issues relating to marriage, inheritance, family responsibilities and gender relations.
“These guidelines are very key because many things that we have seen, including conflicts in the community, have been reduced to writing. This is very helpful in guiding people on many issues,” he said.
Girls’ inheritance and equality in family property
One of the key issues highlighted by Obbo was the need to recognise the rights and welfare of girls in family inheritance, particularly those who may experience unsuccessful marriages and need a place to return to.
He explained that although the law recognises children as equal, cultural and family arrangements should also consider the circumstances of daughters who may no longer have stable homes after marriage.
Obbo said the guidelines encourage families to consider providing a communal portion of family land where daughters can have a place to settle when circumstances require it.
He noted that such arrangements were not entirely new in some Jopadhola families, where portions of land were traditionally set aside for daughters and could be shared among them.
“Before the law, all these children are equal. But there are circumstances where you find girls have attempted marriage and have not succeeded. When they have not succeeded where they have gone, yet they have where they belong, how should they be helped? We thought it was important that they have a fallback position,” Obbo explained.
He further emphasised that culture should not be treated as static, arguing that it must respond to changing circumstances and embrace progressive practices that improve people’s welfare.
“Culture is not static. It is dynamic, it is progressive, and it is for those who are seeing the changes that are necessary to embrace them. There is nothing we are forcing on anybody,” he said.
Obbo acknowledged that changing deeply rooted cultural perceptions takes time, adding that the institution had adopted an interactive approach to allow community members to ask questions, share views and understand the guidelines.
TACI calls for action against harmful cultural practices
Speaking during the dissemination, Ochow Demba, the Programme Officer at Tieng Adhola Cultural Institution, said the guidelines are intended to instil positive behaviours, values and norms that promote family stability, peace and love among couples and children.
He said the training targeted cultural leaders, Local Council leaders, faith-based leaders and Village Health Teams (VHTs), equipping them with knowledge and skills to help communities abandon harmful practices that undermine family relationships.
Demba explained that the programme is in its third phase, following the implementation of the first and second phases, which have helped raise awareness about the dangers of gender-based violence.
He urged all stakeholders to remain committed to the fight against violence against women and children, saying sustainable change requires the involvement of leaders at every level.
Among the harmful practices the institution seeks to address are wife battering, corporal punishment against women and children, denial of inheritance rights, particularly to women and orphans, teenage pregnancy and early marriages.
On inheritance, Demba said the guidelines draw guidance from the existing succesion law, which provides for children’s rights to a share of family property.
Participants welcome the guidelines
Participants welcomed the initiative, commending Tieng Adhola Cultural Institution and International Justice Mission for developing and taking the guidelines closer to grassroots communities.
They said the materials would go a long way in improving family relationships, preventing violence and helping cultural and local leaders address disputes using a common understanding of the recommended principles.
In a show of commitment, the participants pledged to take the guidelines to their respective villages, clans and communities to promote peaceful homes, protect women and children and preserve positive Jopadhola cultural values.
The dissemination exercise forms part of broader efforts by TACI, in partnership with IJM and with the involvement of Tororo District Local Government, to strengthen community-led prevention of gender-based violence and promote responsible family relations across Padhola.
Through the engagement of clan leaders, cultural institutions, local authorities and faith-based leaders, the partners hope to ensure that the guidelines move beyond written documents and become practical tools for building peaceful, respectful and harmonious families among the Jopadhola.
