Women in Uganda have initiated an innovative sex tax on their husbands to enable them get consistent financial support for themselves and their children.

What began as one woman’s last-ditch effort to entice her cheating husband to support their family has turned into a nationwide women’s rights effort in the country as more than 30,000 Ugandan wives have reported exacting a sex tax on their irresponsible spouses.

A school teacher, Annet Nanozi was mad at her husband, a vehicle mechanic over his refusal to help raise their four children after she discovered that he was instead spending his money on alcohol and his time sleeping with barmaids.

The 34-year-old Nanozi decided to teach her husband a lesson. Now, when he comes home and demands for sex, he needs to pay her first.

Initially a controversial strategy, Nanozi’s initiative is picking up across Uganda as emboldened women, backed by rights organizations have come out to battle a patriarchal society where responsibilities and moral norms were both skewed against them.

What started out with isolated instances in the capital, Kampala, has exploded into a tactic more and more Ugandan women are employing to get their husbands to pay up for household expenses and atone for refusing to take on home chores. 

The spread of this practice is however dividing the Ugandan society. While some husbands have agreed to pay up, a few have turned more responsible towards their families.

On the contrary, others have refused to pay for sex, and in some instances, demands from wives have spiraled into domestic violence, often leading to even occasional deaths.

Although some religious leaders and government ministers have protested against the practice, most Ugandan women and rights organizations in the country argue that any approach that gets irresponsible husbands to contribute toward the welfare of their families was justified.

In a country such as Uganda, where systemic gender discrimination and moral bias are baked into the social structure, many feel a sex tax is the only way for some women to get what they need to support their families.