The Forms and Causes of Domestic Violence as Depicted in The Burdens and Black Mamba by John Ruganda

Abstract

This paper examines the forms and causes of domestic violence in John Ruganda’s The Burdens (1972) and Black Mamba (1973). It is set to bring out how domestic violence affects characters in the plays and as well as people in society since it is a prevalent act in the universe. This paper establishes that domestic violence occurs in many forms, including physical aggression or assault (hitting, kicking, biting, shoving, restraining, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, trespassing, harassment) or threats thereof; sexual abuse, emotional abuse, controlling or domineering, intimidation, stalking, passive covert abuse (neglect), and economic deprivation. John Ruganda’s The Burdens expresses most forms of violence but physical assault stands out. The second issue is to establish the causes of domestic violence as explored in the two plays by John Ruganda. This paper has discovered that the bit of culture that accentuates domestic violence is inheritance. Black Mamba has a twist as far as the economic factors play a role in the cause of domestic violence. Economic factors are found to play a significant role in the causes of domestic violence. These factors include women’s economic dependence on men, limited access to cash and credit, discriminatory laws regarding inheritance, property rights, use of communal lands and maintenance after divorce or widowhood, limited access to employment in formal and informal sectors, and limited access to education and training for women. The legal causes include lesser legal status of women either by written law or by practice, inheritance, the legal definition of rape and domestic abuse, low level of legal literacy among women, and insensitive treatment of women and girls.