Last week, a 14-year old boy from Musanze district, cut off the head of his father-Alexis Manishimwe as revenge for beating his mother-Chantal Mujawamaria. The 40-year-old husband was allegedly drunk when he arrived home and started to assault his wife with a machete. The family has been in conflict for a long time, local leaders told the media. The assault is not the first time as the husband had been imprisoned for six months after beating and injuring his wife. ALSO READ: Anglican Church raises red flag on rise in broken marriages. Statistics show that cases of divorce have been rising gradually, from 21 cases in 2016 to 7, 230 in 2020. Such situations of family conflicts in the country is what inspired Former Prime Minister Pierre-Damien Habumuremyi to write a book that explains 10 principles which could help end family conflicts and lead to happy marriages in the country. The book dubbed “The cost of happy marriage” was written after his research found that 62 per cent of families in Rwanda have conflicts. Habumuremyi explained that the book aims to guide a couples preparing to tie the knot on what they should consider to have a happy marriage. The book, he said, also targets those who are already married so that those with problems in marriages are able to handle them and those who are not in conflicts are able to prevent them. ALSO READ: Minister Bayisenge calls for more efforts in addressing family conflicts. He said that family conflicts are affecting all categories including educated couples, illiterate couples both in rural and urban areas, leaders and ordinary citizens. The book is available at the cost of Rwf15 000 in Caritas and Ikirezi bookshops. “The book has 230 pages in Kinyarwanda language. We have also started to translate it into French and English languages. The exercise will be complete soon. In order to make it widely accessible to the public, we also want to make it available online,” he told The New Times. He noted that they will also work with faith-based organisations and non-government organizations that strive for family sovereignty adding that higher learning institutions are among those to be partnered with. ALSO READ: Senator Dushimimana warns against family conflicts in Rubavu A glance at 10 principles to have a happy family The book reveals that choosing the right partner is the foundation of a happy marriage. The 2nd principle urges couples to give up peculiar behaviors that used to characterize them when they were still single. The 3rd principle calls for complementarity, sharing advice and supporting one another between the married couples. The 4th principle condemns cheating among the couples. The 5th principle urges couples to avoid battery and harassment. “It is better that married couples share everything, good and bad moments,” says the 6th principle. According to the 7th principle, building trust and striving for everlasting love among the couples is recommended. The 8th principle urges couples to make sure they satisfy each other sexually. Sharing the pleasure of having children and preventing broken marriage/marriage failure due to infertility is recommended in the 9th principle. Blessed is the marriage built on God and praying, says the 10th principle. ALSO READ: The effects of divorce on children.
