The drunken man kicked the saucepan off the fireplace, demanding to know why dinner was not ready. Then he struck his wife with a piece of firewood, triggering a fight. They grappled before being separated.
The skit about domestic violence had been staged for the benefit of villagers in western Uganda. Some looked puzzled. Some were amused. But others watched in horror as drama mirrored reality.
Here, in a remote farming community near the border with Congo, domestic violence mostly targets women. Those acting out the skit are not immune.
Eva Bulimpikya, who played a woman who fought back, said her real husband had attacked her the previous night after coming home late.
“He was drunk. From nowhere, he said, ‘Can you come and open?’ Because I was almost asleep, when I delayed to open he started complaining … Then he slapped me,” she said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Years ago, she said, she was slapped so hard that her hearing was impaired. She still gets headaches.
A local nonprofit group that staged the skit says domestic violence is so widespread in this part of Uganda that it’s hard to find a woman who hasn’t been affected. The mountainous district of Bundibugyo is about 400 kilometers (248 miles) from the capital, Kampala.