In a move hailed by activists as a landmark step for women's rights, Uganda banned the practice of making women repay their bride price upon divorce.

The seven justices of the Supreme Court voted 6-1 Tuesday to abolish the practice, noting that it equated women to commodities traded in a marketplace.

Ugandan grooms typically pay their brides' families with livestock upon marriage, the BBC reports. Bride price is an essential part of Ugandan wedding culture, and shows the groom's ability to take care of the bride.

A woman who wished to leave a marriage was obliged to pay back the bride price. Activists claimed that many women could not afford to do so, which made it harder to leave abusive marriages.

International women's rights NGO Mifumi first brought the issue of bride price to court in 2007. They hope to repeal the practice of bride price altogether, but see the ruling as a step forward.

"The court's pronouncement is a win for us," a Mifumi spokeswoman told the AP.

Not all Ugandan families insist on a bride price. As one local media outlet reported about the wedding of a Ugandan princess to an American man, "The groom is not expected to pay any bride price since the princess is priceless."