determined: Miria says she struggled hard to see girls’ schools opened countrywide

MIRIA Kalule Obote is officially the UPC new boss despite self overtly confessed amateurism in politics. Miria becomes the first Ugandan woman in the country destined to vie for presidency come 2006. If luck crosses her path, she will become the second woman president in Africa after Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia. But as Alice Emasu found out, Miria’s efforts during her husband Milton Obote’s reign centred on the women’s cause.

Question: Women, even the so-called ‘iron ladies’ dread politics. They regard it as a dirty game and indeed history has showed that, until the 1980s, there were no traces of women in the top political offices in the country. What is driving you?

ANswer: Politics is a dirty game but a necessary evil. It’s high time women realised this if we are to come to same footage with our male counterparts.
I have never vied for any leadership position in my life — not even in my wildest dreams. It’s true I was at the background of my husband’s political career but as a loyal and full-time supporter and a mother. I was never directly involved in the running of the country, not even a quasi participant in any decision-making.
Opting for my husband’s shoes as UPC party leader wasn’t my thought either. It all started by his deathbed in South Africa at the height of grief. Supporters (UPC) asked me to accept their request to lead the party. Initially I thought they were only trying to console me. I turned them down saying; ‘Not when my husband is yet to be buried’. It dawned on me later that there were people both within the country and in the diaspora silently organising everything.
I told them, I was not a politician but rather a wife to a good politician. Incidentally, my argument was falling on deaf ears. They encouraged me saying they were all behind me with full support. I still remained apprehensive.
The ruins of 20 years of exile cannot be mended in two days, I insisted. It was until the procession of my husband’s journey home via eastern Uganda that I got courage after seeing masses turn up to welcome us. My fears that nobody would turn up to see my husband’s remains were all shed off.

The dynamics of Ugandan politics demand for fat credentials besides a sound mind and criminal-free record track. What is your take on that?
To begin, I am a registered voter, which is why I encourage all women in Uganda to always take part in electoral processes in the country, as this is the only way to expose them to top leadership. I hold an intermediate certificate of Makerere University, an equivalent of Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) today. I also have certificates in secretarial and citizenship training from the United Kingdom. An intermediate certificate to a girl in my time was such a big qualification. Girls were relegated to nursing, teaching, tailoring... because the education system discriminated against girls. Girls were barred from opting for mathematics and science subjects.

But then, as First Lady thereafter, did it ever cross your mind that so mething ought to be done to change the education system for the betterment of the girl-child?