Museveni to launch gender equality campaign on Women's Day

By Joyce Namutebi           

President Yoweri Museveni will this Sunday launch a campaign intended to mobilise men and boys to support gender equality and women and girls' empowerment.
   
The launching takes place during celebrations to mark the International Women’s Day, outgoing Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Mary Karooro Okurut said.

The “HE FOR SHE” , which is a solidarity campaign initiated by the United Nations intends to mobilise one billion men and boys globally as advocates and agents for change to end persistent inequalities faced by women and girls.

“This campaign is premised on the fact that gender inequality is an issue that affects all people and that women’s and girls’ empowerment is progress for all,” Karooro told Parliament.
   
National celebrations will be held at Kabale Golf Course, Mukanga Hill in Kabale district under the theme “Empowerment of women and girls is progress for all: Three decades of gains for Ugandan women and girls.”
   
Addressing a press conference at Uganda Media Centre, Kampala on Monday Karooro said that despite the achievements realised over the three decades in areas such as education, health, access to clean water and improvement in women’s participation in decision making, there is need to address unfinished agenda of the Millennium Development Goals.
   
She decried the high dropout rate for girls especially in upper primary, the high HIV prevalence for women which is 8% compared to 6% for men, the increasing gender based violence and the prevailing income inequality in the country.
   
‘Although the proportion of people living below the poverty line has dropped, the income inequality has greatly affected women,” the minister said.
   
She also observed that women’s emancipation cannot be meaningful if most of the women are wallowing in poverty. She reiterated that Government through the ministry of Gender will put up proposals to have a Women Enterprise Fund to help women get economic breakthrough.
   
The Uganda Demographic and Health Survey 2011 showed that 55% of women aged 15 to 49 years have experienced domestic violence compared with 26% of men. It also shows that 28% of women have experienced sexual violence compared to 9% men.
   
She observed that at school, girls performance is affected by social cultural factors such as high teenage pregnancies, early marriages and negative cultural practices such as female genital mutilation.
   
The International Women’s day is an opportunity for government to take stock of the achievements made towards empowerment of women and girls and addressing the challenges that hinder them to participate equally in the development process.
   
Karooro credited the NRM government for including women’s issues on the national agenda. “NRM laid a very firm foundation and things can only get better for women and girls,” she said.