MPs disappointed by girl child negligence

Oct 20, 2021

The leaders appealed to the government to open up schools because they have always been the safe haven for girls.

Worker’s Member of Parliament Margaret Rwabushaija interacting with Betty Naluyima Wakiso Woman MP during a three-day workshop at Lake Victoria Hotel in Entebbe. (Photo by Simon Peter Tumwine)

Simon Peter Tumwine
Journalist @New Vision

Women Members of Parliament (MP) have expressed disappointment towards parents and the government over the continued negligence of girls, especially during the lockdown.

Addressing the media on Friday during a three-day workshop at Lake Victoria Hotel in Entebbe, Gulu District Woman MP Sharon Laker Balmoyi said she is seriously disappointed by the negligence that parents have exhibited most especially during the lockdown.

“The country is recording an increase in child mothers and these have become a burden to the families and in the end, they don’t get married to the men that impregnate them,” Balmoyi said.

She said the major cause of the child mothers is the continued closure of schools by the government.

When the children were still at school, they were engaged by their fellow peers and classwork but currently, they are just roaming around the villages and are growing at a very rapid speed because all they do at home is eat and do some little housework.

Balmoyi also said Uganda is a gifted country but as leaders, they have failed to see their worth yet it’s all just about a mindset change.

“When the colonists left Uganda, they left the country with a dependency syndrome which has made us forget what God has given us and as leaders, we still believe that we are poor. When shall this stop and when will this ever change,” she asked.

Worker’s MP Margaret Rwabushaija said the country should start appreciating teachers are doing well in society because what is happening is a result of the lockdown.

She said due to the lockdown, negligence from the parents resulted in many things that included increased teenage pregnancies, incest, rape, sex, among peers.

Rwabushaija said the old men that have impregnated the young girls need to be worked upon by the law and also the local leaders need to beef up their efforts and do what they are meant to do.

“These young girls that you impregnate are not a free harvest that you just go and get any person’s child and start having sex with them. They need to be acted upon by the law,” she said.

Rwabushaija said she is really worried that some of the people that are arrested after impregnating the girls are usually released from the police after paying some money to the police officer.

Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE) Executive Director, Patricia Munabi Babiiha, said the three-day workshop had brought over 30 leaders from different political parties which included the National Resistance Movement (NRM), National Unity Platform (NUP), Democratic Party (DP), Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), among others.

She said although they are harnessing demographic dividends, they are saddened by the skyrocketing teenage pregnancies in the country.

“Although we are talking about harnessing demographic dividends as a country, we are worried about the increasing number of teenage girls getting pregnant and giving birth at a tender age.

These girls' future has almost been destroyed,” Munabi said.

She said a number of opportunities are being missed, implying that there is a vicious cycle of poverty because these girls won’t be in a position to take care of them but only increase the dependency burden on the already constrained resources at a household level.

Munabi said their interest is to advance the women’s agenda which includes girl child education, maternal health, safe and clean water for children among others and we want to see the benefit.

She said they wish to advance the priority for women and girls, center their needs in policies, debates, plans, and budgets irrespective of their political affiliations.

She appealed to the government to open up schools because they have always been the safe haven for girls.

The executive director of Uganda National NGO Forum (UNNGOF), Dr. Moses Isooba, said most women leaders tend to believe that their fellow counterparts are always stronger than them.

He said according to research, it indicates that female leaders display more transformational leadership qualities than their male counterparts who tend to be more transactional.

“At the NGO forum, we believe that power in the hands of women is an essential ingredient in building a just and peaceful society and women leaders should start embracing it and change their mindset about various things,” Isooba said.

Monica Azimi, an official from USAID commended the Parliament of Uganda that has played a historical role and held the government accountable and gave a voice to the Ugandan People.

She said just like any other country in the world, Women in Uganda have had their demand right to participate in the public sphere.

“I do appreciate the difficulties that the women in politics face but it is important that they use their positions to empower women and also fight for gender equality,” Azimi said, adding that the United States mission is looking forward to making a partnership with the government of Uganda.

 

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