By 10:00am on Wednesday, Charis Lynn Lamunu, 12, had arrived at the Embassy of Sweden in Kampala, all ready to take over the topmost seat at the embassy.

Dressed in a floral dress with a baby pink coat, Lamunu who was in the company of Margaret Keji, 13, from Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement was welcomed by the Swedish ambassador to Uganda Maria Hakansson.

The three had a meeting where they discussed issues frustrating girls' and women's rights on top of suggesting solutions.

At about 10:30am, the 12-year-old took over the position of ambassador and office space from Hakansson to run the embassy’s work.

H.E Maria Hakansson the Ambassador of Sweden to Uganda posing for a group picture with Margaret Keji from Bidi bidi refugee settlement to her left, Charis Lynn Lamunu to her right and Swedish embassy and Plan International Staff. This was during the Girls take over that was organized by Plan International to celebrate the International Day of the Girl Child. This was at the Swedish Embassy Kampala on October 11, 2023. Photo by Lawrence Mulondo

The girls' takeover was a part of the events that were organised by Plan International to mark International Day of the Girl Child which was organised under the theme: Investing in Girls' Rights, Our Leadership, Our Wellbeing.

 Immediately after Lamunu took over office, a meeting was called to introduce the new team leader to the embassy staff.

While addressing the embassy staff, the 12-year-old ambassador said the takeover specifically is remarkable as it symbolises a bright future where young girls are not only seen but heard on a global stage.

“As the ambassador of Sweden to Uganda, I would like to confirm that the government of Sweden has a long-standing commitment to advance gender equality and children’s rights,” she said.

“We are dedicated to working in a close partnership with Uganda, UN Agencies in the country and civil society partners to help advance the rights of girls and young women,” Lamunu added.

The Primary Seven pupil noted that Uganda as a country has made significant progress in achieving gender equality in areas of girls’ education, access to sexual reproductive health information and addressing violence against women and girls.

L-R Margaret Keji from Bidi bidi refugee settlement and Charis Lynn Lamunu interacting with H.E Maria Hakansson, the Ambassador of Sweden to Uganda. This was during the Girls take over that was organized by Plan International to celebrate the International Day of the Girl Child. This was at the Swedish Embassy Kampala on October 11, 2023. Photo by Lawrence Mulondo

Uganda still grappling with challenges

The ambassador, however, said the country still grapples with challenges like early marriages and teenage pregnancies with the country having the highest rates of these in East Africa.

“It is reported that about 64% of teenage mothers do not complete primary level education. About 47% of teenage mothers end up doing peasant work,” she said.

She said if girls of Uganda continue to be victims of child marriage, it means their dreams are cut short and so is their development.

Lamunu explained that women also continue to face gender violence with 56% of women aged 15-49 have experienced physical violence while 22% have experienced sexual violence according to a UBOS report of

After her speech, Lamunu handed over the office of the ambassador to Hakansson to continue with the work.

While handing over offices, Lamunu said: “Taking up the role of Swedish ambassador was based on the great development assistance the country has extended to Ugandans,” she said.

The girl said her dream is to become a cardiologist to be able to treat all patients with heart challenges.

Call for leadership, business takeover

Ambassador Hakansson implored girls and women to take up leadership and business spaces in order to influence legislation and service delivery for further development.

“Our population is 50% men and 50% women, meaning we all need a voice in the decision-making and in other sectors in society,” she said.

Hakansson added that there is a lot of research to show that if you do not develop your country with the whole population, it comes with a cost of losing out as you’re not using your resources.

The ambassador is hopeful that by having a lot of current role models in the country, more girls will take up space in the leadership and business arenas for more uniform development.

“Women in various leadership positions and businesses are also a sign that girls can become ministers, ambassadors, doctors, Lawyers and still be mothers,” she noted.

Hakansson further said the country should continue with its strides to achieve gender equality in all communities starting with home and schools.

“If we could have a world that is gender equal, a world where a boy and a girl can all follow their aspirations and have the same opportunities, then it will be a win, win situation,” she said.

She said although the world focuses on the girl child, the boys also suffer from gender stereotypes and need urgent attention.

The ambassador said it is everyone’s role to ensure that girls feel safe at schools, homes and the country at large to prevent teenage pregnancies, child marriages and other things they often do.

“We need to strengthen women more with information as we normalize discussing teenage pregnancies with boys and girls if we are to fight it more,” Hakansson said.

She further stressed that “we also need to address the impunity of those violating the girls for these challenges to stop.”

Isaac Obongo, the head of programmes implementation at Plan International Uganda, said on a day like this, they take it seriously to provide a platform for young girls to be able to let the world know what their aspirations are.

He said this year’s theme is important to the country and humanity at large as issues around gender inequality expand beyond what can be seen.

Obongo added that when it comes to teenage pregnancies, it hurts when girls are forced to sit at home and drop out of school instead of being supported to continue their life continuity.

“We need to support the girls' thrive because, at the end of the day, we need a responsible society which is going to address the productivity of a girl child,” Obongo said.

He said it is their wish and prayer that as they commemorate the day, more girls are empowered to speak the voices of so many that are out there speechless.