Campaign launched enlisting more men to create gender equality

A women's rights campaign called “The Woman Uganda 2025 plus one” has been launched to enlist more men in Uganda to advocate for gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The yearlong campaign launched in Kampala in March is an initiative by the embassy of the Netherlands and UN Women in Uganda. The campaign is run by a core group of female heads of missions and influential women in Uganda and links with voices from Ugandan society.

Each female lead will recruit at least 30 “plus ones” (or male change agents) willing to work with women to create a more gender-equal society.

The ambassador of the Kingdom of Netherlands to Uganda, Frederieke Quispel, while speaking at the launch, said the objective of the campaign is to inspire action, conversation and influence policies to uplift the rights of women in society.

The Woman Uganda 2025 plus one campaign coincided with the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and countries across the world evaluated how much progress they have made in attaining gender equality over the last three decades.

The World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Index currently ranks Uganda 61st globally in terms of gender equality.

The Woman Uganda 2025 plus one campaign aims to address gaps and also aims to end violence against women, challenge gender stereotypes and inspire action online to shift negative social norms. 

Quispel emphasised the importance of working with male allies, saying, “We need to work with all of them.” The campaign seeks to add men’s voices to the women’s movement in Uganda, attracting a broader public to advocate for a more equal society. 

(L-R) Frederieke Quispel, former ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Uganda, Betty Among, the Minister of Gender Labour and Social Development and Joah Mangi, the Kenyan Ambassador to Uganda during the launch of the WomenUganda PlusOne campaign. (Credit: Herbert Musoke)

The campaign goal will be achieved by encouraging men and boys to challenge gender inequality, support women’s rights and combat gender-based violence.

The high commissioner of Kenya to Uganda, Joash Arthur Maangi, who co-hosted the campaign launch, said: “Women rights are human rights; all of us should be involved in protecting them.”

Other dignitaries present, including the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Norbert Mao, and the British High Commissioner to Uganda, Lisa Chesney, also highlighted the importance of the campaign and the need for collective action to achieve gender equality.