A double blessing for women
Jan 15, 2007
THIS year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting is a double blessing to women. Come June 11-14, Commonwealth women affairs ministers will convene in Munyonyo for the ninth Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers Meeting (WAMM).
By Elizabeth Namazzi
THIS year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting is a double blessing to women. Come June 11-14, Commonwealth women affairs ministers will convene in Munyonyo for the ninth Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers Meeting (WAMM).
Organised by the Commonwealth Women’s Network, WAMM keeps the Commonwealth civil society informed about different activities within the Commonwealth. It involves civil society organisations and links them with women and issues affecting them. The theme will be “financing gender equality for development and democracy.â€
In preparation for WAMM, a conference involving women from different parts of Uganda was organised in October 2006.
The aim was to sensitise and encourage them to participate in WAMM, which brings together about 250-300 women ministers, parliamentarians, judges, lawyers, entrepreneurs, gender and youth civil society organisations. It also attracts international and bilateral partner agencies worldwide.
The Eastern African Sub-regional Support Initiative in Ntinda, Kampala, is serving as the hosting secretariat and is working closely with the gender ministry to ensure the success of the meeting.
It will be chaired by the Minister of Gender, Syda Bumba and will focus on issues affecting women in Commonwealth countries. This is where CHOGM comes in. Scheduled five months after WAMM, CHOGM will present a great opportunity for women to discuss pressing issues they discussed.
According to Marren Akasa-Bukachi, the executive director of The Eastern African Sub-regional Support Initiative, CHOGM offers the opportunity to bring women’s empowerment and gender equality to the attention of heads of government.
Our hope is that the Commonwealth Women’s Network and the WAMM will raise awareness about issues of women in Africa.
The strength of the network is that it cuts across regions. They are able to exchange information and share advocacy issues,†Akasa-Bukachi said.
She says the theme was agreed upon with the Government and the Commonwealth Secretariat.
“There’s need to highlight the importance of funding gender activities after it was threatened by the Paris Convention, which says that gender activities should be mainstreamed and find their own source of funding.â€
THIS year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting is a double blessing to women. Come June 11-14, Commonwealth women affairs ministers will convene in Munyonyo for the ninth Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers Meeting (WAMM).
Organised by the Commonwealth Women’s Network, WAMM keeps the Commonwealth civil society informed about different activities within the Commonwealth. It involves civil society organisations and links them with women and issues affecting them. The theme will be “financing gender equality for development and democracy.â€
In preparation for WAMM, a conference involving women from different parts of Uganda was organised in October 2006.
The aim was to sensitise and encourage them to participate in WAMM, which brings together about 250-300 women ministers, parliamentarians, judges, lawyers, entrepreneurs, gender and youth civil society organisations. It also attracts international and bilateral partner agencies worldwide.
The Eastern African Sub-regional Support Initiative in Ntinda, Kampala, is serving as the hosting secretariat and is working closely with the gender ministry to ensure the success of the meeting.
It will be chaired by the Minister of Gender, Syda Bumba and will focus on issues affecting women in Commonwealth countries. This is where CHOGM comes in. Scheduled five months after WAMM, CHOGM will present a great opportunity for women to discuss pressing issues they discussed.
According to Marren Akasa-Bukachi, the executive director of The Eastern African Sub-regional Support Initiative, CHOGM offers the opportunity to bring women’s empowerment and gender equality to the attention of heads of government.
Our hope is that the Commonwealth Women’s Network and the WAMM will raise awareness about issues of women in Africa.
The strength of the network is that it cuts across regions. They are able to exchange information and share advocacy issues,†Akasa-Bukachi said.
She says the theme was agreed upon with the Government and the Commonwealth Secretariat.
“There’s need to highlight the importance of funding gender activities after it was threatened by the Paris Convention, which says that gender activities should be mainstreamed and find their own source of funding.â€