Stepping out with Flair
Feb 28, 2008
DID the corporate woman exist in the pre-Museveni era and if she did, why were they not as high profile as their sisters are today? Today’s corporate woman is a far cry form the woman of yesteryear. Although she may not have been as highly visible as her counterparts today, they were nevertheless
By Timothy Bukumunhe
DID the corporate woman exist in the pre-Museveni era and if she did, why were they not as high profile as their sisters are today? Today’s corporate woman is a far cry form the woman of yesteryear. Although she may not have been as highly visible as her counterparts today, they were nevertheless successful as mothers, nurses or teachers.
They were the hidden backbone of the family setting — hidden because culture then deemed it that way. Perhaps with the exception of Princess Elizabeth Bagaya who achieved fame as a Vogue model and as a trouser wearing foreign minister, Irene Zikusooka and Charlotte Ssali who were both anchors on UTV, the corporate woman was virtually unheard of.
But today the list is endless — Dr Kigozi heading the Uganda Investment Authority, Allen Kagina at the Uganda Revenue Authority, Harriet Musoke at Standard Chartered Bank are just some of the visible women who have been successful in climbing the corporate ladder that was once an all male domain.
Part of that advancement was down to the ‘woman power revolution of the 1980s and 1990s’, with their desire to succeed and be more than just housewives or teachers and to gain exposure which ultimately led to the growth in the readership of women’s magazines.
Especially in Uganda, which virtually had no exposure, the odd magazine that came in was much sought after. Women wanted to know what their counterparts were doing abroad.
And with that came the numerous questions — for example, ‘how can I be a top manager and still find time for my family’ or ‘is there wrong if I wore trouser suits to work?’
Magazines like Cosmopolitan successfully answered those questions for the European woman.
Cosmopolitan liberated the European woman, who found inspiration and faith in a magazine written for women and by women.
But Cosmopolitan did not answer the same questions for the Ugandan woman — they stopped short probably because they were not targeting the Ugandan.
And even if there were some ideas Ugandans could live with, they might have decided against taking them in fear of going against cultural norms.
But in Uganda today, women are going against gender limitations.
They do not want to wait five or 10 years to take on something that happened 10 years ago to the European woman.
They want it now — today even if it annoys the chauvinist old men in kanzus (tunics) who would rather than see women shackled to the kitchen sink and out of sight.
Now enter the dawn of a new era for as Keturah Kamugasa says: “Every product that I edit becomes a best seller because I put my heart and soul into it.â€
And it is a dawn which the Ugandan woman has every reason to smile about and feel relieved for somebody has finally heeded their cry and come to their rescue.
No longer will the Ugandan woman have to rely on imported women’s magazines which do not grasp the needs or the ideals of the Ugandan woman.
That new dawn comes in the form of the long-awaited and much-heralded Flair for Her, the latest in a line of innovative magazines from The New Vision. Under the expertise of Kamugasa, the magazines editor, the 84-page magazine will be launched at a star studded party — full of pomp and extravaganza at Protea Kampala Hotel this evening.
Tony Glencross, The New Vision’s sales and marketing manager is extremely proud of the magazine, which he describes as ‘the flagship of The New Vision.’
He says in terms of investment and human resources, all magazines under The New Vision umbrella will be of the same standard as Flair for Her. Notwithstanding that, the magazine is now a sustainable part of the The New Vision.
There has always been a demand for home grown magazines, especially those that cater for women’s needs.
Flair for Her has found that niche market and unlike other unsuccessful and trashy magazines which prevailed in the 90s and which had an editorial content full of controversy, Flair For Her is an upmarket magazine that also appeals to those who have yet to get there.
For example, in the first issue there is an interview with Anne Aliker, Stanbic Bank’s Regional Director of Corporate and Investment Banking for East Africa who gives an inspiring story of her will to succeed, especially in a male-dominated industry, being a wife and mother.
Aliker is not a figure who is out of reach. She was the girl next door and despite her successes, she continues to be the girl who is easy to approach.
Her story goes a long way to inspiring those who are just about to walk out of university as well as those who are climbing the corporate ladder.
Miriam Ndagire, a retired nurse in Gayaza, has this to say of women’s magazines which were non existent in the 1970s.
“We had no way of getting hold of them. He (Amin) had banned them, so we used to do all our reading on the flight to Uganda.
At customs, if we were lucky enough to meet an official of your own tribe and you talked to him nicely, he might have been kind enough to let you rip out four or five pages from the magazine which we could bring into the country.â€
She goes on to add that then they did not have magazines like Cosmopolitan, which aimed at empowering the woman.
“We had Woman’s Own which was geared to making us subservient.
They had feature articles telling that half an hour before our husbands returned home from work, we had to go and shower do up our hair so we looked good for them.
But we wanted more than just looking good for our husbands. We wanted to have meaningful careers — not just being a secretary!
Adding on to the birth of Flair For Her, The New Vision’s magazines editor, Kalungi Kabuye, said the magazine is not just a “wishy-washyâ€, one that is full of recipes, what skin lotion to use or what to do if you man ditches you.
“The magazine has it all — everything that the career woman of today will need as she strives to manage her private life and career.
You do not have to be a suit-wearing woman earning a seven-figure sum to read the magazine.
Even if you are just starting out on your own and in private enterprise, there is a section in the magazine that takes care of that, just as there is a section dedicated to women who are into cars and have a good understanding of what is under a car hood†he said.
Flair for Her is available at most major outlets for sh5,000.
DID the corporate woman exist in the pre-Museveni era and if she did, why were they not as high profile as their sisters are today? Today’s corporate woman is a far cry form the woman of yesteryear. Although she may not have been as highly visible as her counterparts today, they were nevertheless successful as mothers, nurses or teachers.
They were the hidden backbone of the family setting — hidden because culture then deemed it that way. Perhaps with the exception of Princess Elizabeth Bagaya who achieved fame as a Vogue model and as a trouser wearing foreign minister, Irene Zikusooka and Charlotte Ssali who were both anchors on UTV, the corporate woman was virtually unheard of.
But today the list is endless — Dr Kigozi heading the Uganda Investment Authority, Allen Kagina at the Uganda Revenue Authority, Harriet Musoke at Standard Chartered Bank are just some of the visible women who have been successful in climbing the corporate ladder that was once an all male domain.
Part of that advancement was down to the ‘woman power revolution of the 1980s and 1990s’, with their desire to succeed and be more than just housewives or teachers and to gain exposure which ultimately led to the growth in the readership of women’s magazines.
Especially in Uganda, which virtually had no exposure, the odd magazine that came in was much sought after. Women wanted to know what their counterparts were doing abroad.
And with that came the numerous questions — for example, ‘how can I be a top manager and still find time for my family’ or ‘is there wrong if I wore trouser suits to work?’
Magazines like Cosmopolitan successfully answered those questions for the European woman.
Cosmopolitan liberated the European woman, who found inspiration and faith in a magazine written for women and by women.
But Cosmopolitan did not answer the same questions for the Ugandan woman — they stopped short probably because they were not targeting the Ugandan.
And even if there were some ideas Ugandans could live with, they might have decided against taking them in fear of going against cultural norms.
But in Uganda today, women are going against gender limitations.
They do not want to wait five or 10 years to take on something that happened 10 years ago to the European woman.
They want it now — today even if it annoys the chauvinist old men in kanzus (tunics) who would rather than see women shackled to the kitchen sink and out of sight.
Now enter the dawn of a new era for as Keturah Kamugasa says: “Every product that I edit becomes a best seller because I put my heart and soul into it.â€
And it is a dawn which the Ugandan woman has every reason to smile about and feel relieved for somebody has finally heeded their cry and come to their rescue.
No longer will the Ugandan woman have to rely on imported women’s magazines which do not grasp the needs or the ideals of the Ugandan woman.
That new dawn comes in the form of the long-awaited and much-heralded Flair for Her, the latest in a line of innovative magazines from The New Vision. Under the expertise of Kamugasa, the magazines editor, the 84-page magazine will be launched at a star studded party — full of pomp and extravaganza at Protea Kampala Hotel this evening.
Tony Glencross, The New Vision’s sales and marketing manager is extremely proud of the magazine, which he describes as ‘the flagship of The New Vision.’
He says in terms of investment and human resources, all magazines under The New Vision umbrella will be of the same standard as Flair for Her. Notwithstanding that, the magazine is now a sustainable part of the The New Vision.
There has always been a demand for home grown magazines, especially those that cater for women’s needs.
Flair for Her has found that niche market and unlike other unsuccessful and trashy magazines which prevailed in the 90s and which had an editorial content full of controversy, Flair For Her is an upmarket magazine that also appeals to those who have yet to get there.
For example, in the first issue there is an interview with Anne Aliker, Stanbic Bank’s Regional Director of Corporate and Investment Banking for East Africa who gives an inspiring story of her will to succeed, especially in a male-dominated industry, being a wife and mother.
Aliker is not a figure who is out of reach. She was the girl next door and despite her successes, she continues to be the girl who is easy to approach.
Her story goes a long way to inspiring those who are just about to walk out of university as well as those who are climbing the corporate ladder.
Miriam Ndagire, a retired nurse in Gayaza, has this to say of women’s magazines which were non existent in the 1970s.
“We had no way of getting hold of them. He (Amin) had banned them, so we used to do all our reading on the flight to Uganda.
At customs, if we were lucky enough to meet an official of your own tribe and you talked to him nicely, he might have been kind enough to let you rip out four or five pages from the magazine which we could bring into the country.â€
She goes on to add that then they did not have magazines like Cosmopolitan, which aimed at empowering the woman.
“We had Woman’s Own which was geared to making us subservient.
They had feature articles telling that half an hour before our husbands returned home from work, we had to go and shower do up our hair so we looked good for them.
But we wanted more than just looking good for our husbands. We wanted to have meaningful careers — not just being a secretary!
Adding on to the birth of Flair For Her, The New Vision’s magazines editor, Kalungi Kabuye, said the magazine is not just a “wishy-washyâ€, one that is full of recipes, what skin lotion to use or what to do if you man ditches you.
“The magazine has it all — everything that the career woman of today will need as she strives to manage her private life and career.
You do not have to be a suit-wearing woman earning a seven-figure sum to read the magazine.
Even if you are just starting out on your own and in private enterprise, there is a section in the magazine that takes care of that, just as there is a section dedicated to women who are into cars and have a good understanding of what is under a car hood†he said.
Flair for Her is available at most major outlets for sh5,000.