Who is Miria Matembe?

Intimate portrait

Aretha Frison caught up with Miria Matembe, the Mbarara Municipality Member of Parliament at Parliament building recently. Matembe talked about her life and interests. Below are excepts

Community activities: Leading anti-corruption crusader and gender rights activist in Uganda.

Awards: Presented with the “Women Heroine Award” in 1998 from the Women Heroine Project in New York City in the United States. The award was given to 100 women who made a tremendous contribution to the world-wide women’s movement from 1898 to 1998.

Family: “My husband and my four sons who are proud of me. There were originally nine siblings in my family—-five boys and four girls. But now, I have two sisters and one brother. My father lives in the village.”

Hobbies: “Oh, I love dancing and I am a very good dancer. I love going out to dance with my sons. I also used to be an actress –– acting in plays throughout Uganda. I was in two plays that were named ‘Play of the Year’ by The National Theatre. The plays are Lubwama N’ Amakage and The Time Bomb, which I wrote.”

Personal life challenges: “I didn’t have a good childhood because I had to work all the time. My family earned a living by digging and working at a food kiosk at a trading centre. If my mother wasn’t available to work, I stayed home to look after my other siblings, while my other brother went to school. Yet, I was expected to perform as well as him. Now, my challenge is working towards having a closer relationship with the Lord. While I was working with the Constitution making commission, I kept praying to God, telling Him that I must win. Then, of course, I won. And after that, God started talking to me and he asked me: ‘I have given you money and I let you win. I have done all of this for you, now, what have you done for me?’ I used to drink beer but now I don’t...and I gave my life to God. Before, my life was for women’s rights. Now, my fight is to train them spiritually. My fight is spiritual now.”

Worst time in your life: “In 1992, when the draft was completed. I lost a brother that year in December, and my mother had died in September. I remember one time when I had taken my mother to Mulago hospital for a check up, I could not stay to monitor her condition. I had to rush back to the constitution session because I was so afraid to miss the opportunity to have a women’s provision in the Constitution. So, I left my mother at the hospital with my sister. After the session, I went back only to be told that my mother had died. I was told she did not go through the CT scan as suggested by the doctors because I left the hospital. I felt that if I had spent more time with her, she would have lived. I was very busy that time.”

Best Time In Your Life: “My dream has been realised. As a child, I wanted to be a lawyer to plead and work for women. Then after, I had a dream to get into Parliament and change the law for better equality for women. Finally, I got that platform to talk for women here and on the international scene.”

Person who inspires you: “Joyce Meyer. She is an inspiration and I want to be spiritually fuelled. She has made me believe entirely that there is God. She says that God has brought her through all of these things.So that makes me believe that there must be God. But as a child, I wasn’t inspired by women at all because I had always seen them being mistreated, beaten and crying. But my mother used to motivate me, and that made me work hard at school. I was always the first in class.”

What makes you cry? “I don’t cry. I feel anguish and I guess it is from how I grew up. Living in that environment hardened my heart. And, I didn’t cry because I didn’t like it when people said that women always cry. So, I didn’t cry as a child because when I saw women crying, they didn’t get any help. So I saw no reason to cry. But, I have cried when I heard women’s stories of mistreatment like rape and being battered — those things have made me cry, not matters concerning myself.”

Your deepest passion: “All of my passions, physically and materially have been fulfiled. Everything else now is an extra blessing by God.”

What do you say to people who say that you don’t behave like a woman? “I tell them there is only one person to know my womanhood and that is my husband. I have four wonderful children. I know my role, my physical appearance and my expectations of a woman. And, I am extremely happy with that. I don’t ever regret my disposition, and I thank God that I am a woman. I like my uniqueness. Actually, many people don’t know the kind heart I have.
My kindness has been exploited. Whatever women want, I give it to them. That inner, soft part of me is there. And those that have come across me have come to know it, and have used it to their advantage.
My physical appearance makes people think that I am fierce. People fear me. I remember when I was a teacher, I used to walk into the classroom with confidence. You could hear the sound of my high-heel shoes on the pavement eloquently. So, one day I entered the classroom, and the entire class was quiet. I asked: “Why are you quiet?” And no one said anything, until one student slowly raised his hand. He said “You sit there like a monster and scare us.” And then, I shouted at him, and he was scared and that made me laugh. You see, my fierce outer appearance is just a way to protect my weakness.”

Why is it that when you speak in public, you seem serious and then, you break out into laughter? “When I speak, I’m actually thinking out loud. Sometimes, my mind moves faster than my mouth. I am transparent. If I feel provoked, I speak out my mind.”

What do your woman friends think about your influence as a civil rights advocate? “Every woman friend from primary school to the present day has remained my friend. They have supported me. Some want me to change, from being outspoken to being soft-spoken and ‘more feminine,’ but that’s not me. Then, some encourage me to be true to myself. But, I keep all of them as friends.”

Do you regret not having a daughter? “I tell myself that maybe if I had a daughter, that may have been the source of my divorce. My husband supports bride price and I don’t. Secondly, I don’t want a man beating my daughter, because if he did, I would get something and beat him too. I look for an opportunity in every misfortune and disadvantage. Not having a daughter is probably a blessing.”

Is there anything you regret? “My regret is for those who haven’t come close to me, and have the wrong image of me.”

Scariest thing about life today: “Corruption scares me. I’m very concerned and bothered about where we are going as a nation, especially with women empowerment.”

What do you do to relax? “After I leave Parliament, I go home if I don’t have any engagements. I don’t watch much T.V., so I go to sleep. If I don’t go to the Toning Tables in the morning, I go to the health club and do swimming, work on the treadmill, go to the sauna and the steam bath.”

Favourite historical figure: “Winnie Mandela. I thought she was great to stand by Nelson Mandela, but I didn’t like how things went down after he was released from prison. But, most of all, the late Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, former Tanzanian president. I admire him because he was simple, modest and resilient in fighting for African people.”
l After you are gone, how would you like to be remembered? “As one who has made a difference in people’s lives.”

rereb@hotmail.com