Some Ugandan women thrive, others strive

  International Women's Day - March 8 

By Gilbert Kidimu

A revolution has been rumbling quietly in the background and it's now reached the foreground as clever, talented and formidable Ugandan women prove that the weaker gender by tradition is much more than disposable support for mighty men.

In the past five years, names such as Jennifer Musisi and Rebecca Kadaga have sent chills down many men’s spines, inspired brilliant young women, and restored faith in government programs. It is safe to say, they have been wearing the pants.

The former has been described as the best thing to ever happen to Kampala and the latter the best Speaker Uganda has ever had. This is, in spite of the two ladies being the firsts in their respective roles.

Musisi assumed the role of Kampala Executive Director after multiple epic fails by male mayors, and Kadaga is the first female Speaker of the Ugandan Parliament.
 

Rebecca Kadaga is the first female Speaker of the Ugandan Parliament. (Photo credit: Enock Kakande)

The swift escalation of the profile of women in Uganda comes 20 years since the pivotal 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. This conference marked a significant turning point for the global agenda for gender equality as it set strategic objectives and actions for the advancement of women and the achievement of gender equality.

A number of issues to manage were discussed, including the more than 1 billion people in the world, the great majority of whom women who lived in unacceptable conditions of poverty, especially in developing countries, such as Uganda.

It was further revealed that education, while a human right and an essential tool for achieving the goals of equality was denied many girls in developing nations.

They further argued that women had the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.

Violence against women was identified as one of the main obstacles to achieving equality, development and peace.

It was discussed that the empowerment and autonomy of women and the improvement of women's social, economic and political status was essential for the achievement of both transparent and accountable government and administration and sustainable development in all areas of life.


Where we are now

During an interview at her home in Lungujja, Joyce Mpanga, first female minister of cabinet in Uganda and longstanding advocate for gender equality, said, although the status of women in Uganda has come a long way, there is still a lot of ground to cover before we can rightly celebrate their emancipation.

Women and health

“Awareness concerning the right of women has been created but women have limited access to drinking water, maternal care, and many still walk miles to the hospital,” she observes.

 A UNICEF report found that at least 20% of the burden of disease in children below the age of five is related to poor maternal health and nutrition. Uganda’s maternal mortality ratio – the annual number of deaths of women from pregnancy-related causes per 100,000 live births – stands at 435.

Women in power and decision-making
 

Joyce Mpanga was the first female minister of cabinet in Uganda. (File photo)

“The docks of cabinet in which men sat alone have been opened to women,” observes Mpaga who was the only cabinet minister in the 1980s.

“There are more women in the cabinet and they are given not only the health docket but also finance, agriculture, education, and et cetera. We have women in positions directly affecting the direction this country takes,” says Mpanga.

During the 80s, she contributed to efforts to formulate a gender-sensitive constitution that protected women, allowed them greater and more direct participation in Uganda’s political processes, and revised the laws to allow Ugandans to define their citizenship by their mothers.

One result of such collective efforts was Uganda celebrating its first International Women’s Day in 1985.

Today, every district by law must have a woman representative.

She however says Uganda has not yet achieved the real meaning of democracy, seeing that women are slightly over half the population but the demographics aren’t reflected among members of parliament.

Education and training of women

Overall, girls beat boys in the 2014 A Level exams; Uganda finally has women professors, Permanent Secretaries, CEOs, to mention but a few.

Mpanga says Universal Primary Education (UPE) has had a contribution to promoting girl-child education in spite of multiple challenges.

“It was discovered that the only way women would take part in decision-making is getting educated.

“We have more girls in primary and secondary schools. But since it isn’t completely free, many girls are side-lined when their parents have to choose between them and their brothers,” she observes.

Poor toilet facilities, lack of sanitary pads, and long distances keeps many girls out of school, she says, adding that these challenges need to be addressed to further girl-child education.

Violence against women
 

Statistics indicate that up to 68 %of women in Uganda have experienced some form of violence. “We hear a lot about it in the media because women after being sensitised won’t suffer silently. That’s a good thing.”

Mpanga however adds that since women are still battered at home, the war isn’t won yet.

Women and poverty

A report titled Chronic Poverty in Uganda reveals that over eight million of 30.7 million people are chronically poor, with women forming the bulk.

“Women, although still poorest in Uganda, have been empowered by the Economic War. Kikuubo is filled with women traders making a lot of money. They go to London, Dubai, and Nairobi as importers.”

“Back in my days a minister for women, I remember going to Arua [district] and finding only women in the market, but a few moments later realised that many of these women handed their profits back to their husbands,’ narrates Mpanga.

She further adds that although not like in the past, many Ugandan women are still financially dependent on men.

Way forward

So moving forward, what does Mpanga think?

“Involve more men in the liberalisation of women programs, or they will ignore them. Empowerment of women can only be achieved if men are included in the fight for women.

She further reasons that since it is mostly women who grow food and look after animals, she would like to see mostly women in agricultural schools, not men. Ironically, these schools are dominated by men.

“We also need to see more of women as agricultural officers.

“Regarding UPE, we should work towards compulsory and completely free primary education. This way we shall have all girls going to school,” she quips.


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