Women championing committee formed in Kaberamaido

A nine member committee that will be championing the issues of women as the United Nations convention resolution 2315 has been formed in Kaberamaido district.

The committee that will be led by the chief administrative officer of the district has various members that will always ensure that the issues of women are taken into consideration on peace and security.

The committee has the district councilors who manages funds in the district and the police department that usually handles criminal issues in the community.

The planning unit and the community based department that deal with more of the community issues were asked to consider issues of the peace and security of women as they engage themselves in serving the community.

The LC5 vice chairperson of Kaberamaido, Fredrick Oboi said there was a real need to take the issues of women, peace and security (WPS) seriously.

He said once a woman's peace and security is affected, the whole society equally gets affected.

He said children who usually depend on the security of women suffer even more.

He also said a number of family members depend on the support of the women and it was important to have United Nations security resolution 1325 on women, peace and security seriously.

Oboi said looking at the vulnerability of women in situations where there is no peace and security, the society gets touched more.

One of the officials from Coalition for Action (CoACT) on1325, Irine Arinaitwe said there was need to have the district localizing the program in all what they do to ensure WPS is promoted.

She said this should include planning and having special consideration of women in everything done in the district.

The LC3 of Ochero sub county, Charles Kennedy Ojuku said there was really still a very big gap in ensuring women, peace and security.

He said the central government itself was having so many projects that were being implemented throughout the country but little attention was looking at considering issues of WPS.

"Can government assure us that whenever they plan for every activity, women are consulted over peace and their security?

Projects sometimes come up to the implementation level when the government wakes up to tell us to have a consideration of women yet their views would not have been captured at designing level", Ojuku said.

He said to have the implementation of the programs without getting the views of women had made most of them to have less interest in such programs or projects.

He said it was a fact that most of the rural women were not having their interest captured.

Ojuku said women who live in urban places were more enlightened than those in rural places who have more burdens and less access to information.

"Can we have the mind of a rural woman who depends on mainly peasant farming  being captured?

This does not mean that women in the urban places are neglected but both categories need their views listened to", Ojuku said.

He said issues like gender biasness, gender domestic violence, defilement, neglect of child girl education, poor cultural practices against girls and women were common in communities and needed more actions against them.

 One of the officers from CoACT, Goretty Komurembe said the UN resolution 1325 bases itself on four pillars to have women safeguarded.

Kamurembe said one of the pillars calls on increased participation of women at all levels in decision making including in national, regional and global institutions.

She also said that the resolution calls for the protection of women and girls from sexual and gender based violence.

Another third pillar calls on improving intervention strategies that prevent violence against women.

Kamurembe said in situations where there is political instability, an advancement of relief and recovery measures will be developed to address the crisis using the gender lens.

Irine Arinaitwe also from CoAct said Kaberamaido district needed to localize their actions to have the local woman in the district attended to using the pillars of the UN resolution 1325.

The committee that will have the UN resolution in the local context has Herman Ejoku from the office of CAO and deputized by Fredrick Oboi who is the LC5 vice chairperson.

Christine Nagawoya who is the district OC CID will be the secretary of the committee

Other members are; Charles Kennedy Ojuku (LC3 Ochero), Nelson Odela, (DCDO), Naume Ajiko for CSOs, Robert Etwalu (district speaker) and Patricia Ikeo from the planning unit.