Assessing Progress in Achievement of Women’s Rights and Gender Equality as the Beijing Platform for Action Turns 25
The year 1995 was a turning point for the women’s movement in Africa and the world at large with the unanimous adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA) by 189 countries. This agenda has been defined as the most progressive blueprint ever for advancing women’s rights and the key global policy document […]
This Is How Young Women Are Coping With Sexual Harassment at Universities
In April 2018, Rachel Njoroge Njeri reported Edward Kisuze an administrator at Makerere University to the police for sexually molesting her. He was proved guilty and suspended from Makerere University which sparked off a debate on sexual harassment by staff at Makerere University on different social media platforms. Female students in higher institutions of learning […]
What Is The Point Of The Revolution If We Cannot Dance? – Interrogating the State and Celebrating the Gains of Feminist Organising In Uganda
The essence smelt right, the candles burnt subtly but visibly, colorful mats, cushions and bitenges (African fabric) beautifully and skillfully laid out, it was time for the feminist dance. I have come to the realization that nothing compares to feminist spaces where we are free to challenge ourselves reenergize and re-strategize. This is what the […]
Creating Safe Spaces to Break the Silence on Violence for Differently Abled Women in Uganda
When it comes to violence against women and girls, it is important not to lose sight of the fact that women with disabilities often suffer double catastrophe. Frequently abandoned, women with disabilities are vulnerable to sexual abuse and while most women are no stranger to one of patriarchy’s ugliest faces in the form of sexual […]
Staying business savvy to survive on the flower farm
Namatovu is the popular socks vendor among her colleagues. At the end of her work day, outside the changing rooms, she turns into a trader – showcasing her product, conducting negotiations, and recommending what pair and color of socks one should buy. Each pair goes for 2,000 Uganda Shillings (USD 0.54), earning her a 1,000 […]
Feeling the pinch of the gendered burden of parenting
“My name is Specioza, and I am 50 years old. I work as a supervisor in Green House 12 and I have worked here for 14 years.” This is not the first time Specioza is working at a flower farm. Before her job here, she worked at another farm, still as a supervisor, where she […]
A pregnancy while still in school forged a different path for her
23 year old Rita is a mother of two, a 7 year old and 2 year old. She doesn’t often see the older one who she says she had, unprepared. “I did not even breastfeed her. As soon as she was born, my mother took her, while I began to look for work. She still […]
Fighting for women’s labour rights in the workers’ committee
Felista has a delightful personality. She smiles, greets and is eager to explain and to give whatever information needed about her work. It is clear in her clarity and swiftness to answer, that she has mastered the ins and outs of her job’s task, and that of the others. Felista has worked at the farm […]
Motherhood, labor, family, struggle and survival: The untold stories of women breathing life into flower farms in Uganda
Motherhood, labor, family, struggle and survival: The untold stories of women breathing life into flower farms in Uganda
Catalyzing New Levels of Transformative Mentorship to Strengthen the Voice and Agency of Young Women Leaders
Studies have found that limited mentorship programmes exist for women in political leadership. This coupled with a lack of systematic strategies to attract and retain young women to join leadership and participate in governance processes continue to hinder young women’s leadership development and the full unleashing of their potential. Some young women have gone ahead […]
Promoting Decent Workplaces for Women to Thrive
In Uganda, working mothers are entitled to 60 days of maternity leave on full wages with a guarantee of the job they left behind (or its equivalent) waiting for them when they get back to work. This requirement is provided for in Section 56 of The Employment Act of 2006. This is the only provision […]
Building a Movement of Young Women Equipped To Respond To Limited Participation of Women in Leadership and Decision-Making
Young women in politics suffer double discrimination by age and gender despite women’s proven abilities as leaders and agents of change as well as their right to equal participation in political processes. While all young people are hindered from participating in active politics because of their lack of experience, young women are doubly hindered because […]
Meet Akina Mama wa Afrika’s Board of Directors!
Akina Mama wa Afrika is pleased to announce the addition of new members to her Pan African Board of Directors. We are thrilled at the passion and expertise they bring in leading AMwA on her mission to strengthen the individual and collective leadership of African women, forming strategic partnerships, to tackle patriarchy and attain gender equality […]
Ending the Culture of Silence on Sexual Harassment at Institutions of Higher Learning in Uganda
Have you ever desisted from raising your hand to suggest an answer in a classroom because the lecturer is a well-known predator and you do not want to call attention to yourself? Have you ever been asked to meet your lecturer at 7pm or 11pm? Have you ever missed class the entire semester because you […]
A new frontier on tax justice from a feminist perspective in Uganda
Thursday 22nd August 2019 had a whiff of history about it as 27 women gathered to demand a seat at the table of tax discourse. On that day, two births of note happened; first AMwA began in earnest, the project on plugging illicit financial flows for women’s economic empowerment and secondly, a movement of women-led […]
I am a Feminist. Fullstop.
The theme of this year’s Uganda Feminist Forum (UFF) was “Silencing Our Fears and Fearing Our Silence”. One I hadn’t easily understood until I started interacting with it through the preparations for the forum and the buildup tweet chats. There is something about being in womxn only spaces that is so calming. The room was diverse, […]
Clipping Thorny Rose Bushes: Stories of Women Working on Flower Farms in Uganda
In 2014, flowers contributed 38.7 million US dollars to Uganda’s GDP. Although women contribute 60% to 75% of the labor force in the horticulture industry, their labour is mainly concentrated in the lower stages of the value chain. Women work as labourers – digging, weeding, harvesting, sorting, packing and labeling flowers. Despite women being favoured […]
Unpacking Gender – Let’s talk about space, body policing, and sexual violence
Women in Uganda remain disproportionately affected by various injustices and human rights violations with statistics showing that 7 out of every 10 women in Uganda have at some point in their lives been victims of sexual violence. This is asserted by the high rates of femicide and gender based violence against women as a result […]
Who Needs Feminism? Everybody
Feminists in Uganda get to go through their day in addition to fighting the various injustices that women face, trying to create world balance, responding to queries about feminism, if they really are man-haters and how they go to bed at night perfectly fine with pushing an evil agenda from the West. Most people have […]
Celebrating Diversities: Strengthening Inclusivity in GBV programming in Emergencies
It was a chilly morning as my cab driver Steven drove me to the airport. My folder containing workshop documents fell on the floor and caught Steven’s attention. While putting the documents back in the folder, he commented rather confidently, “Madam, why does your folder have BLTG? Is it not illegal to have things that […]