Forum for Women in Democracy Uganda

  Women cry and suffocate after police dispersed crowds with tear gas. Picture by Chimp report On December 4 Kampala woke to a fire that gutted Nakivubo Parkyard Market. While listening to news on radio, I heard a woman crying and amidst her sobs she laboured to explain how her property/ stock had been destroyed in the fire. She had just acquired a loan from a Women’s Sacco which money she invested in buying second hand clothes targeting the Christmas season. In her narration, she wondered how she would pay back the loan yet all her stock was destroyed. Worse still she has a family to feed and yet her only means of income had gone with the fire. She is one of the many women suffering due to the park yard infernal whose causes are not yet known.  I wondered about other women petty trading in this area and how this fire has affected their wellbeing. Majority vend foodstuffs, newspapers, airtime, plastic bags, etc. The same group has i

A frican women should anchor their demands for equality with men in their national constitutions if they are to succeed, the Leader of Uganda’s delegation to the Pan African Parliament (PAP), Hon. Cecilia Ogwal has said. “We as African women should anchor our struggle in the fundamental law, under which we can demand for governments to account,” she said. Hon. Ogwal (FDC, Dokolo district) said subsequent legislation would then be enacted to operationalise the constitutional provisions on gender equality. Hon. Ogwal was speaking during an MPs workshop on ‘The role of the Pan African Parliament in championing for the ratification, domestication and implementation of the Charter on Democracy, Elections and Good Governance,’ held in Dar es Salaam, Dec. 5 – 6, 2013. The workshop was attended by members of PAP from nine countries in Eastern African including, Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, Rwanda, Mauritius and Uganda. “I appeal to MPs to

Members of Parliament under their umbrella, the Uganda Women’s Parliamentary Union (UWOPA) are seeking to have the vacant seat of the estranged General and former leader of Ugandan Security Agencies, General David Sejjusa filled by a woman. The move is led by Ssembabule Woman Member of Parliament Hon. Hanifa Kawoya, who is also Chairperson of the Equal Opportunities Commission.   Hon. Hanifa Kawoya during a meeting at Parliament recently. The women have written a letter to the Chairperson of the Army Council requesting that a woman Army representative replaces General David Sejjusa who fled the country a few months back. UWOPA is also seeking audience from the UPDF Parliamentary leader, General Elly Tumwine over the same.  The Uganda Parliament now has 8 Army representatives and of these only two are women. That is Captain Susan Lakot, Major Sarah Mpabwa.  

In commemoration of the Anti-corruption week, Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE) organized a parallel session in line with the 3 rd National Anti-corruption Convention. The  session which gathered women councilors from the Districts of Amuru, Amuria and Napak, Members of Parliament, human rights defenders and CSO representative was organized under the theme “Leadership with Integrity”. Kabumba Busingye presenting a paper on “integrity with Government Institutions, during the Session on Leadership with Integrity that was part of the 3rd Anti-corruption convention to commemoration the National corruption week, 2013.  These celebrations happened at a time when the 2013 Global Corruption Barometer by Transparency International ranks Uganda the 17 th country with highest occurrence of corruption cases.  In his presentation,  Busingye Kabumba one of the panelist at this session, pointed out that the lack of capacity in the Director of Public Prosecution’s office

Kampala- Six out of 10 small scale farmers depend on money lenders (loan sharks) and other informal sources of funding, a report presented by a group of civil society organizations claims. The problem with such unregulated financing, according to Sophie Kyagulanyi, the programme manager of Forum for Women in Democracy- a gender-based civil society organisation, is that it exposes the farmers to unfavourable terms, almost all the time.     Caritas Uganda’s Francis Ndamira calls for partnership between government and the civil society to promote agriculture. Listening in is Ministry of Finance’s Maxwell Adea. Photo by S. Wandera   Accessing finances Presenting a paper on agricultural financing at a meeting yesterday in Kampala, Ms Kyagulanyi said while quoting figures generated by the Uganda National Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), that 61 per cent of small scale farmers, who make 80 per cent of the total farmers in the country access finances from informal source

The Forum for Women in Democracy has called on media to support the crusade for advancing gender equality.     During a media networking meeting held on the 30th October 2013 at Sheraton Hotel in Kampala, FOWODE and News editors from over 20 media houses discussed strategies of expanding spaces and opportunities fro learning as well as advancing gender equality, accountability and good governance The meeting was also used to share with the media the women’s demands stipulated in the Uganda Women’s Agenda which calls for Government’s responsiveness towards women’s specific needs in education, health, ICT, environment, Women with special needs, health, democracy and governance, human rights and the Law, Peace, human security, an d dignity, Uganda in regional and international context, economic empowerment and institutional mechanisms.  Dr. Thelma Awori , the Honorary Consul General of Liberia in Uganda, who also gave the key note address, commended the media for the space an

University students have challenged the new Shs256 billion Youth Livelihood Fund, arguing that it is a new campaign tool to hoodwink youth ahead of the 2016 General Elections. During a public dialogue organised by the Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE), Gender and leadership Club at Nkumba University and Uganda Youth Network last week, the students said government announced the Youth Fund towards the 2011 election but it did not work out because of the conditions one had to fulfill before obtaining it. “Why is this new Youth Livelihood Fund only targeting school drop-outs and leaving out the graduated youth who may not be potential candidates to easily be hoodwinked again?” Mr Ken Seruwagi, a first year student pursuing business administration, asked. Ms Grace Obalim, the president of the Gender and Leadership Club Nkumba University, said that it is very absurd that the new Fund looks at projects like video-audio editing and poultry rearing that could have les

Nakaggwa claims that some officials have taken the issue personal for fear of being exposed for mismanaging government funds.   Lack of access to information and intimidation by local government officials is hampering the anti corruption fight by the Village Budget Clubs across the country. In 2010, Forum for Women in Development, a non governmental organization launched Village Budget Clubs to demand value for money for every government program implemented.  More than 50 Village Budget clubs comprising of 1000 members drawn from the communities were formed in 13 districts. They include Luweero, Kibaale, Kabale, Kanungu, Amuru, Napak, Busia, Mityana, Amuria, Wakiso among others. However a number of Village Budget club members have quit citing a threat to their lives by civil and local government officials. In Luweero district at least 20 of the 120 volunteers have quit. The bulk of the remaining volunteers are inactive. In Kalungu district only 4 of the 50 volunteers

The health center which caters for more than 38,000 residents has only one ward and six beds which are used for admission of expectant mothers in delivery and other patients including males and children with various health conditions Expectant Mothers and male patients are sharing one small ward at Butuntumula Heath Center 111 raising issues of breach of privacy at delivery. The in charge of Butuntumula Health Center  Harriet Nanyanzi says the health center which caters for more than 38,000 residents has only one ward and six beds which are used for admission of expectant mothers in delivery and other patients including males and children with various health conditions. Nanyanzi says that due to lack of privacy in the ward, the number of mothers delivering from the center has dwindled as women now prefer private health units where they feel secure and privacy is respected. Nanyanzi adds that the Health Center receives 875,000 shillings per quarter from Central g

African women leaders are claiming their leadership positions not only in Africa but at an international level; a good case in point is the appointment of former South African Vice President, Ms. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka as the new Executive Director UN Women, the organization leading UN's work on advancing gender equality and women's rights in July 2013. For Uganda’s case, the Rt. Hon. Speaker of Parliament of Uganda Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga was in September 2013 elected chairperson the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians-International (CWP), a seat she will hold for the next three years.   Kadaga was before then chairing the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians-Africa branch and is the first Woman Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda. Serving as the Speaker, Kadaga has overtime distinguished herself and partially redeemed the credibility of the Office of the Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda and portrayed herself as potential leader and for many ‘President Materi