Forum for Women in Democracy Uganda

What is it you want to be remembered for? What would you like to be said of you? What is your Legacy? Maya Angelou  born  Marguerite Ann Johnson (April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American author and poet. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, and several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning more than fifty years. She received dozens of awards and over thirty honorary doctoral degrees. Angelou is best known for her series of seven autobiographies, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first,  I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings  (1969), tells of her life up to the age of seventeen, and brought her international recognition and acclaim. She became a poet and writer after a series of occupations as a young adult, including fry cook, prostitute, night-club dancer and performer, cast-member of the opera  Porgy and Bess , coordinator for the Southern C...

I have a brilliant acquaintance who has a degree in engineering. She and her partner have been together for almost four years and have a child together. I care about both of them deeply, but he became my friend because she was my friend first. He’s a nice guy: hard working and dedicated, but not very ambitious. He is comfortable in his job and has no designs to move up, move out or move on in order to earn more. She on the other hand has her life and its trajectory planned out for the next six years; but now the unplanned has happened. Because she has poured so much into her work and performed her duties with such excellence, the VP of her organization has singled her out to take on a position he’s creating based on her skill set. She is thrilled, of course, but hesitant to take the offer because it requires a move to a small town. She knows that her partner is comfortable where they are and would not want to move. The man is comfortable where he is, and the woman is supposed to aba...

Patricia Munabi Babiiha, Executive Director of Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE) was one of the African women from 15 countries across the continent who gathered in Nairobi Kenya from April 23 rd to the 24 th to deliberate and strategize on women’s political leadership in Africa. Convened by FEMNET (African Women’s Development and Communication Network) and Urgent Action Fund – Africa (UAF-Africa), the meeting engaged seasoned politicians, aspirants, women’s rights activists, leading organizations engaged in enhancing women’s political leadership, donors, UN agencies and the media. Participants discussed the varying socio-political contexts in which women in politics operate, including increasing militarism and fundamentalisms across the region. Personal accounts of political journeys were also shared over the course of the two days. Ms. Munabi Babiiha in her presentation which looked at “Women’s shifting position and condition in East Africa’s political landscape: A critic...

Transparency and accountability are the heart of good governance. Yet in Uganda, many times funds that are allocated to public sector services get lost in hands of public servants leading to an appalling state of service. So what happens when community members visit health center and find no medicine or children go to school but barely find a teacher in the classroom? For any country to develop, people must collectively demand for accountability from their leaders. Meet the men and women of Awach Sub County Gulu district that have rolled up their sleeves to monitor government services in selected communities under the Village Budget Clubs program. These community members have learnt that they have the right to demand for accountability of better infrastructure, Healthcare, agriculture and education. In Gwengdiya community in Awach Sub County Gulu district, the VBCs visited Pugwinyi health centre II, and Bucoro Primary School and Olel Primary School in Pukony. When the...

In Kinnuka Sub County in Lyantonde district, a head teacher of Kinuuka Primary School was fired after 10 years of incompetence. The head teacher for a long time failed to hand in accountabilities for the funds sent to the school. According to the Lyantonde District Education Officer, Medard Byarugaba, this head teacher also disgraced the noble teaching profession as he had several intimate relations with female teachers at the school. The intervention of the Village Budget Club officers in Kinuuka Sub County brought the case to the attention to the D.E.O who apprehended the head teacher after several petitions from parents and teachers had not yield ed results. ‘FOWODE has made my work easy. I don’t need to employ informers. I know the FOWODE team is at work in the schools.’ said the Lyantonde, D.E.O, Medard Byarugaba. Two teachers have been replaced in the same school and handed over 10 warning letters to those that have been reported absent for classes.  FOWODE is c...