21

st
July 2014

PRESS STATEMENT

Once again we make our voices heard; Once again we emphasize that we are equal by
right; Once again we claim our position at the centre; and refuse to be kept at the
sidelines


As 2016 draws close, the women of Uganda with renewed determination are
convening the national women in politics conference on 22
nd
and 23
rd
July 2014 to
bring to the fore once again the critical issues affecting the women of this
country. We would like to make our demands known to the various stakeholders
including the government, political parties, and impress it upon Ugandans, that
real development can only be realized when womens issues are recognized as
Ugandas development issues.
The conference is informed by among others an assessment of the progress that
has been made in implementing Equal By Right: The Uganda Womens
Agenda as we strive to ensure that women remain at the centre come 2016. This
Agenda articulates Eleven thematic pillars with key issues prioritized as pivotal
to womens development including democracy and governance, health,
education, economic empowerment, human rights and the law, peace and
security, among others. The Agenda brings to the fore unique gender dimensions
that need to be addressed by various actors if real and meaningful development
for the total empowerment of women and girls is to be achieved. We all know
that being a woman in Uganda remains perilous with women and girls
languishing at the bottom of most social development indicators. For example
we know that today the numbers of women dying while giving birth has grown
from 16 to 19 which is unacceptably high; we know that primary school
completion rate for girls is still not good being at 51% currently considering that
at enrolment there is parity; we know that female HIV/AIDS prevalence rates for
15 -19 year olds have increased from 2.6% in 2006 to 3% in 2011 and to 7.1% from
6.8% for those aged 20 24 years; Gender Based Violence in Uganda is among
the worst in the world with 56% women between 15 49 years having
experienced violence since the age of 15; the list goes on and on. The conference
will strategize on how to move the Agenda forward through advocating on these
critical issues that remain.
This conference will gather women legislators at both national and local level,
women in political parties, women in public administration, womens rights
defenders, women in non governmental organizations, Women in religious
institutions including mothers union, women entrepreneurs and those in the
mainstream private sector. Other stakeholders such as development partners,
members of the diplomatic missions, the academia, technocrats, legislators, civil
society, will also be taking part in it.
As a build up to the conference, FOWODE and her partners Ford Foundation
ACTION AID, Womens Democracy Network (WDN), Uganda Women
Entreprenuers Association , Uganda Youth Network (UYONET) and Council for
Economic Empowerment Women in Africa-Uganda(CEEWA), Uganda Womens
Network (UWONET) and Regional Associates for Community Initiatives (RACI)
set the pace by organizing precursor regional conferences which provided an
opportunity for women across the country to discuss the region issues stifling the
advancement of women and lay strategies for addressing them. The conferences
provided a unique opportunity for women to re-imagine and rebuild their
individual and collective power in order to challenge insubordination in their
households, communities, political parties, councils, parliament and in
governance generally.
Forum for Women in Democracy continues to provide a platform for Ugandan
women to learn, network, and advocate for gender equity and equality in
decision making through capacity development, policy engagement, community
empowerment and strategic partnerships. Through this conference we will once
again ensure that womens voices remain at the centre and that we are engaging
effectively in critical governance conversations in our country. As women we
cannot afford to remain silent. Womens issues are development issues, and we
once again reiterate that there can be no development with a nation ignoring the
concerns of 52% of its most productive population.
________________________________________________________________________
For further information, contact the Patricia Munabi Babiiha, Executive Director on 0758670002 or
Sophie Kyagulanyi, Program Manager on 0754670006 or Prudence Nyamishana, Communications
Officer on 0758670016