International Women’s Day: Where Do Ugandan Women Stand?
What does their future hold?
International Women’s Day began in the early 1900s, and is a global day of celebration of women’s political and social achievements. Women walking in Kampala might have doors opened for them, flowers handed to them, or enjoy a home-cooked dinner from their husbands.
But in the first year of this new decade, on International Women’s Day, what is the status of women in Uganda?
A woman born in Uganda today has a life expectancy of 51 years old, according to the World Health Organization. Her life will probably not be easy. About 6,000 women in Uganda die every year during childbirth, and a woman stands a one in thirteen chance of dying during her lifetime when giving birth. According to the Uganda Women’s Network, at least 60 percent of women will experience domestic violence during their lifetime.
A story ran today in Women’s eNews that looked at how sexual violence is affecting major development goals around the world. In Uganda, for instance, efforts to improve girls’ access to school has been derailed by sexual assault. The number one reason, according to a report by Action Aid, that girls drop out of school are not school fees, but sexual violence. Girls face rape and sexual assault walking to school from community members, and in the classroom by teachers and male students.
However, other victories can definitely be claimed. At this year’s graduation at Makerere in January, 50.1 percent of graduates were women– far up from 25 percent in 1990. Last year, a bill launched by MP Chris Baryomunsi was also passed banning female circumcision, a lethal rite of passage in communities like the Sabiny in Kapchorwa.
Today in Kampala, women’s activists announced it was “not party time yet,” according to the Daily Monitor. Read more here.
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