Street children are top on the agenda for female MPs this term

Street children are a common sight on the streets of Kampala and most of them can be seen in the company of their parents.

Several contributing factors that range from poverty, the HIV/Aids scourge and domestic violence, are pushing these children and their families on to the streets to fend for themselves.

Some travel from as far as Karamoja to come and tap into what to them is lucrative; begging. Tackling this, and other projects tailored to empower the ordinary woman as well as bettering the girl-child appear high on the agenda of Women Members of Parliament under their umbrella the Uganda Women Parliamentary Association (UWOPA).

Street children
Lira Municipality MP Joy Atim who is also UWOPA secretary general stresses that violence against children remains a sticky issue of national concern, which must be brought to the attention of government.

“We must question why we are seeing so many street children scattered on the streets. All we are seeing today are women of productive age and street children who are mostly girls. We must also probe into the forces keeping these children on the streets since we have heard that there are people sponsoring their stay so they make money out of them. Others stay on the streets as a result of pull factors. We will not rest until we get to the core of this problem and we intend to make on-spot visits to Kisenyi, Karamoja and also exchange reports with KCCA on what could be the exact problem and what they are doing about it,” she says.

According to ANPPCAN, a child rights Non-Governmental Organisation, the number of street children has risen to 10,000 in the past few years indicating a 70 percent increase.

The law in Uganda recognises the need to protect the rights of children without discrimination. It provides the legal framework to protect and promote the rights of children and mandates the local administrations to provide services to children within their areas of jurisdiction without discrimination.

Priority Bills
Also before UWOPA under its new leadership headed by Monica Amoding are two bills: The Children’s Act and the Domestic Violence Act. Women parliamentarians want the two bills popularised and implemented by the government to curb violence against children and domestic violence that has seen women being battered.

“There is a lot of work and we are focusing on the common women legislative agenda. We are designing a strategic plan for the implementation of this agenda,” says Amoding. The Children’s (Amended) Act, 2015, that was passed into law last year and the Domestic Violence Act that was approved in 2009 are in existence but have remained on paper since they are not being implemented.

Government cites lack of funds and public ignorance of the law necessitating the need to translate them into local languages and to sensitise the public about them.

“We will internalise and understand the amendments made to the Children’s Act, 2016, so as to lobby for effective implementation by both government agencies and other stakeholders and do sensitisation in their respective constituencies and at national level.

Also, not all enforcement officers including police are aware of the Act or well facilitated to sensitise and enforce the law, let alone the amended sections of the law.
The act too needs to be simplified and translated in different languages spoken in Uganda and those at the local council courts and local leaders cannot easily translate it.

Unfinished business: debate on divorce bill

The MPs are also re-igniting the debate on the controversial Marriage and Divorce Bill.
In 2013, Speaker Rebecca Kadaga asked members to go and consult their constituents on the Bill.

At the height of the debate of the Bill, President Museveni, however, asked MPs not to push for its passing as it would cause a civil war in the country. Parliament then stayed over the controversial Bill in the ninth Parliament pending further consultations.

“We are also set to monitor both legislative and non-legislative matters. We, for instance, have to sit and agree on the Marriage and Divorce Bill and to have it reviewed to curb domestic violence cases and safeguard couples’ safety incase things do not work out in their marriages,” said Amongin.

Some of the contested clauses include equal sharing of property attained by couples while they were staying together upon divorce and legalising cohabitation.

“Some people just never understood the law but we will explain every detail of it so that it is passed. It is being brought in good faith to protect families and everyone should support it,” said Amoding.

The ordinary woman too hopes to benefit from her representatives in Parliament as they roll out their five-year plan. Amoding emphasises the need to sensitise them about their rights and empower them economically through helping them access government funds since a special fund where government has injected billions to benefit women has been put in place.

For breastfeeding moms
Pushing for a policy on breastfeeding will also feature prominently on the women’s agenda.
“We want companies and other workplaces to establish daycare centres for working mothers to ensure that their children are taken good care of to enable them concentrate better at work. Their children too should not be denied the right to breastfeed,” says Amoding.

What others say
Our major focus will also be on the empowerment of the girl-child to groom responsible and self-empowered women leaders of tomorrow.

We will guide the ordinary woman on how to form Saccos for a better future and to benefit from the women fund.Government last year announced a Shs53b women entrepreneurship programme (UWEP) aimed at increasing women’s competitive edge in the business sector and the money is meant to benefit micro, small and medium enterprise subsector through provision of interest-free credit, technical advice for appropriate technologies, value addition and market information. This, we will help the women in our constituencies to benefit from these funds.
Mary Karooro (women MP Bushenyi)

We went for a study tour in Kenya where street children are being rehabilitated and reformed. Most of them have been taken back to schools while others have joined technical schools.

We should do the same here. We will hold round table discussions and engage government and relevant authorities such as the Commissioner for Children in the ministry of Gender and the Human Rights Commissioner for the vulnerable children on the matter to come up with solutions for street children.
Dorothy Nsaija (Kamwenge Woman MP)