Establish strong support systems and safety networks for women

A 14-year-old student was recently kidnapped for forced marriage. Her aunt was promised Shs250, 000 to connive with five men to take the girl to a rented room at Kamuganja Village, Kakuuto Sub-county in Kyotera District where a 55-year-old man was waiting to take her as his wife. This incident, reported by the Daily Monitor on August 16, 2022 is not isolated and represents a classic case of the injustices women and girls are subjected to. It also replicates the lens through which a typical Ugandan girl is characterized in the USAID Uganda Country Development Cooperation Strategy 2016-2021.

The strategy depicts the average Ugandan as “a 14-year-old girl living in a rural area; her family is vulnerable to economic, political and environmental shocks. She has a one-in-four risk of becoming pregnant during adolescence, is at high risk of being engaged in early marriage and will likely drop out of school before reaching secondary level. Her status is the result of a combination of factors: poor nutrition, low performance in school, cultural expectations related to early marriage and family size, and systems not supporting her ambitions to thrive”.

For society to achieve sustainable development, gender equality is critical, which is why the plight of Ugandan women and girls as illustrated by the 14-year old-girl must be addressed through sustained social and institutional mindset transformation. We must collectively strive to enable gender transformative change at the grassroots level and beyond if we are to empower women to influence policy decisions.

This starts at the family level where violence and injustices against women and girls often start. The case of the 14-year-old girl kidnapped for forced marriage personifies a broader predicament. This is a minor whose own family that is supposed to offer her a safe space to thrive, attempted to forcefully give her to a much older man as a wife. This demonstrates how vulnerable young girls are routinely exposed to various forms of violence in homes that are supposed to be safety nets where they experience genuine love and care.

It takes fortitude and a strong support system for girls to overcome the myriad of obstacles like forced marriage that inhibit them from realizing their full potential. These hurdles start from an early age before gender disparities become more pronounced – in schools and work places. It is more apparent when women assume leadership roles.

By the time a woman joins the workforce, she would have most likely been conditioned by society to accept ‘her place’ as less deserving of senior leadership roles and equal pay with her male counterparts. Women cannot, therefore, thrive in such spaces without strong support systems and safety networks where they can freely challenge dominant narratives and reimagine an equal future.

This is precisely why at the Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE), we are keen on breaking new ground and galvanizing collective power so as to further drive national action on women’s empowerment and gender equality. Through extensive research, we are continually identifying gaps and working on initiatives to pave the way for women to have a voice in the public space. Our capacity enhancement for women leaders has, for instance, contributed to increased legislation that reflects women’s and girls’ priorities.

There is a notable impact in the various districts where we operate. Through the Women and Leadership Programme, we have strengthened women’s voice, leadership and participation, championing a supportive environment for women to thrive. We have had strategic engagements in the various parts of the country to promote economic justice for women under the Gender and Economic Justice programme. As a result, women actively participate in demanding for gender-responsive service delivery through community engagement spaces and fighting for justice.

This is why the Imara Women’s Centre (IWC) initiative will anchor our work, by offering a practical base from which to advance the struggle for gender equality.

Patricia Munabi is the Executive Director of Forum for Women in Democracy.