Uganda: Level the playing field for women

11 March 2010, Daily Monitor
URL: http://www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/Commentary/-/689364/875292/-/ahm1gdz/-/

Kampala:  While it may be argued that the initiatives favour an already endowed elite few and that not enough is being done to provide equal opportunities to the non-elite (e.g. scientific innovations to lessen the burden of manual labour on rural women, easy access to safe drinking water, land ownership policies etc.), the existing initiatives do provide a starting point.

Our 2010 national Women's Day theme (celebrated this week) was "Consolidating Equal Opportunities for Women: A Path to Prosperity for All", adapted from the global theme "Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities: Progress for All". This theme is yet another indicator that Uganda recognises the documented link between equal opportunities for women and the attainment of national prosperity. This recognition is also demonstrated in Uganda's Constitution which promotes and makes provisions for gender equality. In line with the Constitution, the government has launched several affirmative action initiatives, intended to right a historical wrong and in so doing, provide women equal rights and equal opportunities, beyond their traditional gender roles. The initiatives span the political, economic and educational arenas and include, but are not limited to, reserved seats for women Members of Parliament, the recent "engendering" of the National Export Strategy and preferential admission for female students at university level.

Although not explicitly required by law, affirmative action is also demonstrated in employee recruitment polices in both the public and private sector as well as in the inclusion of gender aspects in a variety of capacity building programmes and even the provision of selected banking services. While it may be argued that the initiatives favour an already endowed elite few and that not enough is being done to provide equal opportunities to the non-elite (e.g. scientific innovations to lessen the burden of manual labour on rural women, easy access to safe drinking water, land ownership policies etc.), the existing initiatives do provide a starting point.

The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development's 2010 Women's Day briefing states that equal opportunities entail access to education, training and skills development, employment, financial services, productive and economic resources (property), extension services, access to justice, voice/participation and decision making. An enabling environment and equal access for all in the listed areas if properly provided, are definitely prerequisites for the eventual attainment of equal rights and opportunities, but they are far from enough. Among many other actions that need to be taken, something must be done to transform this country's collective attitude towards women and their traditional gender roles.
Consider the 2008 US presidential race. Even in a country known as "the land of the free", it took 144 years after independence for all women to be given the constitutional right to vote in the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution (1920) and another 88 years (2008) for the first truly viable minority candidates to meaningfully participate in the race for that country's highest office.

There is a school of thought that believes that among other initiatives, the entertainment industry and the media played strong roles in preparing the US to even consider the possibility of non-traditional occupants in the White House. Several years of watching and listening to shows, movies and programmes depicting women and African American men in the most powerful position in the world caused the viewing and listening audiences to grow so accustomed to the idea, that when the 2008 presidential race was launched, the US Democratic Party's non-traditional candidates were acceptable. A national mindset had been sufficiently changed. It took the US 232 years after independence to get there. Henceforth, it will be normal for minorities to vie for any seat in the US. Will Uganda have to wait that long for women to truly have access to equal opportunities?

Imagine the impact on this country if for example, through our channels of entertainment and the media, it started to feel "normal" for women to take on positive non-traditional roles and the reverse. It would be acceptable for women to speak their minds, men and women would earn equal pay for equal work, husbands and wives would come to the family negotiating table as equals - willing and able to listen to each other, more wives would have a say in how their earnings are spent and would feel safe declaring their "secret businesses", male nurses would stop being the brunt of their friends' jokes and perhaps, some men would even stop being embarrassed about letting their friends know that they sometimes help the wife with household chores!

While we challenge others to play a significant role in levelling the playing field, we, the women of Uganda, should reflect on what we are doing individually and collectively to make it "normal" for our voices to be heard. How are we leveraging existing equal opportunities for ourselves and for others? What positive, non-traditional roles would we like to see entertainers and the media portray us in and what are we doing to let them know?

Dare we dream that one day as a result of our combined, focused efforts, there will be no need for women's affirmative action initiatives? With truly equal opportunity access in every sphere, women nationwide will eagerly use their improved status and gains to better the lot of their families and make even more substantial and recognised contributions to national development, ultimately resulting in prosperity for all.

*  Ms Tuma is the founder, Women's Centre for Job Creation dorothy_tuma@wcfjc.org