“Sister Robert, sister John”: Enhancing women’s voices and gendered membership of the Uganda Women Parliamentary Association

abstract

Since the 19th century, the fight for the recognition and visibility of women's voices in political structures such as Parliament and public political deliberations has been challenging in many ways. This article aims to contribute to knowledge concerning women's movements, collective political voice and consolidated efforts. Particular focus is on the Uganda Women Parliamentary Association (UWOPA) as one of the essential components of the women’s movement in Uganda. Based on a qualitative phenomenological research design and a sample size of 10 female and 4 male long-serving parliamentarians, this article examines how women parliamentarians were able to enhance women's voices during deliberations in the Ugandan Parliament, and how collaborations with women's organisations and male legislators in Uganda enhanced women's voices during these deliberations. The findings revealed that: (a) participants attributed their successes with gender-sensitive laws and policies to the power of caucusing, sisterhood and women's collective voice, and (b) women participants revealed that the success of legislation such as The Domestic Violence Act, and Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation resulted from collaboration with male legislators, some of whom were also members of UWOPA. The case of UWOPA is indicative of value-added gains which can be derived from the deliberate effort to incorporate men into the women’s movement.

keywords:

• deliberation
• caucusing
• voices
• substantive representation
• lobbying

Notes

1. The Domestic Violence Bill, 2009 was enacted to give protection and relief to victims of domestic violence by providing for the punishment of perpetrators of domestic violence, and procedures to be followed to prosecute perpetrators. Although there were other related laws, these didn’t sufficiently address the specific and unique nature of the offence of domestic violence. Hence the need for a specific law that would distinguish domestic violence from general categories of assault, bodily harm and battery.

2. The Children’s [Amendment] (No. 2) Bill, 2015 was an amendment to The Children Act Cap. 59. Although the Act provided care, protection and maintenance for children, local authority support to children and establishment of a family and children’s court, it was lacking in some areas. The Act had challenges with enforcement and thus negatively impacted on realisation of the rights of children in Uganda. Some of the gaps which the amended Act attempted to address included emerging forms of child abuse, such as child sacrifice, pornography, and sex tourism, and legal guardianship.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hannah Muzee

HANNAH MUZEE holds a PhD in Governance and Regional Integration from the Pan African University Institute of Governance, Humanities and Sciences, University of Yaounde II Soa, Cameroon. Her thesis project focused on deliberative politics, education and women’s voice in the Ugandan Parliament. She previously worked as an Assistant Lecturer at Kyambogo University from 2010 to 2015, and holds a Master’s degree in Human Resource Management from Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, and a Bachelor’s degree in Administrative and Secretarial Science from Kyambogo University, Kampala, Uganda. Her research interests lie in gender, deliberation, feminism, social media, governance and politics. Email: [email protected]

Joyce B. Mbongo Épse Endeley

JOYCE B. MBONGO ÉPSE ENDELEY is a Professor of Agricultural Extension Education and Gender Studies in the Department of Women and Gender Studies at the University of Buea, Cameroon. Her research interests include gender and agricultural development, and engendering development policy, programmes and projects in diverse fields, as well as building capacity of development practitioners in the field of gender-responsive development. She has served in top management positions at the University of Buea, as Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Director of Academic Affairs, Vice-Dean and Head of Department. She does consultancy assignments for GOs and NGOs at State and international level, supervises doctorate and master’s theses and dissertations, and is author and co-author of several publications, including books, for example The Social Impact of the Chad-Cameroon Oil Pipeline: How Industrial Development Affects Gender Relations, Land Tenure, and Local Culture, published by The Edwin Mellen Press (2007). Email: [email protected]