The march on Kampala – taking over the parliament
By CARE
by Lee Webster
December 2nd
I called Grace from my hotel this morning, to check details of the day, and within minutes found myself being whisked off in the CARE car to a meeting in the Ugandan parliament!
We’d arrived in Kampala to find our plans of attending parliament with the 336 women activists disrupted. An MP had recently died, and the Speaker of Parliament was concerned that our ‘celebration’ would not be in the correct mood with a funeral taking place.
As much as I believe that parliaments represent the seat of democracy and should be open to the people, I’m always slightly intimidated by being inside parliamentary buildings. The Ugandan parliament is no different. It’s a large, imposing building, and as I pass my bags through the security check I feel a little bit out of place.
I needn’t worry, my CARE Uganda colleagues are completely in control, and lead the meeting with the Honourable Alsimera Jane Babiiha, a woman MP and the Chairperson of the Ugandan Women Parliamentary Association. They present a compelling case as to why the activities should go ahead, pointing out that the planned march is not a celebration in any way, rather it is a commemoration of the millions of women who have experienced violence, both during the conflict and since, a significant number of whom have died at the hands of violent men. It’s also a call to action – the women of Uganda want laws to protect them, and they want those laws to be implemented.
A day to be remembered
The MP is won over by the case put forward, and within an hour, the activists from northern Uganda arrive in parliament, with CARE hats and T-shirts. They are strangely quiet as they file into the committee room. The women who have sung and danced their way around northern Uganda have been silenced, just like me, by the very fact of being in parliament. It’s a big day for them. Many have never left their region, so arriving at the seat of the Ugandan government is something they’ll no doubt remember forever.
We’re joined by around 15 MPs, including the Speaker of Parliament, and visiting politicians from the East African Legislative Assembly and the Pan-African parliament. It’s a great turn out, and after speeches from politicians, a woman activist and CARE staff, the Speaker, in a historic moment, signs the United Nations petition to end violence against women. There’s a big cheer, the women see this as a great step forward.
I’m totally caught up in the moment, and full of hope for Ugandan women’s struggle for protection from violence. However, when the moment has passed, I am a little more cautious. After getting to know the women over the past few days, I’ve heard their problems and the barriers to living in freedom from fear and equally with men. It is one thing to sign a petition to say you support an end to violence. It is quite another to enact and implement laws that will provide real protection for women It’s an uphill struggle, but my hopes are with the women of northern Uganda, that one day they can live in the freedom they dream of.
Tags: parliament, speaker, Uganda, UN, women's rights
