 |
Al-Ahram Weekly 4 -10 February 1999 Issue No. 415 
|
||
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
 |
 |
|
|
Al-Ahram Weekly 4 -10 February 1999 Issue No. 415
|
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
|
|
|
Egypt Region International Book Fair Economy Opinion Culture Features Living Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters 'The second sex'
By Mohamed KhaledWhen Uganda's new constitution came into force in October 1995, the country was widely seen as leading the way in Africa in matters of the advancement and emancipation of women. The new constitution, which was very different from its predecessor of 1967, provided an explicit legal basis for equality between the sexes and affirmative action in favour of women. However, more than three years after its introduction, many of the promises enshrined in this epochal text are still just words on paper.
The blame for this cannot be laid at the door of the constitution itself. The text is both specific and clear in its provisions for the protection and promotion of the rights, interests and welfare of women. "The constitution is very fair with women, and gives them a good space for moving forward," Edna Baryaruha, director of the Gender Department at the Ministry of Gender and Community Development, told Al-Ahram Weekly. According to Baryaruha, Ugandan women won this recognition for themselves, the hard way: "They fought with men in the bush, held the gun and struggled for freedom. That is what we think made this government reward them."
The political participation of women in all levels of the decision-making process has become a special focus for affirmative action. An additional number of seats in parliament have been set aside for women, and each district must now have at least one woman representative. Moreover, says Baryaruha, "In all commissions, such as judiciary and human rights commissions, a third [of the members] must be women."
This political commitment to gender equality is also reflected in a number of policy decisions designed to ensure women enjoy equal opportunities at all levels. Of these, perhaps the most important is the National Gender Policy (NGP) which was introduced in 1995. The NGP was designed to carve out a role for women in the development process which would overcome the limitations of traditional approaches and, in Baryaruha's words, "mainstream gender in development".
Yet practical experience has consistently shown that political commitment and good will alone are not enough. Women are still drastically under-represented in decision-making positions. For instance, there are only six women ministers in a cabinet of 54. Public service statistics reveal further imbalances which are not at all in harmony with the spirit of the constitution. Thus, there are only 51 women members of parliament out of 277, and only 60 women among the 273 top-ranking civil servants. "Although the political commitment of the government is there, the implementation is not as fast as we would want," comments Baryaruha.
In line with the spirit of the constitution and the NGP, measures are being taken to establish where the problems are and how they may be rectified. The recently-published Women and Men in Uganda provides, for the first time, extensive quantitative research describing the conditions of men and women separately. "Since equal opportunities for women and men in all aspects of life is Uganda's policy, [we need] gender-desegregated statistical information to assess the extent to which this has been achieved and to show what remains to be done," Janat Mukwaya, minister for gender and community development, told the Weekly. "[This report] gives very good statistics, clearly indicating the gaps where women are left behind, and has guided us to plan accordingly," she added.
However, equal rights and opportunities are not simply a question of planned implementation being held back by bureaucracy and administrative inefficiency. The most serious obstacle to women's emancipation is culture. Uganda, like many other patriarchal African societies, has its share of customs which deny women their basic rights. Because these practices are so deeply embedded in people's hearts and minds, it will take time for them to change. For instance, in traditional Ugandan culture, women do not have the right to own land. The government has passed a land act which provides for equal access to land for all citizens, irrespective of gender. But legality in itself is never enough to overcome deep-seated prejudice. As Baryaruha points out, despite this reform, "Only seven per cent of women in our country own land."
Similar cultural obstacles obstruct women's right to equal inheritance. Once again, the government has taken the necessary legislative action, but their initiative has not been ratified by popular mores, and the result is a fierce debate in parliament which has yet to be resolved.
According to the Ugandan constitution, "All cultures and traditions which are against women should be outlawed". Baryaruha points out that women may be well-aware of their constitutional rights, but unable to enforce them in practice. Over 65 per cent of Ugandan women are illiterate. It is not just the prohibition of inheritance and land ownership which cast a blight over their lives, they have to contend with a whole raft of discriminatory cultural practices, including female circumcision. In many of these areas, legislation simply does not work.
Thus, attempts to eliminate female genital mutilation through education are in place, but have yet to show significant results. The Domestic Relations Act, a progressive law in favour of women's rights, is apparently powerless to end the practice of dowry.
So the ministry's battle against patriarchy continues. In addition to the different forms of violence against women which have cultural roots, domestic violence has escalated into a multidimensional problem which it is proving difficult to get a handle on. Physical violence is enmeshed in a complex of domestic inequalities, and exacerbated by the fact that many women have been brought up from an early age to believe that the husband has the right to beat his wife. "Because most women are not educated, they accept it," explains Baryaruha. "But as education goes on, women become more aware of their rights and report violence committed against them to the police."
It is not only culture which is holding women back, it is also lack of resources. "The good will and legislation have to be supported by enough resources to [make it] work," says Baryaruha. "Otherwise, the good will remains abstract." What price then the dream of gender equality, once it is seen in the harsh light of a deteriorating economy -- the common story of the countries of the Third World? Political commitment is worthless without the financial commitment to back it up. Yet the Ministry for Gender and Community Development is mainly reliant on foreign funding sources; the government provides only 10 per cent of its budget.
Thus, while the ideal of Ugandan women's emancipation may seem firmly rooted in the new political culture of the country, progress towards that ideal is hampered by a complex of challenges which go far beyond the limits of legislation. "In the absence of education and poverty eradication," says Baryaruha, "whatever we say about women's emancipation will remain just a theory."
