This article was written by Josephine Ssemakula, a Ugandan teacher, who also works alongside the ministry of Word of God Redeemed Church of Bombo Town, Uganda. She is married to Ssemakula Lawrence, who is also a teacher, and they have 3 children. Both of them feel strongly about the necessity of the development of gender equality in Uganda. Therefore, she was requested to write an essay about issues women deal with in Uganda and this essay is her response.
The perspective in which a woman has been viewed over time has been dynamic. Defining a woman hasn’t been a joke throughout the centuries as even one of the world’s most popular books, the Bible, relays a number of stories evolved around women of different character amidst defense of women emancipation and of course gender equity.
Many women in Uganda face gender issues though activists are working around the clock. The issues include:
A Woman as “a property”
I happen to come from a culture that values “bride price” extremely, the Baganda tribe. In order for marriage to be valuable and respectable this is a must-do thing. However, women have always been exchanged for a number of food items like a sack of sugar to mention but a few. Sometimes I‘ve been so anti-culture due to the injustice embedded in some of these demeaning cultures and customs. Sincerely what happens is a man brags off with a head up high knowing that he has a living asset at home (his wife).
