On Sunday, Uganda joined the rest of the world to celebrate the International Women’s day. DR ADRIAN JJUUKO, the executive director of Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF), talked to John Musinguzi on issues pertinent to the day.
Briefly tell us about your organisation’s objectives and activities.
Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF) is a non-partisan, non-governmental organisation that aims to achieve respect and observance of the rights of all persons, including marginalised persons and most-at-risk populations. HRAPF works towards promoting respect for human rights of all through enhancing access to justice, research and advocacy, legal and human rights awareness, strategic litigation, capacity enhancement and strategic partnerships.
How does this year’s International Women’s day theme advance your work?
HRAPF seeks to promote equality and non-discrimination for all persons as a critical step towards achieving respect for the rights and dignity of all persons.
Although women are generally subjected to various forms of discrimination and violence stemming from the patriarchal socio-cultural norms that influence human interactions in the Ugandan society, women who have other vulnerabilities stemming from their gender identities and sexual orientations, engagement in sex work, HIV status, being forced migrants, etc. have been exposed to even greater violations of their most basic rights.
Striving towards gender equality and equity is very important, and will contribute greatly to the realisation of the full rights and development potential of women in Uganda, but it is equally important to recognise the need to achieve equality for all women, including those that are different, or who are considered undesirable for whatever reason.
All rights are human rights, and all women, in all their diversities, are human beings entitled to these rights. At HRAPF, we envision a day when this fact is no longer a matter of debate but of course.
The female sex worker, the female lawyer, the female pilot, the lesbian teacher, the trans-woman who is into fashion, the female who uses drugs, the elderly woman deep in the village, the poor woman, the female petty trader, the female legislator and the rich businesswoman are all equally deserving of protection and consideration, and deliberate state planning to meet their diverse health and social justice needs.
How much equality is there for Ugandan women to celebrate?
On a formal level, the legal and policy framework in Uganda does a lot to provide for the equal dignity of women and the protection of their rights, which framework has been the basis for the inclusion of women in various political, social, business and leadership spaces, education and health.
However, there is still a lot of work to be done to realise the full range of sexual and reproductive health rights for women, as well as to address the pervasive problem of sexual and gender-based violence against women, and particularly the minorities.
What challenges do you face while trying to push for awareness and promotion of women’s rights in Uganda?
Despite the progressive legal regime, there are still some repressive and restrictive laws that continue to limit the full enjoyment of the fundamental human rights for some women.
Laws that criminalise sex work, for instance, have been very instrumental in the continued marginalisation of sex workers, exposing them to violence from their clients, intimate partners, the communities in which they live and even law enforcement officers.
In addition, women who are rendered vulnerable to violence by reason of their sexual orientation or gender identity have also been routinely denied legal protection and redress in cases of violence and other human rights abuses.
The state still has a duty to work towards the women that have been cast to the margins of society by operation of law, history, culture, religion or other social norms. Recognition of the multi-faceted discrimination and daily violence these women are subjected to is key to achieving substantive equality for all women in the country.
What message do you give to women on IWD 2020?
The struggle for the empowerment of women and recognition of their equal dignity is still a long one. Issues of gender-based violence, including sexual harassment in workplaces, human trafficking, denial of access to resources and property and access to essential social services, particularly health, education and justice are still critical areas requiring significant investments from all sectors of the society.
However, for this equality to mean anything, it must be available to all women, not just the women we consider “acceptable”, “respectable” or “presentable”. Women must, therefore, remind their leaders at all levels that all rights are human rights, and the rights of all women matter.
This International Women’s day should be an opportunity to reflect on the women that have traditionally been excluded and pushed to the margins, and to challenge ourselves as human rights defenders, and women’s rights activists, as the state, as health professionals, as legal aid service providers and as law enforcers to address the gap, and to aim for equality for all women.