Women activists call for human rights defenders Bill
The Acting Program Manager of NCHRD-U, Ms Dorothy Kiyai (left) and Ambassador of Liberia to Uganda Thelma Awori (middle) during the commemoration of the International Women Human Rights Defenders Day 2023 in Kampala on Wednesday. Photo | Shabibah Nakirigya
What you need to know:
- Ms Winfred Mugambwa, from the Rights for Her Uganda, said that as women human rights defenders, they face hostility and intensified threats especially when they are pushing for people’s justice.
Women activists under the umbrella of the National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders Uganda (NCHRD-U) have asked parliament to come up with a human rights defenders Bill saying that their lives are in danger without the law regulating their duties.
Speaking to the media during the commemoration of the International Women Human Rights Defenders Day 2023 in Kampala on Wednesday, the Acting Program Manager of NCHRD-U, Ms Dorothy Kiyai said that parliament need to pick interest on the Bill, hoping it can be passed into law.
“This Bill is expected to cater for several issues regarding human rights and these include; defining the concept of who the human rights defenders are, their role and spelling out areas of collaboration, and also explaining the role of the state in protecting them,” she said
“Our demand is derived from the Article 38 of the 1995 constitution which provides that every Ugandan citizen has a right to participate in government affairs individually or through his or her representative in accordance with the law,” she added.
Ms Winfred Mugambwa, from the Rights for Her Uganda, said that as women human rights defenders, they face hostility and intensified threats especially when they are pushing for people’s justice.
“Operating in this space without spectacular law regulating our duties has also led to discrimination and male dominance in several positions hence facing gender-based discrimination,” she said
“We seek the policy and practice change in order to create a society in which HRDs are protected as they do their work. We rely on our stakeholders and partners to provide grassroots support so that our voices are heard,” she added.
The Ambassador of Liberia to Uganda, Ms Thelma Awori said that there is a need to have justice for all when it comes to defending human rights especially for women and girls because they are the most vulnerable in this cause.
According to the 2020 National Survey on violence against women and girls in Uganda conducted by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), 95 per cent of Ugandan women and girls had experienced physical or sexual violence, or both by partners or non-partners.
