Girls, Women mock Parliament
On Friday 7th October 2022, Reach A hand Uganda in partnership with Plan International Uganda organized a Parliamentary session under the theme ‘Brave women and girls making a change in the political space at Hotel Africana. The session brought together girls and women from all walks of life to mainly address the barriers to the participation of women and girls in political leadership.
The young girls that graced the session
The parliamentary session will availed a platform to young girls and women that explicitly shared discourse on the state of girls and women in Uganda.
Furthermore, the session highlighted leadership challenges, and access to social services and brought to light the role of women in political leadership.
Teenage mothers, women with disabilities, Peer educators, Plan International female participants, members of parliament, and leaders of civil society graced and actively participated at different levels.
One of the speakers, Mastula Nakandi, a representative from Plan International, expressed the necessity for society to be proactive in engaging young girls and women in civic spaces.
Reach A hand Uganda Country Director James Tumusiime delivering his remarks
Furthermore, during the session, a concern was raised by a participant where it was revealed that a lot has been towards empowering a girl child, however, the boy child has been neglected.
The participant noted that when one visits our juvenile centers most of the juveniles are boys. About 74 out of the 75 juveniles at Tooro remand home are boys who are supposed to be at school. As we empower girls, boys shouldn’t be ignored as they constitute part of the society in which the girls we are empowering thrive.
More concerns were raised especially about poverty as a core of discouraging women to take up leadership positions, lack of financial support limits girls’ access not only to political life but also to basics like quality education This makes it hard for them to access and utilize the available resources to overcome challenges they face in their lives.
Hon. Linda Irene while delivering her speech noted that empowering and equipping the girl child with information breeds their confidence and self-esteem.
She added that a girl child can become a rock that can’t be done apart. She encouraged the young girls to know and understand that they’re faced with many challenges but always know that challenges are what makes life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.
The event was graced with performances from sensational guitarist Myko Ouma
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