Women Academics From Uganda

"This degree is a tribute to the Girl Child, not only in Uganda but the whole of Africa."

"There are many other important duties a woman can perform in this life."

"Society makes you feel useless as a woman and soon you also start believing that you indeed are useless because of not bearing children."

"Build on the strength of women!"

"Be persistent! Be professional! You don’t have to be aggressive; be persistent, and people will know who you are, where you stand, and what you can’t compromise on. Walk the talk!"

"You have to keep your eyes sharp all the time and be very analytical. When you see something coming, you have to ask what it is and how it will affect women."

"If anything were to happen to me today, I have no worries because I know these young women will carry this struggle until we get it right."

"The change has been tremendous. People now know what the gender agenda is, they might fear it in some places, but they now know."

"Rural women inspire me. They are the passion of my life and I will do everything and anything for their empowerment. Their knowledge and expertise are crying for a receptive ear, for powerful questions that will unearth and challenge their wisdom."

"A fresh struggle to overcome new manifestations of patriarchy is constantly beginning; and it seems a matter of perpetuity."

"I call myself a feminist because I am staunch believer in justice for women and the validity of women’s perspectives."

"The establishment of BIRDC has presented to Uganda an opportunity to showcase a variety of tooke products with a unique taste and full nutritional value on the world market. The products exported are branded in such a way that promotes our country and culture on the international scene."

"Uganda is among the top five leading banana producers in the world, with a 30% estimated contribution to the world banana production."

"I feel great that I am in lead of a multi-skilled team of scientists: medical doctors, pharmacists, chemists, laboratory technologists, botanists, sociologists … as principal investigator into a natural formulation used by our communities for over 20 years against viral challenges."

"...my professional interest in traditional medicine was inspired by an eczema rash on my feet that left patches of black and white on my body when I was a university student."

"What we are promoting is standardization; to develop the right dose and delivery method for safety and effectiveness. This will also support the development of our economy, because we would get World Health Organization certification for export."

"Many of the traditional medicines are scientifically sound treatments. Even the large pharmaceutical companies are picking them from here to be developed into drugs, such as the Ugandan greenheart tree (Warbugia ugandensis), extracts of which have been used to treat coughs and malaria."

"My grandfather, like other Africans of his time, used traditional medicine to treat several ailments. As children, we would be given baths in an extract made from the leaves of the omwoloola tree (Entada abyssinica) to treat skin infections, among other conditions."

"We must be where decisions are made. Of course we know that the legal profession is wide. And a young generation should be aware that there is a possibility that what they are engaged in today, may not be what they will be engaged in decades ahead."

"It only covers sexual assaults of women and does not recognise men as possible victims. It is concerned with the absence of consent either because force was used or because the consent was a result of fraud and falsehood. Prosecutors must also deal with the issue of the state of mind of the accused. If there is no mental fault, it is not regarded as rape. Honest belief in consent is enough to free the accused from criminal liability even if that belief might seem unreasonable."

"Reducing crime must be preceded by interrogating society’s views on the crime in question. Knowing what society considers acceptable behaviour may explain the prevalence of an offence."

"There is a need to change the social not just the legal understandings of rape in Uganda. Like with any other social phenomena, crime can only be understood by interrogating the broad social context within which it occurs. To understand issues of sexuality and sexual encounters between men and women, it is crucial that the discussion is placed within the discourse of gender in Uganda’s patriarchal society."

"We must position women. The feminization of the legal profession will have meaning only if women are positioned in high levels of this practice. Because this is where decisions are made."

"One of the things I realised is that academic work, scholarly work or legal scholarship, is actually an advantage to a person because we are talking about discussing principles of law, especially when you are serving in the highest court, the court which has the last say in dispute resolution."

"I know that these inequalities are reproduced in the family, the community and they are also reproduced in the workplace where we find ourselves as lawyers. Women lawyers can bring about substantive changes not only in the practice of the law, but in the law itself"

"I think the African human rights regime has taken up this issue, which is illustrated in the way the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights has expounded on the right to access to information as a tool for socio-economic development. This will have a trickle-down effect as we are dealing with the issues at the regional level. However, it is also important to deal with these issues at the national level through institutions that we all ascribe to, such as the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights and the African Court on Human and People’s Rights, because that jurisprudence cannot be questioned by Member States. I also think that, the fact that social media today has thrived, really helps spreading the information on violations out there."

"When we talk about the need to protect journalists, both men and women must be protected. But there is no doubt that women journalists are more vulnerable to certain kinds of violations of rights which perhaps men are not as vulnerable to. It is important to recognize that, when discussing the protection of rights, the groups we talk about are not homogenous. This is the reason why we must talk about violence against women specifically when discussing violence against journalists. In other words actors interested in protecting the human rights of journalists must put on a gender lense and mainstream gender into their work."

"I believe freedom of expression is a human right just like other rights and I think every judicial officer at every level needs training in human rights, and most certainly on freedom of expression, because it is critical to interpret law within a human rights perspective. We must also remember that freedom of expression is important for democracy, good governance and the rule of law and that these three are really the bedrock of development."

"Perennial hard work, dedication to duty, and focused and committed leadership,” further adding “she is endowed with a tickling brain which she has put to good use"

"Prof. Maria Musoke is an information authority in her own right, who made the most of her sabbatical leave to produce this important resource. Her work encourages us to achieve value for time during periods of research and sabbatical"

"When people are informed they are healthy and when the health workers apply the knowledge in their work, there are many benefits to health care. It is a valuable resource for health professionals, planners, and policy makers, as well as researchers interested in health information systems and their applicability in different environments."

"Women should remember they are individuals in their own right. They are not appendices of men. You can only improve your life, if you know your value. Society has for too long conditioned women to see themselves as secondary that they can only live in the shadow of men, which is not the case."

"I tell them that being honest is important. I have also taught them to be hard-working because the world is so cruel to lazy people."

"The basic thing is that we have given each other space. Being able to support each others interests is important in any relationship. It is also important not to have bottled up feelings in a home."

"Upward mobility of women would not be difficult if it were not for gender biases and the multiple responsibilities a woman carries in a community. Some people think women are supposed to be average in anything and yet if a man gets average, he will not be happy."

"While many western male students fully paid attention and believed in my work, several of their African counterparts did not take me serious yet i was fully responsible for their respective future as PhD students."

"Teachers should not die poor. We need to leave a legacy and retire from service to live a happy life. As I serve the nation through extending service to the girl-child, I implore fellow teachers to also live an entreprising life and outlive the notion where society believes that teachers should die poor."

"Universities and governments need to enact deliberate policies that favour women and girls."

"The purpose of this communication is to inform you of the current position of the government and to encourage you to utilize the ODel system; all institutions that have not embraced the Odel system are encouraged to to do so."

"Although the study is being conducted in three African countries, the recommendations will be applicable across the continent because the challenges are often similar."

"University leaders are well placed to address the gender gaps in science, technology and innovation. However, at present, most of them are men. Women in top leadership positions can inspire and mentor upcoming academics. They would also be well placed to offer advice on how to overcome challenges along the academic path. And female leaders could be in positions where they can influence policies within their institutions and at the national levels."

"Medical School was intense and it was hard work throughout. “You had to exert yourself to the maximum and sacrifice all other interests. There were frequent tests—written, practicals and orals called viva/vivae—and we had to pass each and everyone."

"Companies should familiarize themselves with virtual systems and not give up on mentoring students since they both get a chance for someone with fresh ideas and allowing students to bring out their previous experiences."

"Higher institutions of learning should invest in research to enable companies to offer virtual internship training to students."

"Institutions should consider developing approaches favouring companies to offer mentorship to students."

"I am optimistic that Higher Education Access Program by the FAWE Uganda and Mastercard Foundation will provide an opportunity for more A-Level graduates to join higher education in Uganda."

"It is a decrease from the 2020/2021 because in 2020 2021 we will recorded 5.9%. So, it is a drop of 0.6 percent, the Ugandan ratio is far below the Sub Saharan average is 9.4% and the global average which is at 38%."

"Initiatives such as RUFORUM’s education funding support for women in higher education have also boosted the number of women with scientific skills and qualifications."

"There are only 40 women vice-chancellors heading up the roughly 1,500 universities across Africa."

"Women in top leadership positions can inspire and mentor upcoming academics. They would also be well placed to offer advice on how to overcome challenges along the academic path. And female leaders could be in positions where they can influence policies within their institutions and at the national levels."