Uganda Women Parliamentary Association (UWOPA) is working around seven legislative areas in the 8th Parliament of Uganda including the Domestic Relations Bill, Domestic Violence Bill and Sexual Offences Bill. The other areas include Maternal Health, African Charter on the rights of Women in Africa, Trafficking in Persons Bill and Peace and Conflict. UWOPA members are divided into teams which work in each of these legislative areas. This is an update on the progress of these legislative areas.

The petition on increasing incidents of acts of Violence Against Women presented by the Women’s Movement to the Deputy Speaker of Parliament in June was read in Parliament last week by Hon Karooro Okurut on behalf of the Chair person UWOPA. The Domestic Violence Bill was also discussed during a dissemination and consultative meeting organised for Members of Parliament by Uganda Law Reform Commission at Parliament building. The Minister of State for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Hon Ruhindi Fredrick, said that there will no more consultations on this Bill.

The Bill is therefore scheduled to be tabled to Cabinet soon and ultimately Parliament. Members of UWOPA on the Gender Based Violence round table chaired by Hon Rebecca Lukwago and in consultation with the Civil Society Coalition on the Domestic Violence Bill are following up the process. Any other concerns that, the public has regarding this Bill are now expected to be imputed at Committee level.

You recall that the general agreement as a way forward for the re-tabling of the Domestic Relations Bill was to separate it into two pieces to cater for the Muslim and Christian needs. The Commission has divided the proposed law into two main parts; the original Bill with some amendments and the Administration of Muslim Personal Law Bill. These two Bills were recently disseminated and debated together during the same dissemination workshop organised by Uganda Law Reform.

It has already been noted that the Muslim proposed Bill has inherent weaknesses that if not looked into will worsen status of women particularly for Muslim women. The key issue troubling female MPs is the fact that some of the issues raised by the Bill are considered by the Muslim Supreme Council as ‘Divine’ and therefore not negotiable or to be discussed by the public.

Members on this round table chaired by Hon Cecilia Ogwal have embarked on consultations with Muslim women in and outside Parliament to find an immediate solution. The agreeable position is that if any thing is bad for the Muslim women, Christian women can not sit back and watch as this Bill becomes a state law to structure family relations among Muslims. UWOPA is planning to hold another meeting for UWOPA members to further understand and internalise the issues presented by the Bill to prepare them for their advocacy within Parliament. The Civil Society Coalition on the Domestic Relations Bill needs to take note of these new developments and come up with strategies on how to address these concerns.

This is a private Members Bill that UWOPA inherited from Law and Advocacy for Women in Uganda (LAW-U) which has already been read on the floor of Parliament. Parliament is reconvening this week and this Bill is on order paper scheduled for its second reading.

The Round table of UWOPA on Maternal Health has been engaging both at local and policy level on the critical concerns that are presented regarding the status of maternal health in Uganda. UWOPA has since November 2007 reached 15 districts in the country through constituency outreaches where women MPs have met with leaders at districts to ascertain the status as well lobby for improved service delivery for maternal health. The members have also through the support of European Parliamentarians for Africa (AWEPA) engaged in the analysis and dissemination of existing laws on public which also affect maternal health in Uganda.

It has been noted that the existing legislations are largely outdated and not applicable in the current context. This round table met with the Minister of Health and engaged him on these archaic laws. The Ministry has proposed that amendments of these legislations be embarked on with immediate effect.

This round table has been engaging the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs to ratify this charter but has so far not registered much success in this particular area. The Protocol is yet to be ratified. The Round table has however engaged in consultations with the Tanzanian Government to learn how Tanzania succeeded in its ratification. The lesson learnt from Tanzania is to ratify with reservations.

UWOPA is now scheduled to meet the Ministry on this new possibility of getting the government to ratify with reservations to the contentious clauses on Prostitution and Abortion. Organizations working around this area need to take note of these developments.

The Sexual Offences Bill is still at Cabinet level scheduled to be discussed by Cabinet and then Parliament. However the challenge presented with this Bill is the fact that with the recent Penal Code Amendments, the Bill was completely diluted with nothing much left to offer. Some members are of the view that the Bill should be withdrawn and improved. The Round table on the Sexual Offences Bill is following up these concerns in consultation with the Civil Society Coalition on the Sexual Offences Bill.

   

The round table through the Uganda Women’s Peace Coalition were over the duration of the Juba Peace talks engaged in lobbying government to increase women’s participation and to address gender concerns in the Juba Peace negotiations as well as the post Juba peace building processes for the Greater North.  A number of consultative meetings have been engaged in by members of this round table with other members of parliament from the Greater North on how to further involve women  and address gender concrens in the post conflict peace building programmes through the Peace Recovery and Development Programme

(PRDP).

 

Policy and Communications Officer

Uganda Women Parliamentary Association (UWOPA)

P.O. Box 7178, Kampala

Tel: 256-41-378804/256-772-677121

Email: uwopa(at)parliament.go.ug