Beatrice Akello Uganda
I am a feminist because I believe that women have the right to dignity.
I work for the Alliance for Integrated Rural Development Information and
Resource Centre (AIRDIRC) in Kamuli District, Uganda.
Although there has been work on these laws, there continues to be efforts to
maintain the systemic nature of women’s oppression.
I have dedicated my life to addressing the challenges that women face.
Within our societies and our communities we have to constantly deal with
discrimination and practices that tend to make us less than what we are. In
addition, in most rural communities, women are having to work hard to address
poverty and escalating levels of violence that prevent them from developing
or moving forward. Traditions and culture also play a role in keeping women
in roles and positions where they are ‘less’ than men. And women themselves
contribute often to maintaining some of these traditions due to their lack of
knowledge and information.
We also need to recognise that having new and progressive laws in place is
not enough. We also have to fight for them to be implemented – otherwise
justice remains elusive to so many women who do not have the information,
education and also access to challenge unjust laws. The lack of funds to
address emerging issues and deal with transforming our societies is another
major challenge for us to move forward steadily and strategically. Possibly
one strategy to address this is to form networks to find innovative strategies to
address our issues, but also to be creative in mobilising resources to keep the
struggles going.
I am a feminist because I believe that women have the right to dignity. I believe
that no matter where we are, where we are from, we all deserve respect for
our rights and to get the same opportunities to grow and develop as those who
live in non-rural areas. I am motivated by a sense of justice – but also because
I believe that we can only change our reality if we stand up for ourselves.
In order to strengthen the feminist movement in Africa, we should revive, energise
and feed solidarity initiatives that allow feminists to constantly communicate,
provide support to one another and ultimately erode the systemic base of
women’s oppression.
In Africa, the most important challenges we as feminists face are the intricate
national and international laws that discriminate against women.
Personally, I am inspired by other feminists who have paved the way for African
feminists and who have shown us what is possible.
VPS II
. 13