Vivian Ngonzi
Uganda
Strong feminist spaces at national level like the Uganda Feminist Forum (UFF) provide fresh
energies and mentoring opportunities for the young women and transferring the leadership to
avoid the strong generational gaps.
I live in Kampala, Uganda and I work with Akina Mama wa Afrika (AMwA)
a pan-African movement building organisation that supports and initiates
coalitions, networks, develops African knowledge for the lobbying and
advocating for African women’s rights including conducting an African
women’s leadership institute that builds the capacity of women from various
backgrounds and capacities to engage in transformative leadership through a
feminist perspective.
I consider myself a feminist because I believe in the dignity of a woman and
oppose all patriarchal tendencies that undermine women. I take note and
recognise the rights of women and endeavour to apply them in my personal
and public life. As a result, many young women do confide in me but also seek
for knowledge in as far as their rights and dignity are concerned.
It is a pity that the word ‘feminism’ has been misunderstood by society and
these misconceptions have labelled women with various demeaning titles like
‘ rebels, prostitutes, marriage breakers’ to mention but a few. In addition, the
unending traditional practices that still impede the development of women and
deter their prosperity in as far as making informed decisions related to their
lives continue to hamper the progress towards gender equality.
In addition, the fact that there are still very few young women involved in
feminist organising presents a missed opportunity as young women need to
be mentored and encouraged to fully participant in the feminist movement
and speak for themselves and as much as possible to shift the status-quo.
Strong feminist spaces at national level like the Uganda Feminist Forum (UFF)
provide fresh energies and mentoring opportunities for the young women and
transferring the leadership to avoid the strong generational gaps.
I have siblings and sister friends who look up to me for guidance and I endeavour
to engage them as much as I can with relevant information in as far as their
rights as women and human dignity are concerned. In addition there is a
need to create frequent feminist spaces at national, regional and international
levels that will encourage strong and collective voices for African women. The
feminist movement on the continent also need to fully engage young women by
creating mentoring programs/spaces and effectively affirming the transfer of
leadership opportunities to the younger generation.
As feminists, the need to walk the talk and fully commit and follow the feminist
charter especially in our professional spaces is paramount.
As a young feminist, I draw my inspiration from strong African feminist women
who have not given up on the fight, have been exemplary to the young women,
walked the talk, have stood up to be counted and are not about to give up as
our feminist journey is a continuous one.
My other inspiration comes from women who despite the various challenges
in their private lives (marriages) have committed to not looking back but hold
their heads high with a smile.
VPS II
. 97