Winnie decries gender insensitivity in new Kabaka cabinet

The Executive Director of Oxfam International Winnie Byanyima has lashed out at the king of Buganda Ronald Muwenda Mutebi for being ‘gender insensitive’.

In his last week appointment of new ministers, out of the 14 members, the Kabaka appointed only three women in the cabinet.

They include, Prosperous Nankindu who was appointed Minister for Development including Health, Education, Women, Gender, and Office of the Nnabagereka, Mariam Nkalubo Mayanja as Minister for Land, Agriculture and Cooperatives. She will also be responsible for Bulungi bwa Nsi, Animal husbandry, Trade and Environment and Josephine Nantege Ssemanda who will serve in a position of Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Katikkiro.

In a tweet, Byanyima wondered if His Royal Highness believes in the equality of men and women.

“2  women in the cabinet of 14! I must ask the question –does HRH the Kabaka of Buganda believe in the equality of men and women?” she tweeted.

Byanyima has always been a an advocates for women’s rights.

In 1990s, after being elected Member of Parliament for Mbarara Municipality, she formed the Women’s Caucus, which was instrumental in creating a constitutional basis for a Uganda where the genders were equal. The women’s caucus helped shape the writing of the 1995 Constitution in gender-sensitive language.

It sponsored the inclusion of an explicit statement of equality before the law, which invalidates all other laws, cultures, traditions or customs that undermine the dignity and well-being of women, and provides affirmative action for women to redress historic imbalances.

In 1995, she became a founding member and first chair of the Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE), which grew out of the caucus. FOWODE extended the caucus’ scope by promoting gender equality in all decision-making through advocacy, training research and publishing.

Since then, she has been using her different influential positions to fight for women’s rights.