Premier Robinah Nabbanja has called on public and private sectors to empower women in order to spark economic development. Nabbanja said women play a vital role in developing a country.
The Prime Minister said this during the ICGLR Regional Women’s Forum (RWF) planning retreat held last week at Lake Victoria Hotel in Entebbe.
In her remarks, Nabbanja said women in politics and money economy have made big steps in elevating the face of the country hence the need to prioritize women. “In Uganda anything to do with women empowerment is our priority that’s why in the cabinet we make 43%, the vice president is a woman, the prime minister is a woman and even the speaker of parliament is a woman too,” she said.
The premier revealed that over the years government has implemented programs with the intent of supporting women economic empowerment and one of such programs is the parish development model (PDM), among others to ensure women are enrolled in the money economy.
“Under this program which goes to the parish, over 50% of the total funds (shs 1.05 trione) is being allocated to women, because they have 30% of the total amount, 10% to the elderly, 30% to the youth, 10% to people living with disabilities of which take a higher percentage in each category,” she added.
She also urged parents and communities to keep girls in school and support them in their academic journey, saying an educated woman is an educated nation. She also said this will in turn help fight Gender Based Violence (GBV).
Flaviana Charles Mayutta the director for gender, women and children at the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region – ICGLR said they decided to bring the retreat to Uganda because it has played a great role in promoting of a women led agenda as well as the promotion of women and children rights.
This assembly was attended by representatives from all the 12 member countries that make up the great lakes region, members of the steering committee of the Regional women’s forum (RWF), RTF, LMRC as well as representatives of regional and international organizations such as African Union, the United Nations among others.
About RWF:
The Regional Forum for Women was established on 18th December, 2010 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It plays an important role as an advisory body on gender issues, sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) as well as on the well-being of children. Members include Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, among others.
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