By Elizabeth Kameo
Today Syda Bbumba, Uganda’s Minister for Gender, Labour and Social 
Development officiated at the opening of the Commonwealth People’s Forum (CPF) Commonwealth Network workshop. She could not spend too long there because she had to attend other workshops, but what she said still raised my eyebrows.
The workshop theme of Realising Women’s Potential in Transforming Commonwealth Societies through Financing Gender Equity Work is underpinned by a debate on financing for gender equity and the implementation of international human rights treaties and conventions within Commonwealth countries.
These were the issues that Ms. Bbumba raised: “Women’s issues are allocated the least in budgets. We need to strengthen the implementation of the Beijing Platform of action, and identify and mobilise resources across all sectors to finance gender equity work,” she said.
Yet having said that she failed to speak of the minimal funding for gender equity work from governments such as Uganda.
However, interestingly she did refer to the fact that Tanzania is one country that has set the pace when it comes to financing gender equity work. I almost laughed out when she said that Uganda was following in its footsteps. “Just how is that?” I could not help but wonder, considering Uganda is a government that at onetime was at the forefront of financing women’s issues and today seems merely to give the issue lip service!
Ever wondered why so many women die in child birth each year and yet programmes to educate them on sexual reproductive health issues receive little or no funding? If there is a country that needs preaching to as far as financing gender equity work goes, then I think Uganda should be at the forefront.
There is no doubt that there is little commitment to financing gender equity work since most gender policies are defined by decision makers who are mostly men and so seem to have little commitment to financing work that will transform women’s lives.
i would like to thank the Hon. Minister for her efforts in blowing the trumet using the same tunes like her ancestros who lived before. iam not against her issue of financing gender equity work but as an African man, i get to worry!! yes they say that no good comes without bad. but do u realise that women emancipation to equity is as dangerous as as sending your 3 momths daughter to keep control of the blazing fire? it is good that she is also in charge of social development and she should be aware that socially families that are having women treat themselves at the same level as their husbands have crushed down!! this should not be new. women equity to me is dangerous to our country’s development. they can be kept at a trimmed level like the one they hold today for the good of our country. bniwagaba@yahoo.com
Thanks for the comment Bright, as you can tell from my name, i am the blogger of the blog that you responded to. I would like to say i do not agree wholly to what you say about women’s empowerment and gender equity. I think for the last years, this is an issue that has been taken in the wrong context by everyone. Firstly why does everyone have to think that women’s empowerment will create a world or ssay country where women take over the role of me. That is so wrong. Whne we talk about empowerment and gender equity for social transformation, we should be thinking empowering women to take responsibility of their lives. Empowered women are educated women, they are women who can take their health in their lives and make repsonsible choices for them, the people the care about and their families. I think its about time we took time off to put the whole issue of and gender equity in its right context. men will always be men and women will always be men but like men, women have the right to be empowered so they canmake the right choices for themselves and not entirelt have to depedn on me. Imagine if you had a daughter who grew up one day and could not even make a the choice to go to a health centre and access family planning services and end up losing her life as a result of the wrong reporductive health choices. And please that whole issue of “keeping women at a trimmed level” that is so yesterday. And trsut me a family that understands the significance of empwoering its women will nto crash but rather be much better off than one that does not. Thanks for the comment and raising the debate.