Electoral gender quotas in Uganda – first introduced in 1989 – have increased women’s numbers in Uganda’s parliament to 34%. Today there are 189 women out of 557 members of parliament.
But women politicians in Uganda continue to be restricted to minority representation. They are constantly battling stereotypes that seek to maintain the status quo of male dominance in political spaces. The electorate has additionally grown accustomed to believing that since women have seats reserved for them, they should stay out of the race for open seats.
One of the reasons for this continued marginalisation is that the country’s political parties have done little to empower women. Yet they are the first hurdle that women politicians have to clear, not only to get into parliament but to become effective.
