Born in Hoima on March 21, 1926, Ntiro made history in 1954 when she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History from St Anne’s College, University of Oxford, becoming the first African woman university graduate in East and Central Africa.
On October 22, 2018, Ugandan educator, academic and women’s rights activist Dr Sarah Nyendwoha Ntiro died in Kampala at the age of 92, leaving behind a legacy of breaking barriers to women’s education and equality in Uganda and across East and Central Africa.
Born in Hoima on March 21, 1926, Ntiro made history in 1954 when she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History from St Anne’s College, University of Oxford, becoming the first African woman university graduate in East and Central Africa.
Her academic journey began at Duhaga Girls’ School in Hoima before she joined King’s College Budo in 1938. She later became one of the first female students admitted to Makerere College for teacher training, at a time when opportunities for women to pursue higher education remained limited.
Ntiro also challenged gender discrimination in the workplace. After returning to Uganda to teach at Gayaza High School, she discovered that female teachers earned less than their male counterparts. In protest, she offered to teach without pay for a year until the colonial administration agreed to equalise salaries, making her an early advocate for equal pay in Uganda.
Her public service extended into politics and education administration. She served in the Uganda Legislative Council from 1958 to 1961, where she introduced a private member’s bill on marriage registration. She later worked with the Ministry of Education between 1965 and 1967 and contributed to the establishment of the Teaching Service Committee, which later became the Education Service Commission.
Beyond government, Ntiro championed women’s advancement through organisations including the Uganda Council of Women and the Young Women’s Christian Association. She was also a founding trustee of the Development Network of Indigenous Voluntary Associations and represented Uganda at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995.
Her contributions to education and women’s leadership continue to be recognised through the Sarah Ntiro Lecture and Award, established by the Forum for African Women Educationalists Uganda in 2000 to celebrate women who overcome barriers to education and leadership.
Ntiro’s death on October 22, 2018 marked the end of a remarkable life dedicated to expanding educational opportunities and challenging inequalities that restricted women’s participation in public life.