Women legislators say the high cost of campaigning, negative cultural attitudes and shrinking civic space are discouraging women from contesting constituency seats despite gains in representation in Parliament and Cabinet.
The Uganda Women Parliamentary Association (UWOPA) has raised concern over the high cost of political campaigns, negative cultural beliefs and a shrinking civic space, saying the challenges continue to discourage women from contesting elective constituency seats.
Meeting women leaders under the Women Network in Politics at Parliament on Friday, women legislators, including ministers, said Parliament should be used to challenge cultural stereotypes and push for reforms that make electoral politics more accessible to women.
Uganda has taken steps to increase women's representation in governance since 1986, when President Yoweri Museveni came to power. However, women seeking to compete directly for constituency seats continue to face financial and social barriers, according to the legislators.
Figures cited by the legislators show that women account for 187 of the 529 members of the 12th Parliament, representing about 35%. Women also constitute 49% of Cabinet, although the figures do not necessarily reflect their representation in directly contested constituency races.
During Friday's meeting, representatives of the Women Network in Politics raised concerns about declining civic rights, saying the political environment had made some women afraid to speak out for fear of intimidation and retaliation.
“We are seeing declining civic rights. Many women in politics now fear to speak out because of the harsh political situation in the country. They fear intimidation and backlash, and this is silencing them,” Lilian Babirye, a representative of the Women Network in Politics, said.
Women legislators said the commercialisation of politics was another major obstacle, arguing that candidates increasingly need substantial financial resources to compete effectively in elections.
“The biggest challenge we are facing is the commercialisation of politics. You need a lot of money to compete, and most women do not have that financial muscle. On top of that, cultural beliefs that a woman should not compete with men in constituencies still persist,” one of the legislators said.
The legislators also noted that affirmative action has increased women's representation in Parliament, but has not eliminated negative attitudes towards women seeking directly elected seats.
“We have affirmative action, but when it comes to directly competing for constituency seats, society still looks at women negatively. People still believe leadership is for men,” Minister Wanyoto said.
Affirmative action provides reserved parliamentary seats for women, alongside other measures intended to improve representation. However, women seeking constituency seats must compete directly against other candidates, often facing the same financial demands as their opponents while also confronting gender-based stereotypes.
UWOPA wants women legislators to use parliamentary debates to challenge discriminatory cultural beliefs and advocate reforms that would reduce the financial barriers to political participation.
“As UWOPA, we want all women legislators to use the floor of Parliament to demystify these negative cultural beliefs and to push for reforms that will make politics less commercialised and more inclusive for women,” the association's leadership said.
The association says addressing the barriers is necessary to build on existing gains in women's representation and encourage more women to participate in competitive electoral politics.