Academics, civil society debate women empowerment

In order to achieve meaningful gains in the gender justice movement, it is important to involve men at the centre stage, a human rights lawyer has said.

Jordan Tumwesigye, who is also the former president of Makerere Law Society (2014 to 2018), says militant feminism, which utilises an extreme approach to advance social change, is not impactful in advancing gender justice.

Tumwesigye, who also runs a mentorship programme for young men, made these remarks on April 10, 2025, at Makerere University in Kampala city during a public lecture debate session on women's empowerment. The event was organidsed by the Women's Probono Initiative (WPI). 

"Patriarchy has a way of evolving itself," Dr Amon Ashabamwine, a lecturer from Makerere University, said.

He noted that there are public concerns that have emerged of 'using men in kitchens' on TV and other platforms to address gender violence.

Dr Daphine Agaba, a researcher at Makerere University who was the event's moderator, said there is a wide gap between academia's theoretical and civil society's practical approaches to social change.

She emphasized the need to merge the two approaches to address the issue of vulnerable masculinity.

"Some men were affected by the effects of patriarchy, especially during the LRA conflict in northern Uganda. These became known as Panadol men because they relied heavily on drugs to silence their pain," Tumwesigye said.

The public lecture debate was attended by students, Lecturers, community and district women representatives as well as civil society.

Daniella Mushikazi, a lawyer who participated in the heated debate, said: "A poor man will oppress a poor woman. Women you need to understand that this is a fight for your lives".

She also noted that female parliamentarians have had to stoop too low by begging and kneeling for their male counterparts just to convince them to amend certain oppressive laws.

According to Mushikazi, men do not view women's issues as urgent. She, therefore, believes that women do not need to soften their tone in order to be heard.

"For men who resist, there has to be a form of accountability," she suggested.

Titus Asiimwe, a programmes officer at WPI, said men often try to conform to deeply rooted cultural norms, which require them to be rugged and very assertive. 

However, Asiimwe believes that trends are changing from what society was in the 1980s and that there is a need to shift with the rising social tide to promote women's rights.

WPI executive director Rose Wakikona said women should not be confined to the kitchen as it was decades ago: "I don't know why you think all women must know how to cook; it's not a role. Most women can now afford to pay another person to do that for them.

On his part, Jimmy Ongom, a master's student at Makerere University, said men play a key role in bringing gender equality because they control the resources.

Having grown up in a conflict setting, Ongom said men withhold a lot of anger from their troubled past and therefore, it is crucial to also factor in their emotional well-being.