Miria Matembe: Gender, Politics, and Constitution Making in Uganda

Miria R.K. Matembe is the leading and most controversial woman politican in Uganda. From her humble roots in Rutooma village, Kashaari in Mbarara District, she has risen to become a formidable national and international personality through her protracted struggles for gender equality since her early childhood. In this book, Matembe documents her struggles in gender, politics and constitution making in order to achieve equality for the women of Uganda. Matembe was instrumental in the formation of ACFODE which became the leading player in the women's movement in Uganda. As a local councillor at various levels in Kampala, district woman representative for Mbarara in the National Resistance Council and member of the Uganda constitutional Commission, she brought the gender question to the forefront of national politics. Her role in the Constituent Assembly was indispensable to the constitution making process. No single clause in the 1995 constitution concerning women escaped her attention and contribution. Since 1996, she has been the district woman MP for Mbarara District. She played a critical role in the debate that led to the Land Act of 1998. In her capacity as minister of Ethics and Integrity she as spearheaded the building of ethics and integrity and fought corruption in public life in Uganda.