Women's Day - No Longer For All Women But Just The High Flyers?

From time in memorial, Women’s Day in Uganda – especially in the media, is celebrated in the same way. Four or so pages of inspirational stories about successful businesswomen or women who have made it in life. The women profiled, are the same year after year – Morine Wavamunno, Theresa Mbire, Flavia Tumusiime, Sylvia Nagginda, Jyostna Ruparelia, Camille Aliker, Allen Kagina, Janet Museveni, Doris Akol and so forth.

Her Title Aside, Has Sylvia Nagginda Been An Inspiration To The Muganda Woman? 

The women profiled, are the same year after year – Morine Wavamunno, Theresa Mbire, Flavia Tumusiime, Sylvia Nagginda, Jyostna Ruparelia, Camille Aliker, Allen Kagina, Janet Museveni, Doris Akol and so forth.

The New Ladies On The Block - Irene Ssewankambo and Anne Juuko

However today, two new names join the list of illustrious women – Ann Juuko who, was recently appointed Chief Executive for Stanbic Bank and Irene Kaggwa at the helm of Uganda Communications Commission. Congratulations ladies!

While it is significant to celebrate major achievements of the Ugandan woman and those round the world, those successes and the women who stand behind them seem a million miles away from most women and their realities.

The story of the successful businesswoman sadly, is not a common one in Uganda. Women I think, buy magazines like Flair and Bride and Groom because they like to hear successful stories that helps them forget about the more familiar stories, which are not as exciting and glamorous as those of their friends or colleagues.  

 

Bride and Groom

However, less exciting stories should not be relegated like the no story – the story of ‘not much worth mentioning’ – at least according to International Women’s Day standards or ours. They toil, but never get noticed. They sweat, but still don’t get seen or valued. In many ways, these women resemble the high-achieving woman, but somehow, don’t quite make it - at least not to the top.

What about the ‘undesirable women’ – like Bad Black, Stella Nyanzi, Full Figure, Ingrid Turinawe and Betty Nambooze for example who society punishes in different ways for failing to be anything like the high-achievers we laud today. 

Are Women Punishing Bad Black For Not Being A High Achiever?

This story is of the pain, frustration, disappointment, marginalization and alienation of women who happen not to have gone to elitist schools like Gayaza or Namagunga, don’t have feminine features or figures or bared their breasts in the quest for justice. It’s a story that needs to be voiced, but who wants to really know about it?

And there are worse stories of women who never make it in the workplace or are booted out as soon as people notice that they are different. We are talking about the same group of women here – those who may tick more than one of the different boxes – but it may also simply be women who look ‘too old’, ‘too young’, ‘too fat’ or ‘too ugly’ - in other words, women who fail to look or dress the part. Women’s Day should be a jollity of women, but every year it becomes a celebration restricted to women who can showcase significant accomplishments.

Does Not Having The Looks Play A Role In A Woman's Ability To Do The Job  

As pointed out earlier, most Ugandan women will never make it into Bride and Groom or Flair magazine’s Women’s Day celebrity list. They may have jobs but, they still won’t make the list.

What Merits Getting On To The Cover Of Flair?

Truth is that their contributions, however small or large, are often overlooked and many will be passed over for promotion simply because they don’t come from the right tribe - if you get my drift.

This year, women – and I guess we men too, should ignore the awards ceremonies, the top-women-achiever charts and the rest and instead salute the women we meet every day at work or on the way to work like the frail old women KCCA employs to sweep the dust off the streets in Namuwongo. The traffic police women whom we all chose to ignore and hurl insults at.

 

Are These The Ladies Women's Day Should Really Be About?

Let’s also use Women’s Day to remind Ugandan’s and everyone else who the Ugandan woman is, why she is so brilliant and why they should neither be disregarded or snubbed, no matter how ordinary, or different, or what tribe they may be. 

Pictures: globalthinkersforum.org, Flair, Bride and Groom, mobile.howwebiz.ug, dispatch.ug, Daily Monitor, commons.wikimedia.org, facebook.com