By Jumah Kakomo
The opposition Democratic Party (DP) has urged the newly elected leadership of the National Women’s Council to promote inclusive representation and ensure women benefit fairly from government empowerment programmes, irrespective of their political affiliation.
The call was made by DP Women’s League president Sarah Adong on Tuesday at the party headquarters in Kampala, where she congratulated the newly elected council leaders on the successful completion of the elections.
However, Ms Adong raised concerns about what she described as the commercialisation of the electoral process and alleged discrimination in access to leadership opportunities and government support.
She said the cost of contesting for positions in the National Women’s Council, whose elections run from village to parish, sub-county, district and national levels, could disadvantage women with limited financial resources.
Ms Adong also questioned the representation of opposition members and independents in the National Women’s Council and National Youth Council, arguing that the institutions should accommodate diverse political views.
She called on the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD) to explore mechanisms for improving political inclusivity in the two institutions, citing affirmative representation arrangements in Parliament as a possible point of reference.
“There must be a way of ensuring that different political voices are represented. You cannot have people agreeing all the time without alternative views being heard,” Ms Adong said.
The DP official also called for greater transparency and fairness in the implementation of government programmes intended to support women economically, including the Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women Enterprises (GROW) Project.
Ms Adong said some women had raised concerns about the distribution of funds, particularly whether beneficiaries in the informal sector and those with limited financial resources were receiving equitable access to support.
While acknowledging reports of improved access to funding for women in the informal sector, she alleged that political affiliation could still influence access to financial assistance.
She argued that eligibility for government support should be based on clear criteria rather than political loyalty, saying women should not be disadvantaged because they belong to opposition parties or are not affiliated with the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).
Ms Adong cited experiences from her political campaigns in which she said she had intervened with local authorities on behalf of women who believed they had been treated unfairly.
The allegations concerning the distribution of programme funds were not independently verified for this report.
Ms Adong said she intends to seek a meeting with the newly elected National Women’s Council chairperson and other council leaders to discuss the concerns and explore ways of strengthening cooperation among women across political divides.
She said the council should represent all Ugandan women, regardless of their political affiliation, religion, social background or economic status.
“Whether a woman belongs to the Democratic Party, the Forum for Democratic Change or another political party, she remains a Ugandan woman whose interests deserve consideration,” she said.
She urged the council to engage women’s organisations from civil society, sports, healthcare, political parties and the informal economy when developing policies and programmes intended to address women’s needs.
Ms Adong also pointed to the Uganda Women Parliamentary Association (UWOPA) and existing inter-party platforms as possible avenues for strengthening dialogue, cooperation and women’s representation.
She said women’s empowerment should go beyond establishing programmes to ensuring that intended beneficiaries can access available opportunities without political discrimination.
Ms Adong called on women leaders and relevant institutions to treat women’s welfare as a shared national priority rather than a partisan issue.
