By Until 1964, an employer could refuse to hire you just because you were a woman. Until 1974, refusing to sell a woman a house was legal; until 1988, you could refuse to rent to a woman with children. While we were an independent country, society was not ready for women’s independence. Sixty years later, Ugandan women have broken through the glass ceiling in most areas. They refuse to apply their brilliance only in the kitchen, a standard their forefathers had designed for them. They take up spaces their great-grandmothers could never have dreamt of. We remember them. We revere them. Tezra Kisakye talks to some of these women who carried the torch for our independence so we could do the same for those who come after us.
Behind the Policewoman’s Uniform
People tend to associate the Police with indifference. Perhaps it is because of that consistent serious look on their faces. Even Grace Akullo jokingly said, “I am a Policewoman, I don’t smile,” when we were taking her photo.
But, unlike most people, the seasoned detective does not understand why anyone would associate the Police with gender.
“There is no job which is meant for a specific gender,” she says. “The most important thing is one’s qualification.”
The former Director of Interpol and International Relations of the Uganda Police believes in earning one’s spot, hers being 21 years of dedicated service in the force.
Except, Akullo’s satisfaction comes from something bigger than the prestigious uniform or a powerful title.
“I feel happy that I’ve had the chance to serve humanity,” she says. “I know everyone does, but I have seen hardcore criminals become remorseful. And I have seen people get justice.”
Akullo’s greatest reward is evidently the people.
“When I am not at work, I am home with my family. The nature of my work is very hectic, so I love quality time with family,” says the mother of four.
And she reminds us, once more, that behind the stern look and a bedazzled Police hat is only a sincere mother.
Evolving Woman
When our parents sacrificed everything for us to go to school, it was with the hope that we would become doctors, leaders, educators or sports figures.
“When I was young, my father told me that he wanted me to be a doctor, so I became one,” Dr Maggie Kigozi says.
Kigozi, however, is not one to settle. She is the epitome of a limitless woman. Even as a young girl, she refused to settle for hobbies only deemed fit for girls.
“I did everything my brothers did. They rode motorbikes, I also rode them.”
But that is also thanks to the woman who came before her. As a dressmaker, a runner and a member of the local football team, Kigozi’s mother had set the tone.
She would take her mother’s tenacity and her father’s strong work ethic as an engineer to become the unstoppable woman that she is today.
“I saw people work all my life. I had no choice. I was given the belief that there is nothing I couldn’t do.”
And work she did. A medical doctor by training, Kigozi is also a business consultant, educator and sportswoman. She has continuously set the trend that one cannot be defined by only one thing.
When she is not at business meetings, she is chairing a board session, showing Girl Guides the ropes, playing tennis, riding a bike or at her 300-acre Zuri Model Farm.
She truly is proof that people are infinite. But even as we celebrate her achievements and mentorship, we emulate Kigozi for her fun, personable and down-to-earth spirit.
Boxing ring
When you think boxing, names like Muhammad Ali, Floyd Mayweather, Sugar Ray or our very own Sharif Bogere and Kassim Ouma come up. But Catherine Nanziri will knock the living daylights out of you. That is what she does for a living. Nanziri was Uganda’s first female boxer to participate in the Olympics in Japan last year.
With an Olympian title to her name, she considers boxing a business.
“First, I want to conquer Africa in professional boxing. And then I will go around the globe and win more title belts.”
But before she could conquer any belt, Nanziri had to first win over her dad.
“My father disapproved of my decision. He said boxing would kill my beauty and no man would want to marry me,” she says.
But with several wins in the ring, Nanziri has won over the hearts of Ugandans and that of her father.
“Now he is the proudest dad,” she adds.
She follows in the footsteps of greats like Hellen Baleke and kickboxer Patricia Apolot.
The boda woman
For the longest time, you have referred to your errand person as the ‘boda man’. However, Ugandan women reject the idea that there are things they cannot or should not do. Dathive Mukeshimana went beyond riding a motorcycle commercially to fighting for her own bodaboda stage.
“I used to work at random bodaboda stages in Naalya, Bweyogerere and Nakawa, until I demanded a stage for female bodaboda riders from the local council,” she says.
The mother of four is elated that there is a bodaboda stage exclusively for women on Nkurumah Road in Kampala city centre. Mukeshimana and 17 other women wake up early every day to make an honest day’s earning from their motorbikes.
“Most of us are married and have children. I ride my children to school every morning. They are excited that mummy rides a bike.”
Thanks to the changing times, we no longer look at people like her in shock or disapproval. We watch with respect, even admiration.
When complimented on how spotlessly clean her motorcycle is, Mukeshimana says:
“It has to be, it belongs to a woman.”
