Subject: [fem-women2000 497] ALERT FOR ACTION/ Uganda (FWD)
From: lalamaziwa <lalamaziwa@jca.apc.org>
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 10:48:25 +0900
Seq: 497
Forwarded by lalamaziwa <lalamaziwa@jca.apc.org> ---------------- Original message follows ---------------- From: "Leslie Wright" <lesliewright@dellnet.com> To: <ngo-csw-ny@egroups.com> Cc: "Charlotte" <charlotte@wagggsworld.org> Date: Fri, 28 Jul 2000 23:45:01 -0400 Subject: [ngo-csw-ny] Fw: ALERT FOR ACTION -- This is something for you to pass on to your networks. Leslie ----- Original Message ----- >From: ISIS- WICCE Sent: Wednesday, July 19, 2000 7:37 AM Subject: ALERT FOR ACTION Dear Friends, One of the daily newspapers the Sunday Monitor of July 2nd, reported that the Minister for Disaster Preparedness, Hon. Jane Frances Kuka was alleged to have been manhandled and slapped several times by Mr. David Chebrot, Member of Parliament for Tingey County - Kapchorwa district in Uganda. Hon Kuka had gone to officiate at the opening of a workshop on Female Genital Mutilation organised by UNFPA at the Green-Field Hotel in Kapchorwa town on 27th June. Chebrot is reported to have been unapologetic for his public misconduct. He arrogantly said "This is a lesson to you. You have a lot of lugambo (rumours)" and he further told the Kapchorwa Resident District Commissioner that "punching her was the best lesson for Kuka". Women's Organisations responded to this by paying a solidarity visit to Hon. Kuka to get the details of the whole situation, and discuss with her ways in which she felt the women activists could support her. She informed the activists that she has been harassed by the said man for a very long time and on this specific incident, Hon. Chebrot almost slapped her had it not been the cultural elders who restrained him. He however, used a lot of abusive language and belittled her before the people she is supposed to lead. After the meeting Hon. Kuka accepted to go public since the assault was done publicly. A Press Conference was called on 13th July 2000. A copy of the Press Statement is attached. In response to the press reports calling on Hon. David Chebrot to publicly apologise to Hon. Kuka and the entire women's movement in Uganda, Hon. Chebrot is reported (The New Vision 15th July 2000) to have said "Apologise for doing what? Iam not going to apologise to anybody. I will not apologise for what I have not done". He also attacked women's organisations saying they should have approached him to ask what happened. He said they were acting impulsively, implying women were incapable of making rational decisions. He also continues to traumatise Hon. Kuka by saying publicly that she needed help and not protection >from him as if she is mentally disturbed. As Ugandan women we feel that the positive policies of women's empowerment and affirmative action which have been put in place are meaningless if violence against women is tolerated in any circumstance. It is very unfortunate that a Member of Parliament (one of the policy makers) like the Hon. David Chebrot can assault a Woman Minister and refuse to apologise publicly. What message does this send to the women of Uganda? If this can be done to a woman minister with impunity, what is the fate of ordinary women? We feel this is an issue which needs immediate action if patriarchy is to be completely eliminated from our society. Hon. Kuka is one of the gallant women who has been at the forefront of the fight against female genital mutilation. If women have managed to fight violations inflicted upon them in private, then it becomes more crucial to fight any violence inflicted in public. Women's efforts to eliminate patriarchy from the Ugandan society and the government's policies of women's empowerment and affirmative action will have been dealt a serious blow if we do not protest against Hon. Chebrot's action and demand for justice for Hon. Kuka. We request you to show solidarity by writing letters to the under mentioned officials calling for a public apology from Hon. David Chebrot; and request the government of Uganda to come out with a stand over this issue. His Excellency The President of Uganda P.O.Box 7168 Kampala Uganda Fax: 256-41-235459/344012 Hon Frances Ayume Speaker Parliament of Uganda P.O.Box 7178 Kampala Uganda Fax: 265-41-235461 Hon David Chebrot Member of Parliament Tingey County Kapchorwa P.O.Box 7178 Kampala Uganda Fax: 256-41-235461 Ms Margaret Sekagya Human Rights Commission P.O.Box 4929 Kampala Uganda Fax: 256-41-255261 Please also send letters of support to; Hon: Jane Frances Kuka Minister of State for the Disaster Preparedness and Refugees Office of the Prime Minister P.O.Box 341 Kampala Uganda Fax: 256-41-349194/5 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRESS STATEMENT WE CONDEMN ANY ACTS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN As representatives of the women's movement in Uganda and human rights activists, we would like to condemn the public humiliation of the Minister of State for Disaster Preparedness and Refugees in the Prime Minister's Office, Hon. Jane Frances Kuka by Tingey County MP, Dr Steven Chebrot. According to Hon Kuka, Dr. Chebrot attacked her at a public function in her constituency and threatened to violently assault her. He used strong abusive language against her and almost manhandled her but was restrained by some elders and people who had come to attend the function. In his outburst Chebrot referred to Minister Kuka as being "a stupid woman, useless and not fit to be a Minister". This was not the first time for Dr. Chebrot to behave in such an uncivilised manner towards the Minister. In the past he has not only challenged her appointment as a Government Minister, but also used every public function to humiliate her before the elders in Kapchorwa and even politically de-campaigned her in her constituency. This kind of torture has been going on for over 10 years now and we commend Mrs. Kuka for having finally gathered the courage to go public and expose Dr. Chebrot. Minister Kuka is one of the gallant women activists in Uganda who has courageously fought and successfully combated Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Uganda and worldwide. This struggle has earned her national and international recognition and awards. She is a woman leader that has tirelessly fought for the girl-child education, women's health concerns and the empowerment of the people of Kapchorwa. Her achievements as a deputy Minister of Gender, Youth and Culture and in her present post cannot be under-estimated. Amidst all these achievements, Minister Kuka has silently suffered the agony of being a leader in a partriachal and male dominated domain of power. She has had to face rejection from her community and public and private humiliation from some of the male leaders in her constituency. As the women's movement in Uganda, we would like in solidarity with Minister Kuka to condemn the act of Dr Chebrot as an affront to women's dignity and advancement. The violent verbal and psychological attacks emitted out on Mrs. Kuka are not only uncalled for but barbaric, shameful and disgusting. By virtue of his status in society, Dr Chebrot should be aware that any act of intimidation, threatening language and gestures is tantamount to violence. As a district leader and a national legislator, we the women of Uganda would like Dr Chebrot to make a public apology to Minister Jane Frances Kuka and all Ugandan women. Much as the act may seem to have been targeting a single and isolated woman, it was a violent act against humanity. We come together as the women of Uganda to say that we can no longer tolerate violence against anybody and particularly women. _________________________________________________________________________ fem-Women2000@jca.apc.org for Women 2000, UN Special Session on Beijing+5 Searcheable Archive http://www.jca.apc.org/fem/news/women2000/index.shtml visit fem-net HomePage for other mailing lists http://www.jca.apc.org/fem