Women’s representation in Parliament in Uganda has so far been relatively high, due to the movement political system and the affirmative action of reserved seats. The movement political system is enshrined in the country’s constitution of 1995, which has since been challenged for being undemocratic and the demand for change has resulted in a constitutional review and the recommendation for introduction of a multi-party political system. The pending introduction of political pluralism alerted women to the danger of losing their current level of Parliamentary representation due to political competition. In order to avert the possible loss of their current political gains, the women’s parliamentary caucus took the lead in convening a conference to develop the strategies for mitigating that risk.

The Parliamentary Centre was the sponsor of the Constitutional Reform conference held in Entebbe from 9 – 12 may 2004. Conference participants comprised women MPs., Parliamentary Chairs of various committees, women district councilors, members of the academia and representatives of civil society. Attendance was very high, signifying the importance that Ugandan women attached to their participation in politics. Among the case studies presented was South Africa’s experience of how women mobilized to take advantage of the constitutional reform for increasing their representation in Parliament.

Discussions revolved around such issues as:

• A legislative quota for women on party lists
• How to establish a women’s coalition which is representative of all women organizations in Uganda
• The choice of an appropriate electoral system
• How to overcome the problem of election finance at the national level and how to extend the solution to district council elections
• Whether to maintain affirmative action or come up with an alternative policy
• How to monitor implementation of gender equality policies
• How women can influence the media to promote positive coverage of their activities
• How to ensure gender mainstreaming in the economic sector
• How the budget can be utilized as a tool for gender mainstreaming
• What strategies can be adopted to advocate for political space for women with disabilities in the transitional period and beyond
• How women’s participation at the local council level can be enhanced

The conference resolved to establish a women’s coalition charged with the responsibility for:

• Developing a women’s agenda
• Drawing up a civic education program
• Evaluating affirmative action and make recommendations for a South African legislative Zebra Model of Proportional Representation electoral system (alternate sex of candidates on party lists).
• Developing strategy for dealing with the media
• Identifying training needs as well as a proposal for a leadership-training centre for women
• Identifying strategic partners for financing needs and for mobilizing support for women