By Susan Aanyu
SPECIAL FEATURE: As Uganda prepares for the general elections in 2026, a new wave of defiance among women leaders is sweeping through Karamoja sub-region, where culture and traditional norms are still deeply rooted.
These women have defied all odds and broken the cultural norms that deny them the right to participate in local government elections.
The general perception in the Karimojong society is that women are low status citizens and cannot make decisions that bring development to the society. As a result, they are often excluded from decision-making circles, including peace-building.
Generally, women in Karamoja are believed to be ignorant and lack awareness and information about their rights in society. The prevailing belief is that the best thing women can do is to stay at home to care for the family.
Now, women in the Karamoja sub-region are defying odds while at the same time are raising alarm over deep-rooted traditions and practices that continue to marginalize them, effectively excluding them from critical development opportunities.
Namoe Rose Chilla, an aspirant for the LC III chairperson seat in Kotido Central Division, Kotido District, under the NRM party, is one such women who has come out to defy patriarchy and cultural norms that continue to affect women in her community, including herself.
This is especially during her campaign trails as she seeks to compete with men who are culturally believed to be in leadership positions, deeming women unfit for them.
She said women are not allowed to make decisions in meetings and cannot compete with men because they may be disrespected in society.
“I have faced resistance from fellow women who ask me why I am contesting for a position that is for men. You know, you are competing with men, and men are business people; they have the money while women’s work is purely domestic and unpaid. Unless you convince people otherwise, you will not get any votes,” said Chilla.
According to Chilla, women are facing huge challenges in competing for elective positions because of cultural norms that don’t allow them to make decisions in society.
The women of Karamoja have cited denial of opportunities to contest for positions in electoral areas where women are married, low self-esteem among women, and high illiteracy levels with only a small proportion of women attaining basic education levels, as some of the major factors hindering their participation in elective politics.
The women are concerned that for so long, politics has been dominated by men, so women fear to run against already established male opponents.
Some fear failure, they are afraid that if they contest they might lose, or if they win, they may fail to serve the people satisfactorily because of the perception that women are inadequate as leaders, the lack of money to facilitate campaigns due to the fact that politics is highly commercialised, yet men usually control money and all wealth in the family.
The Dilemma of Female Persons with Disabilities.
The story is not any different for women with disabilities. Aero Ketty, the Councillor for Persons With Disabilities in Kotido District , reiterates the need to urgently address the challenges that PWDs face as she advocates for the inclusion of other women with disabilities in leadership positions.
According to Ketty, many able women are held back by stigma and are largely viewed as unfit to represent others or simply seen as a “waste of resources.”
“Financial constraints limit mobility, making it difficult to access polling stations and afford the high costs associated with running for office and campaigning”, said Ketty.
She also lamented about unfair competition from able-bodied opponents, citing limited access to campaign rally venues and key electoral areas. She blamed her recent loss in the NRM primaries on mobility difficulties.
“I lost my position by a few votes in the recent NRM primaries because of anomalies, I was unable to monitor from a distance yet we were treated the same way. Disability issues are better appreciated by the disabled people themselves because they are unique”, she said.
She urged the leaders of the Karamoja sub-region to leave politics of the disabled to them so they can vote the right leaders who understand and feel the pain of the PWDs.
In Karamoja, like is the case in many parts of Uganda, tradition runs deep and the challenges for women, especially disabled women, are immense.
According to Lomeo Peter Abrams, the district chairperson for PWDs in Kotido District and Municipality, stigmatization and cultural norms remain serious obstacles that have affected women in politics despite support from the government and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) that advocate for women’s empowerment.
“When you look at Akiriket, women are not allowed to speak before men. Capacity building through sensitization meetings should be emphasized to enable people to know their rights,” says Lomeo.
What the elders are saying?
For so long, according to Mzee Adei Peter, the interim Cultural Leader of Karamoja Cultural Union that’s based in Nyakwea, Abim District, women were not allowed to participate in politics because they were by divine design, under men and were expected to stay at home while men attended important public events and meetings.
“Today, the trend is different; many women have come up to defy that. Unfortunately, some women, when they become leaders, they separate from their husbands because they are empowered.
As elders today, we have encouraged and allowed women to join different elective positions since we know they can contribute to the development of the country,” said Elder Adei Peter.
Elder Igira Gabriel Apanalem, the chairperson of the Elders Council in Kotido District, contends that previously, Karamoja most women were illiterate and so were not allowed to make decisions or hold a public opinion.
However, the trend has changed, and women are now joining elective positions.
Nachap Achen, a youth from Rom Rom Parish, West Division, Kotido, reiterates the importance of women participating in leadership positions, whether literate or not, because many natural leaders and have the passion to voice issues affecting the people.
With empowerment programs in place, Achen is hopeful that many young people will join leadership positions, unlike in the past where female youth were not confident that they could compete with men in the political races.
“Women can represent us well since they know what to prioritize and deliver. I have elected women who come up to join the political race,” said Loiki Maria from Loletio Panyangara Sub-County.
Male voters, including Turkan Lotyang from Rom Rom, explained that women possess good leadership skills compared to male counterparts, and in the past, women were not allowed to express them abilities to represent the community.
Lokure Paul, a resident of the same area wondered why women are still outnumbered in the political field despite possessing unique abilities and attaining high illiteracy levels in the region.
“Women have come up to challenge men in directly elective seats because they know the challenges people face. Unlike men, I will vote for any woman in the general elections because they take leadership issues seriously and close to their hearts just like the families they manage,” said Lokure.
Journey on Women Empowerment in Political Positions in Karamoja.
Women in Karamoja are increasingly stepping into leadership roles and driving development in the sub-region, thanks to interventions on empowerment and advocacy programs targeting women in leadership by different organizations, including NARWO, an umbrella Community-Based Organization for women groups based in Kotido, and Karamoja Women Umbrella Organization (KAWUO) in Moroto.
KAWUO, an organization that advocates for women empowerment and rights, is implementing a project on women empowerment action and voice in the five districts of Abim, Napak, Kaabong, and Nakapiripirit with support from the Embassies of Ireland, Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands.
This project is aimed at promoting gender-responsive governance by enhancing women’s participation and influence in decision-making processes in formal and informal spaces in Karamoja.
According to Odelok Thomas, the executive director of KAWOU, women in Karamoja face many challenges hindering their participation, including the monetization of politics and the mindset or general public belief that men are better leaders than women.
He observed the common belief that women are weak and can only take care of children at home and bring dowry for the family must be dismantled.
To address this, they have trained over 300 women with support from partners in leadership, human rights, and understanding the legal framework to strengthen their capacity and civic engagements to create a conducive environment for women in political spaces and contribute effectively to decision-making.
Ataa Jessica Ruth, a women activist and the Executive Director of Nakere Rural Women Activists-NARWOA Kotido, agrees that cultural norms that are upheld in patriarchal society have been a barrier to women’s participation.
“There are positions that people feel cannot be touched by women as they are supposedly gazetted for men alone,” Ataa says.
She said as a woman-led CBO, they have built the capacity of women on leadership skills and public speaking through training that has empowered and encouraged several women to join directly elective positions, including the LCIII seat, where several women have come up to compete with men in the 2026 general elections.
High levels of illiteracy among women have also been blamed for the low participation as some elective positions require high minimum academic qualifications
Atta also emphasizes the financial constraints limiting funding of political campaign activities by female aspirants, calling upon the government to have affirmative action funding for women candidates during campaigns.
They are working to empower women through self-help income-generating activities channeled through government programs so that they have resources for campaigns, added Ataa.
Call for gender-responsive environment
According to Odelok Thomas, the Executive Director of Karamoja Women Ambrella Organisation (KAWOU), cultural norms should be transformed in collaboration with cultural and religious leaders and local government leaders to create a gender-responsive environment.
Odelok also calls for amendments to electoral laws to allow the Electoral Commission the relax requirements for women due to high illiteracy levels among women.
He also emphasised the need to tackle the issue of monetization of politics through voter civic education before, during, and after elections since women are vulnerable and may not know their rights.
According to Ataa, the Electoral Commission needs to also make amendments in the electoral processes to provide a leveled playing ground for both female and male candidates at all levels of leadership.
She urged that electoral areas for women’s positions should be split to ensure equal representation, citing the Woman Member of Parliament who represents the whole district compared to constituency and Municipality representation, which she says hinders effective service delivery.
In countries like Burundi, Rwanda, Somalia, and Sudan, persuasive storytelling by women leaders has proved effective in shifting social norms about women’s public and political participation.
It’s thus hoped that such interventions, once replicated here in Uganda will go along way in increasing women’s participation in leadership
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