Commonwealth Women Leaders’ Summit
Glad Tidings from the Commonwealth Women Leaders’ Summit The Chairperson of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians reports from the first Commonwealth Women Leaders’ Summit.
Rt Hon. Rebecca A. Kadaga MP
is the Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda and Chairperson of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP). A lawyer by profession, she holds a Master’s Degree and is currently the Speaker of Parliament of Uganda, the third highest position in the national leadership of Uganda. She was the Deputy Speaker of Parliament of Uganda from 2001 to 2011. From 1986-1999, she won accolades of distinguished service in many portfolios when she served as a Cabinet/ State Minister. She played a leading role in women empowerment activities at national and international levels.
Earlier this year in mid-July, I was privileged to be among a special group of women who attended the first ever Commonwealth Women Leaders’ Summit in London, UK. This event brought together visionary women leaders in government, business and civil society from across the Commonwealth to identify practical steps to achieve gender equality and the protection and empowerment of women and girls. What made the Commonwealth Women Leaders’ Summit even more monumental was that this was the inaugural event with massive attendance. However, it is the deliberations and the outcomes of the Summit that ought to be celebrated. A wide range of issues were discussed but primarily they hinged on the purposively selected three thematic areas namely: violence against women and girls; women in leadership and women’s economic empowerment. In my opinion, these are the major impediments to the total emancipation of women within the Commonwealth and beyond. I want to say special thanks to the Commonwealth Secretary-
244 | The Parliamentarian | 2016: Issue Three
General Patricia Scotland for the impeccable organisation and promoting such a great idea. The concrete positions that were reached at the end of the Summit will go a long way to addressing the challenges related to the three thematic areas that were under discussion. The Action Plan that we adopted will be a fundamental guidebook in the quest for achieving freedom for women within our respective countries. I was particularly impressed by the visible and unanimous passionate commitment of women leaders towards the total elimination of all forms of violence against women. Admittedly, violence against women and girls continues to be a serious challenge globally. The current statistics released by UN Women are still a far-cry from the ideal situation. It is estimated that 35% of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/ or sexual intimate partner violence or sexual violence by a nonpartner at some point in their lives. However, some national studies show that up to 70% of women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner in their lifetime. Women who have been
physically or sexually abused by their partners are more than twice as likely to have an abortion, almost twice as likely to experience depression, and in some regions, one and a half times more likely to acquire HIV, as compared to women who have not experienced partner violence. This further justifies the perfect timing of the Women Leaders’ Summit. We were able to push the Commonwealth to start to lead with initiatives such as model laws to strengthen legislation, creating tool kits, co-coordinating collaborations, sharing best practice, rewarding companies with diverse boards, and stepping up its advocacy efforts on behalf of women and girls. We must continue to remind ourselves that a woman or girl who is free from violence has the leverage for the attainment of the best things in life. A second very important aspect that was scrutinised during the Summit was the aspect of women in leadership. On a personal note as the sitting Chairperson of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP), this aspect was of particular interest. Our principal target as CWP is