As a commemoration activity for the International Women’s day celebrations, Because of Her Uganda, a feminist youth-led organisation, organized an exhibition to honour the resilience, creativity and contributions of Ugandan women throughout history.
The exhibition, at Makerere University art gallery, started on March 7, 2025, and is due to close on March 19. Twin sisters Portia Uwera and Keshia Kenyangi, the founders of Because of Her Uganda, said this was their fourth exhibition.
The exhibition, with free entry, includes display of artworks and biographies of Ugandan women that deserve to be remembered. It aims to shine a light on the often-overlooked contributions of women in Uganda’s social, political and artistic landscapes.
“Our vision is to mainstream our history to ensure that when you are telling the story of how a country was founded, the story of how culture is formed, women are not left out or wrongly placed and yet they have been part of that big growth,” Uwera said.
She added that the exhibition is part of a larger movement to keep and celebrate the legacy of Ugandan women and integrate it into conversations about gender equality, inspiring younger generations to see themselves reflected in Uganda’s history.
PRE-COLONIAL CESAREAN SECTIONS
At the start of the exhibition are pieces that speak on the Ugandan women’s contribution to science. The section on “Cesarean section births in pre-colonial Uganda” captures the unbreakable spirit of Ugandan women that was both remarkable and groundbreaking.
Unlike in many parts where c-sections were always fatal for the mother before modern Western medicine, Ugandan traditional healers had already developed advanced surgical techniques that amazed European doctors.
One of the well-documented cases comes from 1879, when British explorer, Robert W Felkin observed a successful c-section surgery performed by Baganda healers and then wrote about it in the Edinburgh Medical Journal in 1884.
At that time, European medicine considered c-section extremely dangerous and was done only if the mother had already died or was dying, but the healers from many parts of Uganda had mastered the procedure that saved both mother and child.
According to Felkin’s account, the mother was made to sit semi-up-right, she was given banana wine to drink which acted as a sedative, pain reliever and disinfectant. The healer then made a vertical clean incision with an iron knife down the middle of the abdomen ensuring no abdominal muscles were harmed.
The layers of the tissue were carefully separated by hand to reduce bleeding and once the uterus was exposed, another incision was made to extract the baby. The umbilical cord was immediately cut and tied and the baby was handed to an assistant for cleaning. The healer proceeded to massage the uterus and remove the placenta.
To stop the bleeding, the woman healer used a hot iron rod to cauterize the bleeding vessels, a technique similar to modern-day cautery. Then a mixture of herbal medicines was immediately applied to the wound.
Another striking piece told the story of how the Ugandan women before colonialism mastered the art of the lunar cycles as they made moon beads to help keep track of their menstrual cycles long before calendars and clocks marketed time.
In a world where oral traditions held deep wisdom, Ugandan women handcrafted a cycle tracking system that has been passed down through generations
FIVE FEMALE UGANdA MARTYRS
At the heart of the exhibition, were other Ugandan firsts, such as the five first female Uganda martyrs Princess ‘Kalala’ Clara Catherine Nalumansi, Sarah Nakima Nalwanga, Kikuvambuga, Maria Matilda Ma- nuku and Valeria Mmeeme who were condemned for refusing to renounce Christianity during the time of Kabaka Mwanga.
Uwera commended the resilience of Princess Clara Nalumansi (one of the martyrs) as she told Princess Naalinya of her relatives’ struggle. She explained that during her research on Ugandan women, she found Princess Clara, a woman that was stripped of her noble title, dragged from the palace in shame as the gathered crowd spat and threw objects at her.
Clara was demeaned and enslaved for standing her ground. Years later, Christianity triumphed and the martyrs were honoured. Now Princess Clara stands among the legendary women that defied their kings for their faith although her story is less known than that of the male martyrs, but she showed that even royalty is not beyond the power of spiritual conviction.
QUEEN MUHUMUZA: WARRIOR PROPHETESS OF KIGEZI
Another prominent person in the exhibition is prophetess Queen Muhumuza of Kigezi, a woman that defied both kings and colonial (British and German) powers to thrive on her throne. She was like an Amazonian in modern-day terms.
Originally from Rwanda where her husband King Kigeli IV had died in 1895, Muhumuza made a name as a fearless warrior using the Nyabingi spiritual powers. Even when later the British captured him and exiled him to Kampala, he kept preaching the message of resistance to colonialism.
Her spirit inspired new generations of rebels that carried on the Nyabingi movement which later influenced anti-colonial struggles in Uganda, Rwanda and even faraway Jamaica. Her legacy proves that women can be leaders, warriors and spiritual icons.
PAULINE M. BANGIRANA SHAKES POLICE
Also on exhibition is Pauline Maniraguha Bangirana, the first female police officer to go on patrol. She was one of 10 women that joined in 1960; by the time she retired, she had become a superintendent of police and was awarded the police centenary medal.
At that time police women were not allowed to marry, and it was an abomination for them to get pregnant; when they did, they had to exit the police force. Pauline was the first woman to stand against this rule when she got pregnant, and she won.
Then Justice Leticia Mukasa Kikonyogo, the first female judge, first female chief magistrate and also Uganda’s first female Supreme court judge. In 2001, she became the first female deputy chief justice.
Her career in a male-dominated judiciary system was not without barriers; she was allocated the smallest chambers in the court buildings and sometimes was made to sit with magistrates as she was not recognised as a judge!
The exhibition features many astonishing Ugandan women in all sectors of life in the fashion world, entertainment, politics and justice; women like Princess Elizabeth Bagaya, a runway model and Uganda’s first female lawyer.
Others on display include Gladys Kalema Zikusooka, Mariam Luyombo, Joan Kembabazi, Phyllis Kyomuhendo, Sandra Adong Oder, Patricia Twasiima, Canon Janet Wesonga, Edith Mary Bataringaya, Betty Okino, Husnah Kukundakwe, Andan Busingye.
