The passing of Rhoda Kalema brings to an end the poster child of female political activism in Uganda, one whose legacy in pushing for democratic credentials in this country will long live on.
A founding member of the Uganda Patriotic Movement, on which the ruling party – the National Resistance Movement – traces its roots, Kalema will be remembered for many things, none bigger than being a trailblazer of many firsts.
Kalema, who grew up in the royal palace of Buganda and would later join prestigious schools such as Gayaza High School and King’s College Budo, was the first girl to enroll for a commercial course at a time when boys were dorminant.
In breaking the glass ceiling of how far girls could exploit their potential, Kalema opened a number of doors for many young women. The widening of civic space for women in Uganda – from the fight for equal rights to being at the high table of decision-making of the country – cannot be discussed without the contribution of Rhoda Kalema.
There is a temptation for one to think that the rights that women enjoy in Uganda today were delivered on a silver platter. That is not true. Women like Kalema confronted powerful men like President Idi Amin, like when she lobbied for a safe return for her husband who was on forced exile, and pushed the boundaries of how far women could go.
There are lessons to learn from Rhoda Kalema’s life, one obviously being the resilience she embodied – she was four years shy of celebrating a century on this earth – and the perseverance she encountered through tragedy when she lost her sister at a young age to a lightning strike, and later her father to a brutal assassin.
Rhoda Kalema might have been born in a family of privilege, but she taught many girls that the fight for more civic space can only be won through grit: combining diplomatic negotiations with those who hold power and, sometimes, using peaceful and forceful pushbacks. Rest in Peace, you great woman!
Comments are closed.