'PARTY POLITICS UNDERMINE WOMEN'
By Milton Olupot

February 11, 2004 – (New Vision - Kampala) Women Parliamentarians have said party systems in African countries have undermined effective participation of women in politics.

The Uganda women parliamentarians who took part in a regional African meeting for women MPs in Lilongwe, Malawi, were addressing a press conference in Kampala yesterday.

In a statement read by Betty Amongi (Apac) they said, "As we open up political space, we realise that Ugandan women face a challenge of engendering our multiparty democracy so that the women's position in Uganda is not undermined by the new political system.

Other MPs who attended the meeting included parliamentary affairs minister Hope Mwesigye, Loyce Bwambale (Kase-se) and Dorothy Hyuha (Tororo).

They said the meeting reaffirmed the fact that despite global legal framework that prohibits discrimination based on sex, many women were still facing oppression throughout Africa.

Amongi said other participants were fascinated by Uganda's affirmative action, adding that other leaders had not yet grasped the concept.

From: http://allafrica.com/stories/200402120031.html