A Ugandan Lawyer's Passage From Skeptical Little Girl to 'Pleader for Women'
By Nora Boustany

June 16, 2006 – (The Washington Post) By the time she was 7, Miria Matembe was already aware of the unfairness women and girls endured in Uganda. Her father ran a small kiosk in Mbarara, a trading center in western Uganda, where he sold banana and meat cakes, beans and ground nuts. Her mother stayed home to look after the couple's nine children and raise produce in a small garden for the family. But Matembe's father never gave his wife credit for her hard work. When her parents fell behind on school fees, it was always Miria, not her older brother, who had to stay home until a payment could be made. And on days when her mother had community activities, Miria had to watch her younger siblings, carry produce to market and prepare the evening meal.

"I remember I didn't like it," recalled Matembe, 52, a lawyer, activist and former member of parliament. Matembe is currently in Washington as a Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow with the National Endowment of Democracy. During her time here, she will study women's involvement in the politics of different democracies and attempt to identify ways to boost the participation of women in Ugandan politics.

When she was a child, women from the village would complain to Matembe's mother about being abused at home. Among them was a paternal aunt who took over her husband's parenting role while he stayed away for months at a time working in the city. When he came back, he would beat her. She often took refuge with the Matembes, but her brother would send her home, telling her she was "useless." "I am not useless, I produced sons. When I was a bride, I brought cows into my home as my dowry," Matembe recalled her aunt saying. "That all made me feel worse," Matembe said. "It shaped my interest and the fire inside me. I wanted to fight the status quo, and though living in a rural setting, I yearned for empowerment and for a platform. I dreamed of gathering these women and telling them: 'You are being treated badly.' "

Matembe began studying history in secondary school. Early on, she became interested in law because she wanted to "become a pleader for women," she said. One day when she was 13 and in school, her mother came to take her out of classes and put her in a teacher's training college, where classes were free. Crestfallen, Matembe dragged her mother to the office of the district education officer. "Sir, I want school fees," she told him. She explained her predicament to him. Soon after, she was informed that she could stay in school.

She decided to study law at Makerere University in Kampala. Her father told her that no daughter of his would do any such thing. But she ignored him. He had not paid for her schooling, and the university was free. When she was 21, she met a biochemist, Nekemia Matembe , at a dance party. He had just returned from training in breweries in Scotland. They married and had four sons. She credits him for her success; he gave the babies their bottles and changed them while she worked.

In 1986, Yoweri Museveni became president after his national resistance movement overthrew the dictatorial government. Museveni established a niche for women in the political structure. "I joined," Matembe said. "I was already burning with a desire to speak out. Once I had my platform, the sky was the limit." She started out in the local government council and entered parliament in 1989, representing Mbarara. But her view of the president changed. "It is true he has named women ambassadors and ministers," she said. "The president wants to use women in power so he can remain powerful. He gives them access and presence, but not empowerment. They have no influence on laws."

When Uganda's constitution was changed this year to allow Museveni to run for a third term, Matembe confronted him. "When he wanted to manipulate the constitution to remain in office, I told him: 'What you are doing is corruption.' He dropped me from his cabinet. When I and other deputies ran for our seats again, we were rigged out of the process at the ballot box. "The president has done a lot for health care and social welfare," she said, "but he was always dismissive of us when we really wanted to empower women. 'Wait, hold on, the time is not right, let us do more research,' he would always say."

After 17 years as a legislator, Matembe said, she has two regrets: "My mother did not live long enough to see what I had accomplished, not only for Mbarara but for women in Africa and as a member of the pan-African parliament," she said. And she remains frustrated that after struggling all those years, inheritance and property laws in Uganda remain unchanged. Women can buy or own land only through their fathers, brothers or husbands. Today, Matembe cares for her late brothers' families, paying for their children's education. "Imagine, if I had been put out of school, who would have taken care of the family? It would have been the end," she said.

From: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/15/AR2006061501895.html