African Woman Magazine

52 Places to Go in 2020: Uganda

nytimes.com Explore our list of 52 places to go in 2020, selected by New York Times Travel editors.

The woman who invented Mother's Day came to hate it

Why? read.

cnn.com Mother's Day founder Anna Jarvis was so mad, she even went after Eleanor Roosevelt.

You kidding us right now?

Sylvia Damalie Owori

ARE WE GETTING THE GENDER BALANCE CONVERSATION RIGHT IN UGANDA? THE TIME IS NOW!!!.

Here is the speech exactly as i delivered it yesterday during my Keynote Address at a Women's day Dinner hosted by Mrs. Margaret Kyambadde at BMK House Kampala.

Good Evening ladies and others ☺
It is such an enormous honor to be standing here, amongst you, so many strong women, some of whom I deeply admire. Thank you so much for inviting me to this beautiful special day we pause to celebrate women and girls and their achievements, and the day we take stock of the progress made on achieving Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment.

Many of you here in this room today are eminent women who have broken glass ceilings, pushed the frontiers of women’s leadership and have paved the path for other women and girls to follow in their footsteps and become future leaders of Uganda and for that we need to celebrate every day, not just on this day the 8th of March.

From your stance and areas of influence, you demonstrate on a daily that when a woman's voice is heard, when she participates in decision making and when she exercises in leadership and top management, she most likely brings something unique, special and of high value and quality to key decisions and its impact on our nations biggest problems.

You know this because you fight gender imbalance and other many issues affecting women in the country such as maternal health, Gender Based Violence, Misogyny, Gender pay gap etc. on a daily basis all over the world.

Women as agents of change is not a new concept; throughout history, women have led movements for change at every level and been a vital part of that change – political, economic and social. The story of women as change agents is very compelling - one of the grit and tenacity of ordinary women who have transformed themselves, their families and their communities, while battling against great odds. Often they were not noted or remembered. This is also the story of women who have left their mark on global governance, democracy, development and peace.

As this years International Women’s Day theme says “Better the Balance, Better the World.” as a call to action for a gender-balanced world, women in many countries have come a long way, yet there is still a lot of work to be done in Uganda and even around the world.

My message today is simple: we need a 21st century mentality for women’s economic participation and gender balance.

We need to flush away the debris of ingrained gender inequality; When it comes to thinking about women attaining higher positions in society or at the workplace, we are too often blinded by the daggers and bugs of the mind, that mire us in the prejudices of the past.

Solving the gender gap is a complex multi-faced issue requiring an equally multi-faceted approach. However I think one piece of the puzzle and perhaps the most pressing one for our women in our patriarchal Uganda requires the emboldening women to back themselves more and doubt themselves less.

Having wrestled with my own share of self-doubt in many instances through my career for example when I was just been appointed in the Highest Office in the Land which as you know is very much male dominated, I know there is no quick fix or magic bullet for building self-confidence or permanently eradicating self-doubt in us as women in Uganda that are constantly put down by our patriarchal society

Yet after working with thousands of women across diverse professions and cultural backgrounds ever since I started out in fashion and media many years ago and now with this work of Mine as the Public – Private Community Partnerships Executive Assistant to the Chief coordinator of OWC, I’ve learned that nothing builds confidence in any arena more than stepping right into the middle of it…palms sweating, stomach knotted, beside these intimidating guys...despite the chorus of doubts urging you to play it safe in the opinions.

Too often we women also perhaps overestimate the risks and underestimate our estimate Only by doing the very things we’re afraid of, can we come to realize how little reason we ever had to fear.
The only way to build confidence and courage is by acting with it.
We need to, as I like to say to young girls I encounter, Dare, to Dream, Dare the difference”. To “dare” is to take risks, to step out of our cozy comfort zones, to let hope extinguish fear and courage conquer timidity.
Fortune does favor the bold and you'll never know what you're capable of if you don't try

I’m saying that we need to be good examples and role models with regards to confidence and self-belief when it comes to gender equality. Many of you here as well accomplished women in the country should be these examples. We therefore should fight for gender-balanced boards, panels, workforces etc at your respective firms or organizations.

OKAY, men make great leaders. But so do women. And the world needs the full quota of what women have to bring because, as study after study has also found, it just makes very good business sense to have women at such high stances.
I’m personally a champion of the quota system the same way I’m for meritocracy especially In the corporate Uganda and leadership/governance but the people who put up the case against these gender quotas often involve the argument of merit. The logic is that we should recruit on the basis of merit, not gender. This is a myth used of course to justify the privilege-based status quo of only “old boys” networks deny competent women a shot at management positions because of their gender.
Merit and quotas are not mutually exclusive in fact, quotas are essential to a meritocratic system for they open up opportunities to everyone.

Small things or gestures like encouraging a girl child to find her dreams and mentoring her to be able to achieve them; appreciating the efforts and helping another woman at your office treating all children equal boy or girl; can positively and tremendously help a woman believe in herself and increase her self-confidence by letting her take some important decisions that make her feel safe and able. This way more effective than any of these lofty women’s day celebrations will ultimately ever achieve.

Exploit the possibilities of Social Media in a positive way; it will raise awareness and put pressure faster and easier than some years ago. I was happy to participate in a recent campaign by the United Nation Uganda which raises awareness against Gender based Violence.

Ladies, THE TIME IS NOW! The Sustainable Dev’t Goals are our today but it is also about our collective tomorrow and gender equality is our destination. The time has come to not allow out our ignitions to always limit the way we think about something’s

So, on this International Women’s Day, let us DARE, DREAM AND DO! Demand gender equality and women’s empowerment together.

Let us declare loud and clear “The Time is Now”.
THANK YOU GOOD EVENING

🤣🤣🤣

Ridiculous Vintage Bridesmaids Dresses

Just one !
Happy

Monday Mood Grace Jones

Comparing yourself to others only steals your joy. Remember that we’re all on a highway not a race track, we’re on different life journeys to different destinations. Embrace the freedom this gives you to help and celebrate fellow travellers with a pure and open heart.CC Nancy Kacungira

Black Panther's Costume Designer Just Won Her First Oscar—Here's the Message She's Hoping to Send

oprahmag.com She's championed African American stories for over 30 years.

Aliet Sarah, a South Sudanese Model groomed/trained in Uganda is a rising star at Milan Fashion Week.
She walked for Alberta Ferretti, JW Anderson and Bottega Venneta

😎

Beautiful Modern Double Story Dream Home Designs

Karl Lagerfeld has passed away.
He wan icon of global fashion industry for over half a century. He was known for being the creative director at Chanel, Fendi and launching his own label
Rest In Power Karl. 🙏

Mrs. Carter for Valentine's Day ❤🔥⚡

Yes, 2019 Grammys were Cardis and Michelle Obama’s ? 💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽

Jordan Peele with Lupita Nyong'o

South Sudanese couple's 1 billion dollar wedding breaks the Internet

🤔🤔🤔

briefly.co.za The personal assistant to President Salva Kiir Mayardit of South Sudan has reportedly tied the knot with her boo in an extravagant wedding that got people talking on social media. The couple booked three venues for one week.

Mum guilty of girl's ge***al mutilation

The mother of the three year old was born in Uganda but has lived in the UK for a number of years and she has become the first person in the UK to be found guilty of female ge***al mutilation (FGM).

bbc.com The case, which involved the woman's daughter, is the first FGM conviction in the UK.

3 HIV+ young women talk about their love, s*x life with HIV- partners

👌🏾💪🏿

watchdoguganda.com Being a young person living with HIV can be a dark period if you don't have information and a support

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Irene ntale !!!

Face2Face Africa

ICYMI: The female star, who has chalked huge successes in her career has her father, Leonard Francois, to thank for.

Click to read more:

Hip High Slits and Harnesses are officially in.
What was your best dress at last nights SAG awards ?

How we pose right after our facebeat and the contouring is lit. 🤣

How black women were whitewashed by art

All it takes is a few minutes of searching ‘Queen of Sheba painting’ on Google Images to see a litany of reclining, exoticised white women glancing languorously either at the viewer or King Solomon.

bbc.com Where are all the beautiful, powerful, black-skinned females from mythology and history? They were erased by Western art, argues Sophia Smith Galer.

Ugandan -groomed model Ayak Veronica , debut her international Model career this season in Paris as an EXCLUSIVE for VALENTINO walking for VALENTINO HAUTE COUTURE S/S19 by alongside the biggest super Models in world including Naomi Campbell & Alek Wek, Adut Aketch, Shanelle Nyasaise amongst others
Congs Veronica

Have a look at these wonderful artworks from Malabo?

Doppelgänger!
Genevieve Nnaji Official. And daughter 😻

Photos show the incredible sculpted physique of miners in Cameroon

dailymail.co.uk

Happy 60th Sade 😍

Eddy Kenzo says Hello. 😊

Athleisure through the a Uganda perspective😍.

Dare to brighten your look this year ,
Unis*x mesh 🇺🇬 inspired track suits
Available in stores now.
Sylvia Owori | Garden City
Bold in Africa | Acacia Avenue
Kampala Serena Hotel and Lake Victoria Serena Resort .
Call/Whatsapp for more +256776262218
Swift deliveries worldwide are available, Free deliveries within Kampala.

Congratulations to the Kabuuras ❤️

Stars of film and TV gathered in Los Angeles last for the 76th annual Golden Globes - the first major ceremony of the 2019 awards season.
Here are some of the powerful photos from the red carpet.
Images by Getty.

Congs Hellen .