Militarization of Elections in Uganda: A Growing Threat to Women's Rights

The recent Kawempe North by-election in Uganda on March 13 was marred by violence, torture, and arbitrary arrests, leaving permanent scars on the victims. Olivia Katende, a young woman who attempted to record a campaign speech, was brutally beaten and tortured by Joint Anti-Terrorism Task Force (JATT) operatives. Proscovia Nabossa, another victim, was kicked in the back and left with severe back pain, headaches, and breathing problems. The use of violence against women and girls during elections is a rising trend in Uganda, with a 68% incidence of violence against women voters, according to the 2020 National Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) survey.

Key Takeaways:

• The militarization of Uganda's electoral processes has led to a significant increase in violence against women and girls, with 68% of women voters experiencing violence during the 2020 elections.
• The forms of violence faced by women are distinctively different from those faced by men, including sexual assault, intimidation, and threats, which deter women from participating freely in public life.
• A policy brief from the Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC) argues that campaign periods are characterized by intimidation of voters and candidates, political assassinations, kidnappings, beating voters, and issuing threats.
• Civil rights and human rights activist Crispin Kaheru notes that incidents of violence against women during elections often go unpunished, weakening deterrence and encouraging repetition.
• Female candidates face relentless online abuse, with sexist, personal, and demeaning attacks that can lead to silencing and normalized violence.
• The Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) has initiated a gender desk to track, investigate, and follow up on cases of political violence against women and train security personnel in gender-sensitive and rights-based policing.
• The UHRC is working to make polling stations safer for women ahead of the upcoming 2026 elections by deploying female officers and providing gender-sensitive training to security officials.

Statistics:

• 68% of women voters experienced violence during the 2020 elections (National Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) survey).
• More than 30 women candidates reported cases of violence against them and their supporters during the 2021 elections.
• Spondylolisthesis (a condition where one vertebra in the spine slips forward or backward over the vertebra below it) was diagnosed in at least one of the victims, Proscovia Nabossa.
• Women's rights activist Shiela Kawamara urges female political aspirants and supporters to behave positively and avoid clashing with security forces.
• The EPRC's report calls for public education campaigns throughout the electoral cycle to prevent the perpetration of violence against women in various stages of the electoral process.

Sources:

• "Addressing violence against women during elections in Uganda" policy brief, July 2023, Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC).
• National Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) survey, 2020.
• Crispin Kaheru, civil rights and human rights activist and commissioner at the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC).