Dispatches from the Frontlines of a Student Body Election

In celebration of International Women’s Day and the African Women’s Leadership Conference at Wellesley College, Scholars explain how gender has shaped their leadership journeys. Sandra Nabulega studies Statistics. She is a Scholar in the Program at Makerere University.

I come from a society where culture demands women to kneel for men as a sign of respect. As a young girl, it was a gesture that reminded me every day of the place I was meant to occupy in my community.

Women participation in leadership has been minimal because of male dominance and the cultural practice of excluding women from leadership opportunities. African women are under-represented as voters, as well as in elected leadership positions. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report, Sub-Saharan Africa has closed just 18 percent of its gender gap in politics. Only 22.5 percent of all African parliamentarians are women. Rwanda leads the way, where nearly 64 percent of parliamentarians are women. Senegal and South Africa are also leading, with 43 percent and 42 percent of seats.

Whether it means sitting in parliament, holding a ministerial position, or leading as a head of state, Sub-Saharan Africa remains the third most challenging region of the world for women to rise to positions of leadership in government. All this, despite women’s proven abilities as leaders and agents of change and their right to participate equally in democratic governance.

This reality extends to Makerere University, in Kampala, Uganda, where I contested and won the position of Women’s Affair Minister for my residence hall. According to the Planning and Development Unit 2018 at Makerere University, 44 percent of the over 40,000 student body are young women, but only five women have held the guild president position since the university’s creation in 1922.

This year’s guild presidential race was no different – it attracted fourteen candidates, of which only three were young women.

It is generally accepted that to win a guild presidential race at Makerere University, one must plan for heavy spending. In a country where three out of every five unemployed people are women according to Uganda Bureau of Statistics, investing resources is much harder for women candidates.

This year, however, all three female candidates were able to secure funding from various parties, individuals and organisations. At Makerere University, electoral financial support is usually attached to a political party or to tribal affiliations, which can provide both financial and moral support to the candidate.

Yet for women, this equation is far more complex. Beyond political and tribal affiliation, a woman set on winning a campus election must also mobilize male student fraternities, as these communities often vote in higher rates than young women. For a young woman with a strong passion for ethical leadership, the only option is to run on an independent ticket and to mobilise personal resources with the support of friends and family.

I faced many of these issues when I stepped into campus politics. I learned the complexities of the system I was facing: at Makerere, each young woman’s hall of residence is affiliated to a male hall of residence, encouraging a strong sense of solidarity among students. Often, decisions made by the female halls are influenced by their male counterparts, but the opposite is not also true.

When I contested for the position of Women’s Affair Minister at Mary Stuart Hall a female students’ hall of residence. I had spent an entire year observing and noticing the loopholes and areas which needed immediate improvement in the residence hall. I thought it would be a simple race. I had clearly stated ambitions and goals in my electoral manifesto. I also believed in my plan – it was thoughtful, and I was certain it would persuade other residents of Mary Stuart Hall that it would set us on the path to greatness again.

I was wrong.

It was during the campaigns that I was faced with the ‘Lumumbists,’ young men living in Mary Stuart Hall’s adjoining male residence, Lumumba Hall, one of the most powerful political student bodies at Makerere University.

Lumumba Hall has traditionally held control of female nominations at Mary Stuart Hall. During the election, young women were instructed to vote for anyone the young men had decided worthy of their support. For example, young men imposed requirements around beauty, tribe, course of study and financial status. It was a statement of values: young women, the unattractive, those studying in fields deemed unworthy, and the economically disadvantaged need not apply.

But I held strong. I was outspoken, which directly contradicted the idea that women are meant to be soft-spoken and followers rather than leaders. I intensely advocated and reminded my fellow women students to stand for their rights, to vote for the person they believe would faithfully serve them, and to base their decision on manifestos and capabilities of each candidate.

During the race, I was the only one who strongly encouraged and reminded the young women of Mary Stuart Hall to always practice their decision-making power for the betterment of our community, and not for the benefit of Lumumba Hall.

Reminding my sisters that we, as women, have the power to decide for ourselves was not only about strategy, but about bringing the women of Mary Stuart Hall together as a community.

Succeeding despite the odds has given me the opportunity to prove the capacity of women in leadership.  I continue to forge networks and alliances within the student body, strategies that allow me to be responsive to their needs. Working for others is a powerful reminder that one is never alone, but rather, than there is strength in community.

Running in my first election has shown me that women can lead in any sector, any field, and at any level. When we believe in ourselves, and in our fellow women, we are unstoppable.

That a woman should kneel for no man, and rather, stand on her own two feet.

Sandra’s story is part of a series for International Women’s Day that is highlighting stories from Mastercard Foundation Scholars about how gender has shaped their leadership journeys. Continue reading more posts in the series here.