In its global effort to realize UN Security Council Resolution 1325, Uganda has emerged as a compelling, albeit still evolving, case study for women’s political integration. While the gap between policy and practice remains a challenge across the African continent, Uganda’s proactive legislative framework offers a grounded example of what happens when gender-inclusive peacebuilding is treated as a priority rather than an afterthought.

On October 31, 2000, a political breakthrough seemed to have been achieved. With the adoption of Resolution 1325, the UN Security Council recognized that there can be no sustainable peace without the participation and leadership of women. The document emphasized “the important role of women in conflict prevention” and the importance of their “involvement in all peace efforts … and related decision-making processes.” For the international community, the resolution was intended not only as a well-meaning declaration of intent, but also as a binding mandate. It urged all UN member states to systematically involve women and their experiences in peace efforts, prevent gender-based violence and consistently prosecute perpetrators.

Today, this noble project has still not been fully implemented. On the contrary, the latest report on “Women, Peace and Security” by the UN Secretariat reveals that the reality could hardly be more sobering. In 2024, 676 million women — almost 17% of the world’s female population — were living in close proximity to a “deadly conflict event.” Between 2023 and 2024, the number of women and children killed in armed conflicts quadrupled compared with the previous two-year period. Sexual violence in conflicts increased by 87% between 2022 and 2024. In an increasingly militarized world, the grand promise of women’s inclusion seems to have degenerated into empty rhetoric.

Globally, despite indisputable evidence that women’s involvement leads to more stable peace processes, women remain largely excluded. Although they make up almost 30% of parliamentarians worldwide, this presence rarely translates into real decision-making power. Only 24 (25 with Kosovo) countries have women at the helm of government, such as President Maia Sandu in Moldova, President Samia Suluhu Hassan in Tanzania and President Claudia Sheinbaum in Mexico. In contrast, 103 nations have never had a female head of state. 

The distribution of ministerial portfolios remains highly gendered: Women cabinet ministers are most commonly appointed to areas such as education, culture, human rights, social protection and social security, social affairs, social inclusion and development, and family and children’s affairs, while strategically influential portfolios such as finance and defense continue to be dominated by men. Minor statistical advances thus obscure the fact that patriarchal structures continue to solidify without far-reaching reforms.

Although numerous states have now developed national action plans to implement Resolution 1325, the practical impact on the reality of women’s lives remains limited. In 2024, women were not represented as negotiators in nine out of ten peace processes, accounting for only 7% of negotiating delegations and 14% of mediators worldwide.

From resolution to reality

Despite a series of discouraging statistics, rays of hope are emerging from countries where these international commitments have been implemented and are having an impact. 

Uganda is often cited as a positive example. As early as 2008, it became one of the first African states to incorporate elements of the “Women, Peace and Security” agenda into state structures and create formal spaces for women’s participation. 

Uganda’s comparatively high proportion of women in parliament stands at 34.1% as of late 2025, surpassing rates in major Western democracies such as Germany. Nevertheless, political power remains highly concentrated. Although women hold political office, they ultimately operate within a strictly presidential system dominated by President Yoweri Museveni for almost four decades. Consequently, political opposition, civil society and independent control mechanisms remain systematically limited. 

In the realm of foreign policy, programs promoting gender equality signal progress, secure international recognition and attract external funding streams into the country. This narrative is particularly appealing to Western donors. However, it does little to change the structural balance of power. As the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) shows, Uganda’s democratic institutions remain limited in their ability to act, while real political power continues to be reserved for a small political elite.

Nevertheless, Uganda demonstrates that progress can be achieved even in the face of the aftermath of conflict and entrenched power structures that resist sustainable change. A society can only realize its full potential when all members are included. By involving women in governance and peacebuilding processes, governments help unlock the capacities and perspectives of the entire population. Significant progress then becomes possible. Uganda has maintained peace and relative stability for over three decades. It has driven economic growth and aims to achieve middle-income status by 2040. 

This ambivalence between social and political obstacles and tangible progress for women is omnipresent in Uganda. In rural areas, women who have fewer children than the national average often receive less social respect. Furthermore, around half of all Ugandan women between the ages of 15 and 19 have experienced physical violence. In the agricultural sector, women are responsible for most of the physical labor, yet men continue to control the distribution of goods and profits.

These systemic conditions are changing slowly. Property rights and inheritance laws remain heavily biased in favor of men. The state has tried for years to strengthen women’s legal position, but cultural and constitutional norms have prevented significant breakthroughs. For instance, a widow who uses shared land or a house after her husband’s death often faces criticism and sanctions. Meanwhile, polygamy stays legally protected and culturally entrenched. The Ugandan Constitutional Court recently reaffirmed this protection. It ruled that religious freedom takes precedence over anti-discrimination protections for women.

New opportunities or strategic calculations?

Uganda has a distinctive and increasingly egalitarian corporate culture. The country is now one of seven countries worldwide that have achieved gender parity in the business world. Even though the employment rate has fallen since 2012, it remains relatively high for women compared to other sub-Saharan African nations. Nevertheless, the COVID-19 pandemic strained labor markets and hit women harder than men.

The positive developments of a more women-oriented policy show clear progress in Uganda. Genital mutilation has declined significantly. Women can now report sexual violence to the police using special forms and trained officers. Many communities now have socially respected female peace mediators. In the economy, projects such as African Girls Can Code teach young women programming skills for the IT sector, where they remain severely underrepresented. Similar training programs have been created in other historically male-dominated domains, such as automotive engineering, despite limited job opportunities for women. 

The Ugandan government provides aspiring female entrepreneurs with access to financing tools through the national gender ministry. The Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Program offers interest-free loans to local women’s groups. The World Bank-funded GROW project promotes the scaling up of businesses through reduced interest rates. In addition, the state-owned Uganda Development Bank provides capital for larger investments through its Women Prosper Loans.

However, these initiatives reveal a strategic motivation for the Museveni government. The targeted promotion of women could serve as an instrument of “gender diplomacy” to generate international prestige and secure global funding. In a system with weakened parliamentary control, these programs project Uganda as a progressive model.

No change from above without initiatives from below

Many measures in Uganda go beyond symbolic politics. They create lasting institutional structures that support women and strengthen their long-term participation and visibility. The central foundation of these developments was early and systematic anchoring of gender strategies at the national level, even if the government’s motivation was driven more by power politics than feminist convictions. Unlike many other UN member states, Uganda developed national action plans for implementing Resolution 1325 at an early stage and established programs to promote women in politics, business and education. These initiatives were consistently implemented within state structures that gave them binding force. Even male officials rarely challenged them openly. 

However, it is civil society — not the state  — that influences the true success of these measures. Government structures are most effective when civil society brings them to life. In Uganda, almost all relevant programs are closely linked to international organizations, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) or external donors. This reveals the country’s heavy dependence on foreign funding. Ugandan women, together with international organizations, develop ideas, implement projects and anchor them in their communities. Consequently, progress is most visible where women act as political and social actors, not just program targets.

An impressive example of this is the Bwera United Women with Disabilities Association (BUDWA), which enables women with disabilities to participate fully in society. Founded by a woman suffering from polio, the organization now gives more than 20 women the opportunity to earn their own income despite their disabilities. At the beginning of the 2000s, such a development would have been unthinkable in Uganda. At that time, people with disabilities were largely marginalized. Projects such as BUDWA indicate that targeted civil society engagement can break social barriers and promote inclusion.

The key to success seems to hinge on the fact that political measures usually start at the community level. Local authorities, the police and the general population are involved in training programs. These measures take into account the concerns and customs of local residents. This approach makes it easier to establish new ways of thinking step by step.

Dependencies, roadblocks and real change

Uganda’s gender equality policy remains a balancing act. On the one hand, government credit programs and support from international organizations have had an impact: Public awareness of empowerment has grown, and active NGOs help women transform their economic realities from the bottom up. However, this progress hits a rigid glass ceiling. Despite progressive legislation, a huge gap persists between aspirations and social reality.

This gap is particularly evident in land ownership. Laws have abolished male privileges, but BTI data reveal men still control nearly all land. Without property titles, women lack collateral for loans and the means to build their own assets. As a result, good initiatives often falter in the face of unequal educational opportunities and traditional claims to power. True change is taking place, but sustainable advancement remains difficult. Political programs primarily seek international prestige rather than breaking down deep-rooted patriarchal barriers in education and inheritance law.

Nevertheless, young Ugandan women today dare to dream big.

[The author’s research trip to Uganda was funded by the DGVN (German Society for the United Nations).]

[Gena Renée Mathews edited this piece.]

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.