Specioza Kazibwe

Specioza Wandira Kazibwe 2015

Specioza Naigaga Wandira Kazibwe (born July 1, 1955 in Iganga , Eastern Uganda ) is a Ugandan politician, women's rights activist and former vice-president.

Life

After studying medicine at Makerere University in Kampala , she worked as a doctor.

She began her political career as a member of the youth and women's organization of the Ugandan Democratic Party (UDP). In the early 1980s she became the local chairman of the “National Resistance Movement” (NRM) founded by Yoweri Museveni . After working as a women's representative for the NRM in the Kampala district, she was chairwoman of the campaign advisory commission of Museveni when he ran for the presidency in 1986.

In 1989, Prime Minister Samson Kisekka appointed her Deputy Minister for Industry. In the successor government of George Cosmas Adyebo , she was Minister for Gender and Social Development from January 22, 1991.

In 1994 Dr. Kazibwe to succeed Kisekka Vice President of Uganda. She was the first African woman to hold such an office. She was also Minister for Agriculture, Livestock Industry and Fisheries. In 1994 she was elected to the Constituent Assembly and in 1996 as a member of parliament for the constituency of Kigulu South.

In 1998 she founded the African Women Committee on Peace and Development (AWCDP) in collaboration with the Organization for African Unity and the UN Economic Commission for Africa.

She resigned from political office on May 21, 2003 after filing for divorce in April 2002 from her husband, whom she accused of domestic violence. This was a “political issue” by Ugandan standards, since acts of violence against women and multiple marriages are quite common in Uganda, but applications for divorce (by women) are rather rare. By showing her in public, she broke a taboo in Ugandan society.

Later, Dr. Kazibwe studied medicine at Harvard University .

Awards

• 1998 "Ceres Medal" of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

Web links

• Short biography on the homepage of the East Africa Center for Constitutional Development
• BBC message about violence against women in Uganda
• Article after the resignation as Vice President on the topic of women's rights in Uganda in the "Christian Science Monitor"