Noerine Kaleeba is a Ugandan physiotherapist, educator and AIDS activist. She is the co-founder of the AIDS activism group "The AIDS Support Organization" (TASO). She is currently a program development adviser for the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). She is also the Patron of TASO.
The Agoro Community Development Association (ACDA) is a Non-governmental organization (NGO) that assists the rural Agoro community in northern Uganda’s Lamwo and Kitgum districts. These districts have a religiously and culturally diverse population of over 600,000, most of whom are Acholi. Post Ugandan Independence in 1962 the area has suffered almost continual conflict, persecution & neglect, much of it based on ethnic tensions. Socio-culturally, there has traditionally been deep gender inequality and power imbalance between men and women. Sexual violence, child marriage and lack of respect for property rights against girls and women remain a prevalent, but silent, crime.
Women in Uganda have substantial economic and social responsibilities throughout Uganda's many traditional societies. Ugandan women come from a range of economic and educational backgrounds. Despite economic and social progress throughout the country, domestic violence and sexual assault remain prevalent issues in Uganda. Illiteracy is directly correlated to increased level of domestic violence. This is mainly because household members can not make proper decisions that directly affect their future plans. Government reports suggest rising levels of domestic violence toward women that are directly attributable to poverty.
Rwanda faces a generalized epidemic, with an HIV prevalence rate of 3.1 percent among adults ages 15 to 49. The prevalence rate has remained relatively stable, with an overall decline since the late 1990s, partly due to improved HIV surveillance methodology. In general, HIV prevalence is higher in urban areas than in rural areas, and women are at higher risk of HIV infection than men. Young women ages 15 to 24 are twice as likely to be infected with HIV as young men in the same age group. Populations at higher risk of HIV infection include people in prostitution and men attending clinics for sexually transmitted infections.
Rose Kabuye is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Rwandan Army and remains the highest ranking woman ever to serve in her country's armed forces. She is currently working in the private sector as chief executive officer of Virunga Logistics and Startech Limited but is best known for her work as a fighter for the Rwandan Patriotic Front during the Rwandan Civil War. She subsequently became Mayor of Kigali City, Rwandan Chief of State Protocol, and a member of the Rwandan parliament. Because of her participation in the liberation struggle, she was awarded The Rwandan National Liberation Medal and the Campaign Against Genocide Medal. She was serving as the chief of protocol of Rwandan President Paul Kagame in November 2008 when she was arrested in Frankfurt, Germany on charges that were lifted in March 2009.
Geeta Rao Gupta is a leader on gender, women's issues, and HIV/AIDS who is serving as United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues since May 2023. She previously served as executive director of the 3D Program for Girls and Women and senior fellow at the United Nations Foundation since 2017. She is frequently consulted on issues related to AIDS prevention and women's vulnerability to HIV and is an advocate for women's economic and social empowerment to fight disease, poverty and hunger.
Winifred Byanyima, is a Ugandan aeronautical engineer, politician, human rights activist, feminist and diplomat. She is the executive director of UNAIDS, effective November 2019.
Africa Humanitarian Action (AHA) is a non-governmental organization that provides relief services to countries in Africa. It was founded by Dr. David Zawde in 1994 in response to the Rwandan genocide.
The Rwanda women's national football team represents Rwanda in women's association football and is controlled by the Rwandese Association Football Federation. It had to date been scheduled to compete in one major tournament, the inaugural Women's Challenge Cup held in Zanzibar in October 2007, but the event was ultimately canceled. It has finally debuted in February 2014 against Kenya. The team is nicknamed The She-Amavubi.
During the Rwandan genocide of 1994, over the course of 100 days, up to half a million women and children were raped, sexually mutilated, or murdered. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) handed down the first conviction for the use of rape as a weapon of war during the civil conflict, and, because the intent of the mass violence against Rwandan women and children was to destroy, in whole or in part, a particular ethnic group, it was the first time that mass rape during wartime was found to be an act of genocidal rape.
In Rwanda, sport is supported by the government's Sports Development Policy of October 2012. This argues that sport has a number of benefits, including bringing people together, improving national pride and unity, and improving health. The policy identifies challenges to the development of sport in the country, including limited infrastructure and financial capacity. It sets the "inspirational target" that, by 2020, Rwanda should have "a higher percentage of population playing sport than in any other African nation" and be ranked amongst the top three African countries in basketball, volleyball, cycling, athletics and Paralympic sports, and the top ten in football. It also aims to "foster increased participation of people in traditional sports". According to research published by the University of the Western Cape's Interdisciplinary Centre of Excellence for Sport Science and Development, the most popular sports in Rwanda are association football, volleyball, basketball, athletics and Paralympic sports.
Pregaluxmi "Pregs" Govender is a South African human rights activist, author, and politician.
Ravi Verma is the regional director for the International Center for Research on Women's Asia Regional Office and leads the organization's local and regional efforts on various aspects related to research, providing expertise in building capacity and participating in policy dialogue on issues that include adolescent girls, reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, and gender-based violence.
Women Political Leaders (WPL) is a non-profit foundation that operates as a global network of female political leaders at national level, including the European Parliament, of whom there are currently around 9,000. WPL provides a platform for the exchange of ideas, experiences and best practices between female political leaders who push for positive change for the world.
As of 2018, the African country Rwanda ranks in the top five countries for gender equality according to the Global Gender Gap Report. The idea of fairness that dominates this country arose after the genocide against the Tutsi that occurred in 1994. The government is committed to ensuring equal rights for women and men without prejudice to the principles of gender equality and complementarity in national development. These ideas are exhibited through the roles of Rwanda women in government, the respect for women's education and the role of women in Rwanda healthcare. The country also took an active stance against rape in genocide, created a national action plan after United Nations Resolution 1325, and is pushing towards ending gender-based violence.
Ingando camps are Rwandan political and civic reeducation and camps. These camps were created by the ruling party of Rwanda, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). Ingando camp participants are required to wear military uniforms, live together and participate in shared activities.
Beatrice Allen is the vice president of the Gambia National Olympic Committee since 2009 and a member of the International Olympic Committee starting in 2006. She has served as vice president of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), one of the biggest international sports federations, since 2017.
Stellah Wairimu Bosire, is a Kenyan physician, lawyer, corporate executive, human rights activist, and author. She's the Founder and Executive Director of the Africa Center for Health Systems and Gender Justice, working towards promoting gender equality in Africa’s health system. She's the Vice Chair of Amnesty International Kenya. She also serves on the global Advisory Council for CFK Africa, a leading NGO working in Kenyan informal settlements.
Mabel Bianco is an Argentine physician who has devoted her career to fighting for women's access to improved health services and sex education. In 1989, she established the Foundation for Studies and Research on Women, and has continued to serve as its president. She has been an activist in Latin America and the world, introducing policies addressing breast cancer, HIV/AIDS, reproductive rights and gender reform in the UN.
Fatuma Ndangiza is a women's rights advocate, policy expert, and politician. As of January 2024, she is serving her second term as a Rwandan member of the East African Legislative Assembly. Born and raised in a refugee camp in Uganda, she returned to Rwanda during the civil war. Initially she settled in Byumba and led the SOS Ramira initiative to assist women and children in acquiring basic supplies and treatment to meet their needs. When the Rwandan Patriotic Front took control of Kigali, she moved to the capital and began working in the Ministry for Women and Family Promotion to provide support and relief to survivors and victims of the Rwandan genocide. She helped to create the National Women's Council and its regional and local frameworks to empower women to help them achieve political and economic parity through legal change and advocacy. She worked with the women's ministry until 2002.
