A Conversation With Catherine Kanabahita

Head, Gender Mainstreaming Directorate, Makerere University
March 2011

Carnegie Corporation’s scholarship program for female undergraduates at Makerere University in Uganda, along with similar programs in other African countries, aims to improve the capacity of African universities to educate women.  At Makerere, the initiative gives priority to women from disadvantaged backgrounds as well as from parts of Uganda that traditionally send few students to university, and offers tutoring and career development plus expanded outreach to help change societal attitudes toward women and education.

As the head of Gender Mainstreaming at Makerere, how does your position at the university relate to the scholarship program supported by Carnegie Corporation?
The Gender Mainstreaming Division started at Makerere in 2000, and the Female Scholarship Initiative was established within the Division, with support from Carnegie Corporation of New York, in 2001. The purpose of the Gender Mainstreaming Division is to insure that all functions of the university are gender responsive. That encompasses teaching and learning; research and innovations; and outreach or knowledge transfer partnerships and networking. We rely on statistics and data to prove that inequalities exist and we work to eliminate them. 

In 2010 the Gender Mainstreaming Division’s status was raised to the level of Gender Mainstreaming Directorate, reporting to the Vice Chancellor for more effectiveness and efficiency in mainstreaming gender across the University. This has also enabled us to get a budget line for the first time, so more funding from the University has been allocated to the Gender Mainstreaming Directorate.

Are gender inequalities a longstanding issue at the university?
Oh yes, the problems go way back. For example, Makerere was begun as a technical school in 1922 with the motto, “Let us be men.” In 1945 it admitted the first six females and with time, the motto was changed to "We build for the future," and there began to be recognition of women in education.  It wasn't until 1990, when it was realized that female enrollment was only 25%, that there was awareness of the need for more deliberate efforts. Affirmative action aspired to add 1.5 points to females admitted in the University and that intervention has contributed to an increase of women to 50% of the student population (56% in humanities and 34% in sciences). That's 50% of 46,000!

It seems unlikely that these inequities are limited to academia—what about the culture at large?
Like in most cultures, patriarchy (male domination and female subordination) is part and parcel of beliefs and norms. In most homes, churches and other institutions, male leadership is considered normal and is expected. Early marriages for young girls, preference of educating boys and not girls when there is scarcity of resources, genital female mutilation, and inheritance practices that favour men are some of the indicators of how culture determines one’s lot in life. With the increasing number of women demanding to participate in decision making, and equal share of resources for both men and women, the patriarchy is being eroded. Although this has led to increased social justice and human rights, change of status quo often stirs up resistance.

Educating a woman a girl equips her with skills and knowledge that can enable her to get employment and have choices in life, rather than live at the mercy of patriarchy. If not educated and in order to avoid poverty, girls may stay in marriages regardless of violence, HIV and other compounding problems. Education is the beginning of rectifying these problems. The Carnegie scholarships are a major landmark, and we're concerned that they are currently phasing out. Gender training has a potentially huge impact but it takes time.

How did your personal experiences influence your career choice?
I come from Kabale, a village near the border of Rwanda. I attended Gayaza High school (400 kilometers away), considered the best girls’ high school in Uganda. I had that opportunity because my parents were teachers and invested all they could in their children’s education. There were six of us girls, and three boys. Currently one of my older sisters is in parliament.

My background is in journalism and print media. I worked as a communications officer with World vision International and other NGOs and became familiar with the struggles of the families getting support from these organizations. I noticed the plight of women in Africa – from their families and external societal demands. They seemed helpless. A lot of the population was struggling. I began finding unfairness toward women everywhere, yet around me everyone seemed to think it was OK. I went back to school to get my masters and encountered inequality there too; I couldn’t move as freely as men could because of rules.

That must have been frustrating – how did you respond?
That situation led me to study Women and Gender Studies. Eventually I became a gender advisor in the Netherlands Embassy.  It was very enlightening and led to my being able to advise the government and negotiate the inclusion of gender in many government programs and offer support to civil society. But I had a strong desire to become a change agent, which wasn't satisfied by that work.  The policy understanding I had gained there helped me move to Makerere University and into the field of gender mainstreaming. This position provided an intellectual challenge and the opportunity to work an academic institution that was ready for reforms. I've never looked back.

What has been the impact of the Scholarship Initiative?
Carnegie Corporation's Female Scholarship Initiative is making a tremendous difference for women. The government used to fund scholarships at Makarere University, but in 1992 government support began to be withdrawn. Only 4000 students are now publicly supported. As a result, the university is perceived as only for the rich. This private scholarship scheme has benefited 691 girls. Of these 600 have graduated. 154 more will finish in 2011 and beyond.  Not only does Carnegie Corporation give tuition, but also a living allowance to keep them in school and promote excellence. We have a 80% retention rate. 

With the Corporation’s commitment to the Initiative currently phasing out, what are your plans for the future?
We're beginning to experiment with fundraising now. We realize it's critical, but real fundraising, in the western sense, is a new idea in Africa.  We have so far organized three fundraising events which have secured us $25,000 that has been used to sponsor 10 female students for the academic year 2010/2011. We have more events coming up and we plan on not only supporting Makerere but building an endowment that will enable us to go even further. Hopefully we can expand scholarships to other universities in other regions of Uganda. We have to broaden our vision and reach out. The need for support is great, and our ideas are still at the early stage. 

In order to sustain the Female Scholarship Initiative, Makerere University has formed the Female Scholarship Foundation, which was launched in November 2010. The focus of the launch was to appeal to the Government of Uganda to offer $750,000 to support 150 girls from Northern Uganda, the most marginalized region of the country that has been war infested for over 20 years. We are still following up this appeal and we hope that the government will give us the seed money for the foundation. We intend to continue the fundraising drive so that more resources will be secured to address the glaring need of more girls accessing higher education.