The Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, has urged the Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Peace Mutuuzo, to raise awareness about the Succession (Amendment) Act 2022.
She emphasized that this legislation could significantly alleviate the challenges women face in property distribution.
Among noted that while the Succession Act, enacted two years ago, has shown positive outcomes, she is worried that many people remain unaware of its key provisions.
“The Succession [Amendment Act 2022] recognises that not every woman is married, but one may find that she has children with a man who is married to someone else. The Act says children to such a man must benefit from his property, and because of this, women are not suffering a lot,” said Among.
Among said this while opening the Second Women Parliament; a sitting of women leaders across the country who gathered at Parliament to discuss women related issues on March 3, 2025.
The sitting was held under the theme: Consolidating Women’s Social and Economic Transformation in Uganda,’ in commemoration of International Women’s Day.
The Succession (Amendment) Act provides for equal distribution of estates of deceased parents amongst all the children, regardless of the age or the level of dependency on the deceased at the time of death.
The Speaker observed that although the Succession Act may face challenges on implementation, it is well intentioned with provisions that must be widely publicised.
“Mutuuzo, make sure that people get to know what is in that act, because the majority of the people do not know; we need to create the awareness of the act. There may be some challenges in implementation, we can work together to eliminate system barriers to accessibility and utilisation of the prevailing intervention,” said Among.
She commended the efforts by government to uplift the position of women in Uganda through a range of initiatives such as the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Program, the Parish Development Model, the GROW project among the many initiatives that provide financial assistance and skills for women.
The Clerk to Parliament, Adolf Mwesige hailed Parliament and its leadership for standing out in creating an enabling environment for inclusion of women and girls.
“I want to appreciate the Speaker for creating a division within Parliament devoted to equity and gender mainstreaming, which will be cascaded to interacting with women at local council levels,” said Mwesige.
Mwesige added, “I appreciate our Speaker for deliberately starting the girl child project, with supports girls with scholarships and skills. This is a clear demonstration that she has not only been supporting women in politics but also girls at a tender level”.
The Resolutions of the 2nd Women Parliament will be shared with President Yoweri Museveni, the relevant ministries and during one of the House sittings for possible actions.
With the 1st Women Parliament convened in 2015, the 2nd Women Parliament was re-ignited by the Uganda Women Parliamentary Association (UWOPA) with support from West Minister Foundation for Democracy.
