She Decides Festival Uganda gives girls Voice, Choice and Control
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Thousands of young people gathered at Mbale Senior School grounds in Mbale District at the recently concluded She Decides Festival Uganda on 29th Feb 2020 calling for a world where every girl and woman everywhere can decide what do with her body, with her life and with her future. Without question.
This year’s SheDecides Festival welcomed more than 4000 people of different demographical representation and focused on empowering young people and particularly girls, putting them at the forefront to challenge stigma and address social-cultral barriers that expose them to teenage pregnancy, child marriages and sexual and gender-based violence.
The Festival organised by Uganda Youth and Adolescent Health Forum in partnership with Mbale District Local Government and the She Decides Local Movement in Uganda, gave young people a platform to call for #NewNormal where essential reproductive health services and information should be made available and accessible to all young people regardless of age and with no restrictions. Young people also called for a #NewNormal where child protection laws are available and functional and where girls can live freely and feel safe in the communities.
At the Festival SheDecides friends and champions in Uganda highlighted and, leveraged actions aimed to achieve even more results for women and girls’ rights and wellbeing. The festival also was a convergence point where Ugandans joined the rest of the SheDecides Champions and friends around the world in commemorating the 3rd She Decides Day
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She Decides Festival Uganda - 2020, reaches 4680 people.
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The SHE DECIDES festival this year, hit a record turn up of 4680 people from across the district of Mbale and other regions. The participants ranged from 10 years to 65 plus with males constituting 41.3% (1934) compared to 58.7% (2746) females.
In terms of age, 35% of the participants were 13 years and below, 34% were between 14 - 19 years, 14% between 20 - 24 years and 14% were 25 and above. More than half of the participants were students from various secondary and primary schools within Mbale and surrounding districts and in total we had 10 primary schools and 6 secondary schools present. In attendance were also hundreds of young people from universities and tertiary institutions as well as young people from communities. Other CSO partners like TASO, Uganda Network of Young People Living with HIV, PSI Uganda, RHITE-E, Naguru Teenage Centre, Rays of Choice Uganda among others supported their young people to attend
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Key activities at the festival
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Educative Games and sport
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The festival was crowned off with a match, where young people from primary and secondary schools matched across Mbale streets calling on the public to take a stand to promote and respect the rights of women and girls. Young people also called for a gender equal society where girls can decides. Without question.
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The festival featured interactive and educative games and sports that were used as a creative way to pass on important information to young people. Some of the games played engaged young people in topical discussions about body changes, body autonomy, decision making, negotiation, making the right choices on sexuality related matters like using a condom, contraceptives among others.
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As part of the days program was also a set of focus group discussions (FGDs) that were convened by various CSO partners. The FGDs aimed at creating a space for dialogue and learning and to equip young people with information on key SRHR issues like contraceptive use, safe abortion and post abortion care support, body autonomy, HIV prevention, among others. Below is a summary of the key highlight of the discussions.
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Key highlights from the discussions
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During the FGDs young people called for more access to correct and appropriate information on sex to be able to make safe choices. They pointed out limitations in access and uptake of family planning services due to societal stigma, biases from heath services providers, high cost/fees and discrimination based on age and gender. They also noted that access to long term methods is usually discouraged by health service providers.
The participants also noted that teenage pregnancy and child marriages are issues that need interventions to be dealt with, so as to; reduce on the rate of school dropouts and stop HIV infections among young people. They also agreed that teenage pregnancy is not good because; it leads to family neglect, poverty, health challenges like fistula as well as increased death among young girls during pregnancy and child birth.
Additionally, many girls pointed to the problem of sexual violence and harassment especially from people well known to them including relatives. Some girls told us how they feel very unsafe both at home and at school because of the increased risk to sexual violence including rape. The festival used this as an opportunity to educate girls about issues of body autonomy and encouraged girls to be confident to report and speak out on cases of sexual violence by calling the Ministry of Gender Child Protection Help line on child protection helpline 122.
Absence of youth friendly services, abortion stigma, rising new HIV infections among adolescent girls, HIV stigma among young people living with HIV as well as menstrual stigma were also among the major challenges raised by the young people.
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Adolescent girls and boys entertaining the audience with various creative performances on ending teenage pregnancy and child marriage
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About 14 schools had the opportunity to perform at the festival. Performances included music, dance and theatre, poetry, spoken word and speeches. Throughout the performances, the adolescents emphasised the need to exercise choice about their lives.
The festival’s theme being, ‘Voice, Choice and Control’, the young people asked to be given back their voices and none biased information to guide them in making correct choices about their lives and futures.
They also pointed out the fact that most health centres still lack youth friendly services, which is a big hinderance that limits access and uptake of quality sexual reproductive health services and information. Furthermore, through many of the performances young people pointed out, challenges like; lack of privacy and confidentiality, limited choices, biases and a judgemental character among health care providers when providing health care services to the young people. They therefore called for more youth friendly services and health workers in the district.
Additionally, the young people also called out to their peers and policy makers protect them from the risk of tend teenage pregnancy and child marriages through; ensuring that they stay in school and finish school and through making SRHR services and information available and easily accessible.
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During the Festival, there was a range of health services offered by partner and these these saw a total of 909 young people taking up the services that included respectively; HIV testing and counselling ( 733 with only 5 HIV positive cases), family planning (30 young women), breast cancer screening (27 all negative), cervical cancer screening (48 all 25 years and above and 3 were positive), screening of STI and blood donation (71 units of blood from 71 young people).
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Entertainment from She Decides Uganda cultural icons
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Cindy Sanyu a.k.a the King Herself perfoming at the She Decides Festival Uganda 2020.
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In order to offer a unique blend of edutainment, the Festival included performances from Mbale's based local artist like Inspector Jil, Sun Sea, Rochester as well as 2 nationally celebrated stars, Cindy Sanyu a.k.a "the king herself" a dancehall star and Mun-G, Uganda's No. 1 rapper and also a She Decides Uganda cultural icon.
In attendance was also Valentino Kabenje an actor and a dancer also UYAHF's cultural icons who has been using his platforms to advocate for the rights of women and girls.
During her performance, Cindy noted that she was born and raised from Namatala one of Mbale's biggest slums and regardless of the challenges growing up, she has managed to navigate through the top because the correct choices she has made tobelive in her self. She encouraged the young girls never to give up on their dreams and to ensure that they continue to seek healthy choices and correct information to live fulfilling lives.
Mun G pointed out that we need to do away with the barriers that hinder women and girls from deciding about their lives and their futures!!
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Cindy on the left and Mun. G on the right performing on the main stage during the festival.
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She Decides Gender Equality Awards 2020
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We were honoured to present the 2nd phase of the SHE DECIDES GENDER EQUALITY AWARDS. This was presided over by the chief guest Dr. Emmanuel Tugaineyo Ituuz, the awards were presented to outstanding women and men in recognition of their incredible contribution in enhancing gender equality and promoting the rights and empowerment of women and girls in Eastern Uganda. After receiving a total of 155 nominations, 3 extraordinary gender rights advocates emerged as the winners. These included; Ms Annette Tumusiime from Women with a mission, Ms Cynthia Nalumansi from Step FM, a radio with a wide youth audience in Mbale and Mr Wanyama Regan from Youth Elite.
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Pre-activities leading up to the festival
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Building up to the She Decides Festival Uganda 2020, the organising committee made up of She Decides Uganda members from Kampala and Mbale and chaired by the District Health Officer Mbale District, approved a road map with a lined up of pre-activities and these included, 12 street flash mobs, a community clean up exercise at Kikindu market, 12 school outreaches, 3 community outreaches, a She football tournament (6 teams from 6 schools ), 2 movie nights, 4 radio talk shows, live twitter chats (2) among others.
These were used as a mobilisation platform for the festival but also as an avenue to spread the She Decides movement agenda to young people and policy makers.
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Messages of support from key guests
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During his speech, the guest of Honour, Dr. Emmanuel Tugaineyo Ituuza, the Director of Mbale regional referral hospital, who represented the Minister of Health pointed out that the Ministry of Health is very much challenged by the high teenage pregnancy rates, child marriages and sexual and gender based violence committed against young girls and women. He called upon all stakeholder including religious and cultural groups, teachers, parents and CSOs to work together and to prioritise the safety, quality health and well-being of the girl child. He emphasised the need to make health care services including sexual and reproductive health services available and accessible for young people.
The Chief of Party for USAID RHITES-E, Ms Karutu Caroline, who represented all implementing partners pointed out that the average Ugandan is a fourteen-year-old girl’ and noted that this fact stands true also in Mbale. She noted that the Uganda Population Based HIV Impact Assessment (UPHIA) 2016–2017 reported the Eastern Region has the highest rates of teen mothers in the country; in Teso region, 26.2% of females aged 15-19 are mothers, followed by Bugisu with 23.4% and Bukedi with 22%. She emphasized that when a 14-year-old girl is empowered, it has a ripple effect on her family and community as well. She therefore called upon all partners present to work together to deliver a supportive Uganda that is better, stronger and safer for girls.
Patrick Mwesigye the Team Leader UYAHF a Global She Decides champion in his remarks and the chief organiser of the festival committed UYAHF and She Decides's support to mobilize young people and policy makers to continue upholding and promoting the right of women and girls, leverage and catapult action to greater heights and to achieve even more results for women and girls.
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Accorded as the biggest celebration in Africa by the global SheDecides movement, this year’s festival offered an opportunity for us to expand the message of SheDecides to Uganda's Eastern region. The Festival provided a free space for adolescent girls and young women to share experiences on exercising their sexual reproductive health and rights and dialogue with policy makers on how to enhance demand, access and utilization. It also continued to create an avenue for ardent discussion on previously deemed controversial issues like women’s right to access contraception without judgement; including safe abortion. Various experiences were shared throughout the day which offered a more concrete picture of how women and girls will continue to be disadvantaged if we do not collectively create a world where she can choose what to do with her body, life and future; without question.
Taking note of the fact that a lack of correct sexual reproductive health information also poses as a barrier to women and girls’ enjoyment of their rights, the festival acted as a hub for correct information, access to services, edutainment and fruitful engagement on key issues including menstrual hygiene, HIV/AIDS prevention, family planning, post abortion care and so much more. We look forward to an even bigger festival next year as we continue to advocate for a safer and more equal world for every woman and girl.
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