By Denis Mukisa
Kayunga District Women’s Council Chairperson Hajjat Faridah Kibowa has credited President Yoweri Museveni for supporting women’s empowerment, citing significant improvements in the operations and funding of the National Women’s Council during her tenure as its national chairperson.
Addressing leaders during her swearing-in ceremony at Kayunga District Council Hall, Kibowa said that when she assumed office as National Women’s Council Chairperson in 2018, the council was operating on an annual budget of just Shs800 million, most of which went towards salaries and basic administrative costs.
She said sustained lobbying, coupled with President Museveni’s personal intervention, helped increase the council’s annual budget to Shs9.4 billion.
Kibowa also said she successfully pushed for the establishment of a fully equipped national secretariat, ending years of office-related challenges that had affected previous council leaders.
She identified increasing the visibility and relevance of the Women’s Council as one of her major achievements. Under her leadership, she said, the council consistently held its mandated meetings at both national and district levels and maintained the annual celebration of International Women’s Day.
The celebrations, she added, often included donations and other forms of support for teenage mothers and other vulnerable women and girls.
During her tenure, the National Women’s Council also resolved to extend the term of office for its leaders from four to five years to align it with the terms of other political offices in the country.
Kibowa further noted that Women’s Council leaders at both national and district levels are predominantly members of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) and actively participated in mobilising support for President Museveni during the 2026–2031 election campaigns.
Although she did not secure a second term as national chairperson, Kibowa said she was proud of the foundation she had laid and expressed confidence in the NRM’s continued political presence in Kayunga District.
She urged women leaders in the district to work together to protect and promote the rights and welfare of women and girls.
Kibowa, members of the new district executive committee and all sub-county Women’s Council chairpersons took their oaths of office before Kayunga Magistrate Hassan Masaba Butoto at the district council hall.
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