At the time when Mama’s Club with
financial support from SIDA through Sonke Gender Justice started implementing
an advocacy project on MenEngage. Uganda’s policies and plans regarding HIV&AIDS
needed a review to include a stronger emphasis on targeting men and influencing
gender norms. Accompanying laws and guidelines were lacking. Though SRHRs
recognized engaging men as clients, they were weak in relation to involving men
as partners or advocates for change and lacked budgetary allocations. Gender
equality responses were contextualized to women as the only beneficiaries of a
more equal society. Men as the ‘other gender’ were less counted in the context
of gender equality. Men were commonly portrayed as deficient in family life
ranging from not providing child support, to limited involvement in domestic
chores, to the use of violence against women and children. Relentless limited
skills on men’s needs among health workers, implementers and decision-makers.
Poor coordination on male participation existed amongst various stakeholders
and even those who were involving men in their programs were doing it by
default.
To challenge this environment, MenEngage
Uganda Network as efforts of Mama’s club through numerous consultative
gatherings was established in recognition of the need for a stronger focus on
engaging men and boys in promoting social justice, gender equality and
addressing the public health challenges which Uganda faces. The network is steadily
growing and now has a significant number of active member organizations who
signed to the six principles of the network. This development is increasingly
attracting grassroot and national level organizations working in the area of
health, HIV&AIDS, GBV, feminism, LGBTI, men and boys for gender equality,
academics and research, human rights, religious institutions, traditional health
practitioners, SRHRs, policy makers, government officials all looking to work
with men and boys. MenEngage Uganda Network members have continued to urge men to engage in EMTCT initiatives in a bid to
reduce the accelerating rates of HIV&AIDS infections and GBV to promote
social and gender equality.
In Uganda, increasing
evidence that men and boys’ engagement is effectively addressing gender-based
violence and social injustice. MenEngage Uganda Network’s quest is to build the
momentum of and scale up the work with men and boys in Uganda by strengthening
skills for and knowledge on working with men and boys in order to further gender
transformation. The network
is growing to build capacity, provide support
and strengthen the network right from local to national level, and will develop
the work of local organizations in engaging men and boys in SRH.
