A new women’s center estimated to cost Ushs 8bn will house an art museum that is dedicated to the contribution made by women through Uganda’s history.
The center to be called ‘Imara Center’ will immortalize Ugandan women that have left a mark in different fields of influence.
Appearing on a recent Twitter Spaces session, gender equality campaigner and Executive Director of UNAIDS, Winnie Byanyima, revealed that the Imara (firm) Centre will be an epic legacy initiative.
It will be both a visible embodiment of women’s independent organizing, and a vital practical base from which to advance the struggle for gender equality.
She said the centre will be women activists’ own space, designed by them, run by them, tailored to their needs: a safe haven from coercion and pressure; a vibrant hub for imagining and planning together; and a launchpad for campaigns that will take on power, privilege and prejudice.
Construction of the facility, to be situated in Kasangati, is expected to be launched in March this year and will last 5 years, Byanyima said.
“I love art. But there is not many places in Uganda that you can go and find creative works done by women. The Imara centre will host a museum that will showcase the contribution of women to Uganda,” she added.
In emphasizing the importance of celebrating works by women, the former MP for Mbarara municipality made reference to prolific Ugandan painter and sculptor, Maria Naita, who died in 2019.
“Naita was a famous sculptor but we lost her,” Byanyima noted.
Naita’s works always represented a strong feminine theme. She is remembered for her role in carving ‘The Journey’, a 50th independence anniversary monument at the Kololo independence grounds.
She also carved the CHOGM monument at Sir Apollo Kaggwa Road adjacent to Parliament. The monument known as ‘The Stride’ shows a child matching with a bare chest man and woman raising a flag that has a CHOGM symbol.
It is featured on the Ushs 50,000 bank note.
“When you come (to Imara center) and you are tired, you have been battered by the world, you can look at what creative minds have created and it can inspire you,” Byanyima said.
The Imara Center is an initiative of Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE) is a national women’s rights organization established in 1994, as part of the organization’s reflection and projection into the future.
Byanyima has been at the fore of championing gender equality through activism as well as legislation for policies that empower women. She is among the founders of FOWODE.
