Uganda’s Near Parity Cabinet is Historic — Now Let it Deliver for Women
Uganda’s 2026–2031 Cabinet marks a significant moment in the country’s political history. Women now occupy nearly half of all Cabinet positions, with Vice President Jessica Alupo, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, and First Deputy Prime Minister Rebecca Kadaga holding some of the highest offices in government. Women are also leading influential ministries such as Education, ICT, Energy, Lands and the Presidency. According to an analysis by the Daily Monitor dated 29th May 2026, women now make up 49% of Uganda’s Cabinet, a dramatic shift from 1986, when President Museveni’s first Cabinet had no female ministers.
This milestone did not happen by chance. It is the result of decades of struggle by Uganda’s women’s movement, civil society organizations and generations of women leaders who fought to open political spaces historically dominated by men. Organizations such as the Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE), ACFODE, UWONET and others, consistently pushed for affirmative action, leadership training and constitutional reforms that expanded women’s participation in governance. The 1995 Constitution’s affirmative action provisions created entry points that significantly increased women’s representation in Parliament and local government.
For many women’s rights advocates, this Cabinet reflects years of organizing, advocacy and political pressure that forced gender inclusion onto Uganda’s governance agenda.
But representation alone is not enough.
The focus should be on whether this historic level of inclusion will translate into meaningful improvements in the lives of ordinary Ugandan women. Political visibility must now become political impact.
Uganda continues to face serious gender inequalities, particularly in health and economic wellbeing. The World Health Organization estimates Uganda’s maternal mortality ratio at 189 deaths per 100,000 live births, with many women still dying from preventable pregnancy and childbirth complications. WHO also notes that one in four girls aged 15–19 is either pregnant or already a mother, contributing significantly to maternal deaths nationwide.
These statistics are everyday realities to millions of Ugandan women: overcrowded maternity wards, shortages of skilled health workers, long distances to health facilities and the burden of unpaid care work that disproportionately falls on women and girls.
At the same time, women remain economically disadvantaged despite their growing political visibility. Women continue to dominate unpaid domestic labor while facing higher unemployment and lower access to productive resources. Globally, women are still concentrated in “soft” portfolios such as gender, education and social affairs, while men dominate finance, infrastructure and security ministries where the most powerful budgetary decisions are made.
Uganda’s near-parity Cabinet therefore presents a unique opportunity to break these patterns. We should not simply celebrate the number of women in office but should challenge the gender-balanced Cabinet to deliver gender-responsive governance.
First, government must significantly increase investment in maternal and reproductive healthcare. Reducing maternal deaths requires fully funding emergency obstetric care, neonatal services and community health systems, especially in rural districts where women face the greatest barriers to healthcare access.
Second, women’s leadership must influence economic and fiscal policy and not just social policy. Gender-responsive budgeting cannot remain a technical exercise discussed in policy documents while women continue carrying the heaviest burden of poverty, unpaid care work and economic insecurity.
Third, the Cabinet must champion stronger legislation on Gender-Based Violence, women’s economic empowerment, digital inclusion and social protection.
Uganda’s women’s movement spent 40 years getting women into rooms where decisions are made and the 2026 Cabinet proves they succeeded. These rooms must deliver for the women who may never see them; the mother in Kamuli waiting 3 hours for a midwife, the girl in Karamoja who drops out to do unpaid care work, the market vendor who needs diabetes care during pregnancy. The measure of success of the half-female Cabinet should be whether half the urgency, half the budget, and half the political capital is allocated to women’s priorities.
The milestone has been achieved. Now the real work must begin.
The writer is Executive Director of Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE).
