Kadaga: "I have withstood the wrath of NRM by standing with opposition"
The Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga has said that she has proved her mettle on many occasions by ignoring threats from her party.
She made the remarks while officiating at the third conference of Women in Politics on Thursday.
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“Sometimes, I get in trouble with my party because they expect to stifle opposition MPs but I say no, I am a speaker for all MPs. I give everybody three minutes to speak because I want everyone to be in the Hansard,” she said.
Kadaga has said that she is still the best person for the speakership of the parliament calling for a joint effort in ensuring equitable representation of women in leadership positions.
Kadaga who is seeking another term as speaker called upon women across the country to stand in solidarity and support fellow women.
"I urge all women to put in more time in our mission. The journey is still long and we must work harder. It's however sad to note that some women join the patriarchal bandwagon and try to pull sisters down,"she said.
"In my case, it's surprising to hear some women say that I should cede the speakership to a male and yet out of 29 top most national leadership positions in this country, only one is occupied by a woman,"she added.
She explained that women still need this position because it's part of the space in which policies, legislation and budgeting - which impact women as a gender are made.
"For example, the gender and equity budgeting law,the only one of its kind in the world did not just happen.It took me, and other women, a total of 11 years to have it enacted,"she noted.
She said that during this Covid-19 time, a lot has happened. She said families have broken up, incomes have collapsed but women are still there looking after their families.
Kadaga also denied an array of accusations against her including peddling tribalism.
“For anyone to say I am promoting tribalism, that is not true,” she said noting that she has offered and created opportunities for all legislators irrespective of tribal and political group affiliation.
