The Director of Women Affairs in the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces, Brigadier General Charity Bainababo, has emphasized that increased female participation within the force has significantly enhanced operational effectiveness and institutional representation.
Gen Bainababo made the remarks while delivering a lecture of opportunity to officers undertaking Logistics Courses at the College of Logistics and Engineering in Magamaga, Mayuge District.
The session formed part of a professional development programme aimed at equipping officers with strategic and operational competencies.
Addressing the officers, she highlighted the critical role women continue to play within the UPDF, particularly in complex environments such as peacekeeping missions.
“The presence of women in the UPDF has enhanced the force’s representativeness, improved effectiveness in complex environments like peacekeeping, and provided strong role models for future generations,” she said.
Bainababo explained that Uganda’s National Gender and Equity Policy is anchored in a pro-people ideology that emerged from the liberation struggle led by the National Resistance Army.
She noted that the ideology emphasized that national liberation would remain incomplete without the full emancipation of marginalized groups, especially women.
Reflecting on the liberation struggle, Bainababo observed that women were not confined to support roles but actively participated as combatants and political mobilisers.
She cited senior female officers who played significant roles during the struggle, including Lt Gen Proscovia Nalweyiso, the highest-ranking female officer in the UPDF and Presidential Adviser on Military Affairs; the late Maj Olive Zizinga; Maj Gertrude Njuba; and Capt Janat Mukwaya.
The Logistics Course has attracted officers from various units and formations of the UPDF, as well as allied officers from fraternal countries, underscoring the collaborative nature of the training programme.
Bainababo reaffirmed the UPDF’s commitment to gender inclusion and the continued empowerment of women within its ranks as part of strengthening institutional effectiveness and national service.
