#EverydayFeminism in action with MEMPROW

Sarah and Immaculate from MEMPROW in Uganda explain the many ways in which the organisation challenges patriarchal attitudes, one person at a time. By partnering up with other women’s rights organisations, MEMPROW is also strengthening the global feminist movement and paving the way for an equal world: “Our voice is stronger, our presence is better when working in movements.”

One way in which MEMPROW aims to shift patriarchal attitudes is through training sessions: we train teachers to see the negative impact patriarchy has on growth and development. We engage with parents and community leaders such as local government leaders, religious leaders, cultural leaders and the people we refer to as ‘elders’. We get them to understand patriarchy and how it manifests – how it impacts girls and women, and everybody in the community.

“We want parents to understand that they can appreciate and value boys and girls equally, and give them the same opportunities.”

Our Empowerment Training for girls is geared towards helping them understand what violence is and the different ways it manifests; including structural violence within the community or even at school. We put forward questions such as: “How do we perceive power as girls? How do we perceive power as leaders?” MEMPROW’s Gender and Human Rights training for both girls and personnel focuses on helping each to analyse their perception of power, and how this affects girls’ retention in school. Through these training sessions, the girls and teachers are able to understand the ways that patriarchal mindsets can perpetuate violence against women and girls. This allows them to commit to being change agents in their schools. 

For example, when culture dictates that a girl should be humble, walk with your face down, put your hands in a certain way… that mindset really affects the way girls see themselves in leadership. Through the personal empowerment sessions, we enable girls to shift their mindset and also examine how people of all genders can coexist in a mutually beneficial way. It’s about building the power within to say that certain attitudes and structures can be changed to improve the lives of women and girls. 

Movement strengthening is key to creating a feminist future

We are all better together and our voices are most effective when we are working with others. MEMPROW is very deliberate in seeking out platforms that enrich the work that we do: we engage with many women-led organisations who are doing related work. Partnerships with other women’s rights organisations have given us an opportunity to strengthen our voice on advocacy, ending violence, and facilitated mutual learning. But the power is knowing that our voice is stronger, our presence is better when working in movement. When we are working, we are joining hands with other partners.

Also, intersectionality is one of our core values. We work with people who are differently-abled, we work with people from rural and urban backgrounds, the old and the young – because we believe in intergenerational mentoring.

Wellbeing as an act of feminism 

Wellbeing is critical to deliver the work that we do. We understand the different individualities in which women exist and the burden that comes with that: at home, women are caretakers, chefs, educators…We know that we cannot function when we are mentally broken or if our homes are in disarray. Our own self-care is important so that we deliver in a manner that is acceptable, and we are not bleeding on the people for whom we are working. We want to build a community of women who are well. So it starts with us and goes into the communities that we work with.

#EverydayFeminism and its ripple effect

We see change happen, one girl at a time. For example, a girl we trained recently told us that she spoke with her parents about the gendered division of work at home – and eventually things changed. That’s a big win, because if it happens in one home, it can happen in the home of 30 other girls that we have trained – and the vibrations become stronger. It takes away the barrier of who can create change; it breaks down the walls on who people expect to bring about change. A similar thing happened with a case of sexual abuse in a school – no one was speaking about it. And it took a MEMPROW girl to say something. Then we start to see a movement of schools talking about sexual harassment and develop policies to tackle it.

Your individual decisions make all the difference. We need to work on our attitudes and prejudices as feminists in order to impact the communities we serve, and the world at large.