Humanities & Social Sciences
ICGSA 2022 Sets the Pace for Re-Imagining Future of Gender Studies
The International Conference on Gender Studies in Africa (ICGSA) closed on a high note on Friday 25th February, 2022 with resolutions on how to champion Gender Studies on the African continent. These called for the need to; theorise from the African context, network across the academia at local level, teach better, conduct more research and mentorship, as well as network more between academia and the field of practice in Africa and internationally.
“Networking across the academy on the continent is very important” emphasised Assoc. Prof. Sarah Ssali, the Dean, School of Women and Gender Studies (SWGS), Makerere University. “We have been able to inspire many other gender units to come up on the African continent; the current one being worked on is with the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, which is being spearheaded by Dr. Tabitha Mulyampiti,” she added.
Other resolutions shared by Assoc. Prof. Ssali included the need to build a community of practice comprised of teachers and practitioners at the continental level as well as document and archive more in order to build memories.
“This is one of the things that is lacking heavily in Africa not just in Gender Studies but all over; we are constantly researching because we don’t know what those before us did. This creates a problem in that the memories become fractured,” she explained.
To help galvanise all these aspirations, ICGSA 2022 resolved to establish a Pan-African feminist network for Women and Gender Studies. “This is supposed to be a platform that is going to bring together the 500+ Gender Scholars and those yet to come, to build a better community of practice, academia and take the discipline further” Assoc. Prof. Ssali added.
The resolutions shared by the Dean tied in nicely with those of fellow panelist Prof. Shefer Tamara, Director of Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), South Africa, as well as those of Prof. Joy Kwesiga, Vice Chancellor, Kabale University who chaired the Fifth and final Plenary Panel on The Future of Gender Studies in Africa.
Prof. Kwesiga in her presentation themed The Door is only Ajar made a few propositions to help Gender Studies Open the Door Fully, and Enter the Corridors of Power and Equity. These included;
- The need to acknowledge that Gender Studies are varied and their enhancement require both general and specific interventions.
- Curriculum reviews that emphasise transformatory areas (e.g. masculinity) are urgently required.
- The need to record and know our history: it underpins our cultural norms and practices, and informs us about the origins of gender inequality in our specific environment.
- Form networks along interests and specialties (education, health, economics, training, etc), regionally and even on linguistic basis.
- Learn from experience of the 1995 Beijing International Conference on Women – a stimulant to Gender Studies and birth of many organisations that promote gender equality.
Prof. Tamara in her reiteration critically observed that “Imagining future possibilities requires working with our pasts, especially those that continue to haunt us in the present.” These, she noted, include neoliberal capitalism and its consumerist universities, “where critical feminist scholarship only matters when it is packaged in particular ways and proliferates particular kinds of outputs. “
She called for the need to decolonise the curriculum by adopting alternative approaches to the classroom such as emphasis on non-didactic, collaborative, participatory, embodied, relational and affective feminist practices, as well as the value of working across modalities of art, activism and scholarship in both pedagogical and research practices, as key terrains of possibility on the way forward.
Citing the keynote address delivered by Prof. Amina Mama on the opening day of the conference, Prof. Tamara said, “We cannot simply acknowledge that we emerged from feminist grassroots movements, but we need to make sure that these connections are vibrant and alive.
“We need to be consistently reviving and reinvigorating these synergies, as she put it, between civil society movements and the scholarly projects, which of course means ongoing collaborations and networking” emphasised Prof. Tamara.
Delivering her remarks at close the conference, the Chairperson of Council, Mrs. Lorna Magara thanked the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, Principal College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS), Assoc. Prof. Josephine Ahikire, Dean SWGS Assoc. Prof. Sarah Ssali, as well as the faculty, staff and volunteers for the excellently organised and well-facilitated conference.
“I am delighted to note that in addition to my expectations being met, I had, in the few sessions I attended, the rare opportunity to hear firsthand, the accounts of the brave heroines of Afro-feminism and how important these accounts are for shaping future mindsets” remarked Mrs. Magara.
The Chairperson of Council nevertheless cautioned that in addition to decolonising the African academy, the debate should be blended with a candid discussion on the application of African scholarship to the needs and aspirations of African communities.
“The debate must go beyond the goal of accommodating the voices of African scholars in academia. The academy must provide space for indigenous knowledge, sharing local experiences, and prioritising discourse on African problems from African lenses” she noted.
The closing keynote address was delivered by Dr. Nyepudzayi Mercy Nyangulu, Founder and Chair, of the Women in Management Business and Development (WIMBD) TRUST of Zimbabwe, which coincidentally marks 30 years of existence on 27th October, 2022. On this celebratory note, Dr. Nyangulu proposed the following as recommendations to SWGS for the next 30 years.
- Leverage the rich list of SWGS alumni to influence Government Ministries as well as Higher Education Institutions to include a gender component in their curricula.
- Develop programs that can enhance collaboration, solidarity and sharing of experiences with Women’s Movements so as to strengthen needs assessment and data collection at the grassroots.
- Take advantage of e-learning to reach those in full-time employment with the aspirations of upgrading their qualifications in leadership and management
- Adopt community dialogues as a mechanism for learning more about gender-related issues such as child marriages and Gender Based Violence.
- Adopt gender programmes that encourage inter-generational learning and knowledge sharing
- Explore opening up SWGS Centres in other African countries as an income generating activity.
- Collaborate with National Gender Commissions to bring theory and practice together and develop new theories for Gender Praxis.
- Tap into the debate on masculinity that is gaining momentum so as to develop relevant programmes and grow the number of male champions
- Think outside the box, dream big and turn all the challenges afflicting gender studies into opportunities
- Follow up past students and their impact on society and use data findings to inform future programmes
- Broaden funding base by; going beyond development partners to institutions such as the African Union (AU) that have Ambassadorial positions e.g. in Child Marriages, Offering consultancy services to Countries as SWGS, etc.
The Guest of Honour at the closing ceremony and Minister of Gender Labour and Social Development, Hon. Betty Amongi Akena, who was accompanied by the Chairperson of the National Women’s Council (Uganda), Hajat Faridah Kibowa in her speech congratulated Makerere University upon successfully hosting the conference whose recommendations will inform policy.
Hon. Amongi Akena, a double alumna of the Bachelor of Political Science and Public Administration and Masters of International Relations and Diplomatic Studies commended her alma mater for pursuing a broad gender agenda, by establishing academic programmes at Undergraduate, Masters and PhD level. “You’ve harnessed, advanced and promoted gender equality over the years.”
She observed that the conference theme; Africa and Gender Studies: Celebrating 30 Years of Transformation and Re-imagining the Future was a timely underpinning of SDG 5. “We know that social, political and economic equality for women is an integral part of achieving all the SDGs.”
The Honourable Minister shared that the Government has come up with a comprehensive approach to reducing gender inequality by; repealing laws that discriminate against women and girls, increasing protection against violence, closing the gap in girls accessing education, digital technology, as well as sexual reproductive health services and rights.
“We also look at women’s equal leadership and participation as fundamental and with the quotas that guarantee women’s participation in politics, which we have been implementing, we have at least achieved a shift in the balance of power in those corridors” she said.
The extent of this shift was elucidated upon by the Minister of State, for Gender, Labour and Social Development, Hon. Peace Regis Mutuzo as she took part in the UN WOMEN High Level Policy Panel on Gender Studies and Practice: Lessons from the Field, held earlier on closing day.
“As we talk right now, we have 178 women in Parliament. Out of 178, 168 are elected; not just appointed but elected. And so I think we have moved a milestone. That goes to show how the Government of Uganda is committed to women empowerment, and has put in place legal and policy mechanisms for its attainment.
“The Constitution mandates the same to ensure gender balance and representation of marginalised groups on all constitutional and other bodies, guarantees women’s equal rights with men, and affirmative action to redress imbalance created by history, tradition, customs among other factors” said Hon. Mutuzo.
The UN Women High Level Policy Panel was presided over by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs), Assoc. Prof. Umar Kakumba and chaired by the Principal CHUSS, Assoc. Prof. Josephine Ahikire. Other panelists included; Ms. Awa Ndiaye, UN WOMEN Representative to the African Union, Ms. Susan Ngongi Namondo, UN Resident Coordinator for Uganda, Dr. Maggie Kigozi, Chairperson of the Makerere University Endowment Fund (MakEF) who represented the Private Sector, and Hon. Bjørg Sandkjær, Deputy Minister of International Development in the Norwegian Government.
Please click the links below to view video recordings of the Closing Ceremony and UN Women High Level Panel.
Closing Ceremony: https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1ZkKzbnrjPaKv
UN Women High Level Policy Panel: https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1rmxPgbejYZJN
Downloads
The Makerere University fraternity is mourning the loss of a dedicated and hardworking academic, Dr. Brian Semujju. At the time of his passing, Dr. Semujju was serving as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Journalism and Communication, School of Languages, Literature and Communication, where he had worked for eight years. He was a prolific scholar with more than 20 publications to his name, the most recent of which was published in February 2025.
In a condolence message from the Vice Chancellor delivered by Prof. Winston Tumps Ireeta, the Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration, the University extended its heartfelt sympathies to the bereaved family. Prof. Ireeta noted that Dr. Semujju was widely known for his enthusiasm and commitment to academic research. Drawing from scripture, he offered comfort to mourners with a quote from Psalms 34:14: “The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” He also extended condolences to Dr. Semujju’s students, fellow scholars, and colleagues.
On behalf of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Principal, Prof. Helen Nambalirwa Nkabala and the Deputy Principal, Dr. Eric Awich Ochen, shared heartfelt condolences. The College Leadership acknowledged Dr. Semujju’s immense contributions and the deep void his death left in the college following his passing on 3rd August 2025. Equally commended was Dr. Semujju’s remarkable journey from Lecturer to Senior Lecturer—a clear testament to his passion and commitment to research. Dr. Semujju’s dedication to his work was described as extraordinary, and Dr. Awich Ochen confirmed that he was due for promotion to Associate Professor at the time of his death, a reflection of his unwavering pursuit of academic excellence.
Prof. Gorretti Nassanga delivered a message on behalf of the Head of the Department, Dr. Aisha Nakiwala, describing Dr. Semujju as a man who left behind a strong legacy of academic excellence. She traced his academic journey at Makerere University, beginning as a Master’s student in 2010, graduating in 2012, and completing his PhD in 2017—the same year he joined the Department as a Lecturer. She highlighted his significant research contributions, including publications in high-impact international journals and involvement in diverse research projects covering community media, gender and media, environmental and climate change communication, and the use of mobile phones in journalism practice. Prof. Nassanga praised his critical mind and eagerness to explore new frontiers of knowledge, adding: “Apart from his work at the Department of Journalism and Communication, he took interest in other areas like music, he composed several songs including some on how to tackle climate change.”
Prof. James Kiwanuka-Tondo, Dean at the School of Journalism, Media and Communication at Uganda Christian University, and Prof. Monica Chibita both spoke about Dr. Semujju’s insatiable curiosity and commitment to his work. Prof. Chibita noted his exceptional sense of duty, as evidenced by his latest publication in February despite battling illness. She emphasized the importance of preserving his legacy: “He leaves a gap in many people’s hearts but Brian also leaves a legacy of academic excellence. As many of his mentees who are here, we all have a duty to keep this legacy alive.”
Dr. Robert Kakuru, Chairperson of the Makerere University Academic Staff Association (MUASA), reflected on the collective loss felt by the academic fraternity: “As the academic fraternity we have lost a hardworking man. We have lost a man that was destined to achieve much.” He expressed appreciation to the University Management, especially the Vice Chancellor, for their support during this difficult time. Dr. Kakuru also used the occasion to promote the MUASA Social Support Fund, encouraging both new membership and mutual support among existing members.
Representing the Fulbright Scholars where Dr. Semujju served as President of the Alumni Association, Dr. Saul Daniel Ddumba also expressed his sympathies: “He accepted to be our Fulbright President, which was another job on top of what he already had,” he said, praising Dr. Semujju’s enthusiastic spirit.
Mr. Baker Batte, one of Dr. Semujju’s earliest Master’s students, shared a memory that reflected his high standards and intolerance for mediocrity: “I think I gave him approximately 15 drafts for him to accept that my dissertation was good for submission.”
A family representative, Dr. Semujju’s brother, spoke of his strong work ethic and obsession with quality, recounting his frequent reminder to the family: “Every time he would tell us that we cannot teach if we are not doing research.” He expressed gratitude to the Department of Journalism and Communication and the University for their support, particularly through financial assistance.
The funeral service held on 5th August 2025 at St. Francis Chapel and was presided over by the Chaplain, Rev. Canon Dr. Lydia Kitayimbwa. In her sermon, the Chaplain urged the bereaved family to turn to God for comfort, describing Him as “not distant, but… the God of Comfort.” She read from 2 Corinthians 1:3–7, reminding the congregation of God’s enduring presence in times of suffering: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction… Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort,” she preached.
The event was graced by several dignitaries from the Media, including the CEO of Vision Group, Mr. Don Wanyama, and the Head of Bukedde TV, Mr. Richard Kayiira.
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