EDUCATION: Women acting as role models to younger girls

Despite the Government’s extensive role in empowering women, it’s imperative for every woman to encourage another. Mothers especially should be supportive of their daughters’ career choices because every message a mother passes on to her daughter becomes a strong armor used while searching for success. The mindset that women should be comfortable with whatever little they have in life should be changed since women are the mothers of the nation. Therefore a mother’s role is of great importance when it comes to a child’s future. In an interview with The New Times, Mary Alice Bamusiime, Gender and Rural Development Expert and Consultant, acknowledges the fact that girl child empowerment begins with the role of the mother and also other women in the community. “Laws have been revised and there is a political will supporting girls and women. It’s our role as women and mothers to encourage the girl child to take on anything she feels she is capable of doing. Mothers shouldn’t be stingy with the confidence they have in their daughters because the biggest support every daughter needs to take on a challenge in life is that of her mother,” Bamusiime emphasizes. She talks about the time she had to go to Netherlands to do her Masters even when she had a three-year-old son and an 18month daughter. “I worried about leaving the family but I had so much support from my husband and mother. She was willing to take care of the children for the year I was away. But other women just put me down,” Bamusiime expresses. She said that in most cases its women who try to water down other the success of other women instead of lifting them up. Sylvia Kirungi is the Minister of Gender in the Guild Council at School of Finance and Banking (SFB).“At the beginning I was not sure whether I could take on the post. I had doubts but after talking to my mum about my fears, I was encouraged and she assured me I wasn’t alone in my endeavor. She went on to tell me that I had her support and everyone else’s,” Kirungi explains. The eloquent Kirungi applied for the post and as a policy at SFB, credentials like performance transcripts are required before nomination.“My mother has never discouraged me from pursuing anything,” Kirungi reveals. Natasha Muhoza, a former Head Prefect Riviera High School and one of this year’s best performing Senior Six students attributes her excellent performance to her mother. “Basically my mother always said that through determination one can achieve whatever they want to achieve. She always encourages me and my siblings to aim higher. She is the best,” Muhoza narrates. Muhoza also said that her mother encourages her to take on something that seems to be an overwhelming challenging.“My mother makes something I consider hard to achieve so achievable and I’m so grateful for her support,” Muhoza expresses. Muhoza is the writer of Natasha’s Chronicles in the Teen Times, a weekly magazine published by The New Times.