STAUNCH: Docuseries eyes preserving generational stories of women’s liberation movement

Consolate Namyalo, Priscilla Tamale, Rhoda Ngonzi and Karen Imbazwe Imanyire, the producers of the series -- talked to women's rights activists from different age groups, including 93-year-old Rhoda Kalema, who joined the Uganda Council of Women in 1959.

The cast also includes Sarah Mukasa, pan-Africanist feminist and the deputy director at the Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa; Dr. Mary Hilda Kabushenga Tadria, the first executive director of Mentoring and Empowerment Program for Young Women (MEMPROW); and Twasiima P. Bigirwa, an Afro-feminist writer and lawyer.

“These women share their unique yet almost similar experiences that provide an insight into the foundations, growth & struggles of the movement,” reads an official statement about STAUNCH.

The five-part docuseries taps into the knowledge of trailblazers, women that are currently involved in fighting for women's rights and gives insight into the future. This is done through a combination of interviews, revisiting old text, documentaries, books, news reports and many other sources of content.

Femme Forte Uganda hosted the screening of the STAUNCH series at its offices in Ntinda, Kampala on Friday evening, April 14. On its website, the organisation, which was started in 2017, says its vision is to see "a balanced society that provides equal opportunity to men and women."

Welcoming guests, Jacqueline Nampijja, the Femme Forte Uganda Catalyst [programs officer], says the organisation’s name means "strong woman”, but “not in the way the words have been robbed of their power by patriarchal narratives.”

Simply put, a strong woman is about "sisterhood, accountability, feminist leadership and equity."

“Femme Forte is working towards bridging the gap between younger and older women in the movement and what a gift this docuseries gives in bringing us all together, with our different stories, experiences, lives and aspirations,” she said.

Jacqueline Nampijja, the Femme Forte Uganda Catalyst [programs officer] Pulse

“Collectively we are the feminist revolution! To those who have gone before us and on whose shoulders we continue to stand as we build, thank you for your service and sacrifice, to those we are currently building with it's a messy world out there, let love always lead the way, to those coming after us, we hope you find us worthy of the call to serve you.”

She told introduced the guests to Her Wellness Shop, an online store under Femme Forte that was exhibiting some of their branded products like bracelets, jumpers, tees, shear butter and hats.

Some of Her Wellness Shop items that were exhibited Pulse

Rhoda Kalema, a former MP and minister, said she was "extremely honoured and grateful to" the producers of Staunch "for involving" her in the series that will contribute to nurturing strong women in the country.

According to her, a "women's movement is a movement built on friendship and service above self."

Kalema encouraged women to work together to "form a strong body of women working for the development of their country". This will in turn keep the feminist movement growing, she said.

Rhoda Kalema giving her speech before the first public screening of STAUNCH Pulse

She also noted that she's a product of good mentorship from fellow women under the Uganda Council of Women who "hijacked" her to join when she had just returned to Uganda in 1959.

Kalema named Sarah Nyendwoha Ntiro, the first woman university graduate in East and Central Africa, among those women. Ntiro, who graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in History in 1954, from Oxford University, died in 2018.

Rhoda Kalema was tasked by the Council to promote social justice for women. "The more I worked with these women," she said, "the more I believed the power of social justice."

She told the guests that it was through "togetherness" that they were able to build "a very strong force."

Sarah Mukasa was also grateful to the producers of the series and assured them that the "movement will die" if the young generation doesn't continue participating.

Mukasa, who spent a considerable part of her life in the U.K., said that she started realising that "men and women live different lives when" she "was still a child."

She cited an instance where women had to be married to acquire refugee status.

The "patriarchy uses women and grants women status while oppressing others," Mukasa says in the docuseries.

She said some people had labeled her a "devilish woman" because of her beliefs and that she could be "frustrated because" she "can't get a man".

She said that she found such insulting when she was younger, but she is no longer fazed by it.

Dr. Tandria Kabushenga, who has been a feminist and gender equality advocate for at least 50 years, said that "part of the resistance is to call us male haters."

"I don't like working with men because they want privileges even when they are in workplaces," Dr. Tadria clarified.

She said the "backlash" they are getting could be inspired by the success of the feminist movement.

She said that her mother inspired her because she always saw her working for women.

She said that the involvement of old women in feminism is important because they provide history.

Tea was served Pulse

Twasima Bigirwa noted that since feminism is about challenging the status quo and power structures, "backlash" is inevitable "because that's how systems of oppression" operate.

Bigirwa said that while she grew up in a liberal family where there were no assigned gender roles in the home, she could see that things were different away from home.

This piqued her curiosity and resistance began.

She said her launch into the women's rights movement was when she discovered the works of Prof. Sylvia Tamale whom she had been advised against following.

Prof. Tamale, the first woman dean of the Law Faculty at Makerere University, is one of the most revered human rights authors on the continent. She has also scooped global awards.

When Twasima Bigirwa joined Twitter and met the feminist community, the door to fighting for women's rights completely opened, she also started consuming literature by African American feminists.

She acknowledged that resistance will always be expected when challenging the status quo, but since women are still significantly disenfranchised the war won't stop.

Penelope Sanyu, the Chief Steward of Femme Forte, said that she was honoured to host the screening of Staunch.

"I know that creating content, writing scripts, creating films is not a joke... It's not that simple..." Sanyu said while congratulating the producers.