Women’s Rights and Governance: The KICOPA Experience in Uganda

Abstract

This video illustrates the activities, achievements and challenges of the Kiboga Community Paralegal Association (KICOPA), a group of 25 grassroots women and 5 men based in Kiboga District in central Uganda. The group was trained by the Uganda Community Based Association for Child Welfare (UCOBAC) within the Women’s Land Link Africa (WLLA) initiative, that supported the organization and training of the members of the group as community paralegals. The training was aimed at enabling women and men in the realization of a number of community-based activities that can support and empower women and at creating a community support structure that would help women in accessing the legal and administrative justice system. The goals of KICOPA are: to increase women’s participation in decision-making; to support elected women to effectively and meaningfully represent women; to ensure that the governance system is gender-sensitive and balanced in terms of participation and decision-making. Through this video, some of the actors of the experience reflect on the impact of the activities carried out by the group in terms of benefits for the community and of women’s empowerment.