Uganda’s female leadership now commands a massive 49% of the national Cabinet and 35% of Parliament, Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa revealed at a high-level global summit.
Leading the Ugandan delegation at the World Women Parliamentarians Forum in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Tayebwa showcased the nation’s aggressive legislative progress [12-13 October 2026]. He emphasized that while constitutional affirmative action has successfully pushed women into top offices, the next battle is turning raw numbers into real legislative power.
“Representation is only the beginning,” Tayebwa declared. “The most important measure of progress is whether women are able to influence the laws, the policies, the budgets, and decisions that shape the lives of our people.”
Uganda’s Power Breakdown by the Numbers indicatesa that 49% near-equal share of women occupy seats in Uganda’s Cabinet,35% female composition of Parliament, accounting for 187 out of 529 lawmakers and 4 Top Executive Slots: The key apex positions a re held by women, including the Vice President, Prime Minister, and two Deputy Prime Ministers.
Tayebwa highlighted that Uganda does not just count women; it audits its spending. Through the Eqaul Opportunities Commission the country runs strict gender and equality assessments during the budgeting process to ensure women and marginalized groups are legally protected and prioritized in national programs.
The two-day forum, running under the theme “From Representation to Influence in the Decision-Making Process,” became a sounding board for regional and global comparisons:
Leah Sopiato Sankaire (Kajiado County Woman Rep) admitted Kenya is still failing its constitutional “two-thirds” gender rule, sitting 31 female MPs short of the legal threshold. She noted a constitutional amendment bill is underway to fix the deficit.
Parvana Valiyeva reminded the floor that Azerbaijan was the first secular nation in the Muslim East to grant women voting rights (1918) and open a girls’ secular school (1901).
Mongolian Foreign Affairs Minister Battsetseg Batmunkh celebrated the fact that global female parliamentary representation has more than doubled since the historic 1995 Beijing World Conference on Women.
The prominent lawmakers representing Uganda alongside Tayebwa included:Auma Linda Agnes (Lira District Woman MP),Laura Kanushu (National Female MP for PWDs),Betty Ethel Naluyima (Wakiso District Woman MP),Anna Ebaju Adeke (Soroti District Woman MP),Mercy Kanyesigye (National Female Youth MP)
