Uganda's parliament in session. Photo used with permission from parliament Watch Uganda.
Ugandans are taking advantage of social media to bridge the gap between citizens and legislators, thanks to Parliament Watch Uganda [1], a virtual tracker that monitors the Parliament of Uganda on a regular basis and provides both relevant data and expert analysis.
On 26 February, 2015, the initiative organized the #MPsEngage [2] Twitter chat with women members of Parliament (MPs) to discuss the topic ‘Making Women Count in Legislative Processes’. Three audiences participated in the chat in real time: the people of Gulu in Northern Uganda, female members of parliament and Uganda's social media audience.
Gulu [3] is a post conflict district in Northern Uganda. It was the center of conflict between the government of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) [4]. Women in the area face many challenges inherited from the war and the general neglect of the central government.
Members of the audience in Gulu asked questions via microphones, which were tweeted to the MPs by a social media expert in the audience.
During the chat, the female MPs were tasked to take stock of their achievements and challenges that they've faced during their term in office.
Ugandan social media users took it upon themselves to comment, quote and direct the attention of their followers to #MPsEngage [2].
Do women in Uganda have full access to participation in all political process and decision making in UG? #MPsEngage [2] pic.twitter.com/8Oz5PlWDk1 [5]
— Parliament Watch (@pwatchug) February 25, 2015 [6]
Ugandan journalist and blogger Raymond Qatahar observed:
Taking an observatory eye into the #MPsEngage [2] . Glad that finally, a technological solution has been found to connect legislators to p'ple
— Qatahar Raymond (@qataharraymond) February 26, 2015 [7]
Jackie Asiimwe, a Ugandan lawyer, asked:
When will we ever ask male MPs how they are advancing the cause of women, because they too are voted by and represent women. #MPsEngage [2]
— Jacqueline Asiimwe (@asiimwe4justice) February 26, 2015 [8]
Kollin Rukundo brought up the issue of the marriage and divorce bill [9]. The bill [10], among other things, makes asset-sharing mandatory in a divorce, provides cohabiting partners with property rights and makes marital rape illegal:
Referring to Marriage & Divorce Bill “How can an MP pick one clause(divorce) and use it demonise the entire bill?”- Miria Matembe #MPsEngage [2]
— Kollin Rukundo T (@kollinsayz) February 26, 2015 [11]
Quoting Miria Matembe, a former minster of ethics and integrity, Jackie Asiimwe said:
MPs don't use their power properly. Instead they do the work of the Executive – building schools, supplying medicines – Matembe #MPsEngage [2]
— Jacqueline Asiimwe (@asiimwe4justice) February 26, 2015 [12]
Daniel Turitwenka, a social media consultant, shared a photo of a participant in Gulu, northern Uganda, in a live phone conversation during the chat:
#Gulu [13] had a live phone conversation with @UWOPA [14] chair Betty Amongi – answering and directly #MPsEngage [2] pic.twitter.com/R5IvjNyy46 [15]
— Danny T (@DannyT_UG) February 26, 2015 [16]
He quoted one of the participants:
#Gulu [13] Mr Okello says separation of children and parents is an issue and urges @pwatchug [17] to keep bringing the MPs to answer qns #MPsEngage [2]
— Danny T (@DannyT_UG) February 26, 2015 [18]
Gulu residents made their needs known:
#Gulu [13] everyone should have access to reproductive health. still a lot of women lack this! #MPsEngage [2] pic.twitter.com/DzYSvJNHyj [19]
— Parliament Watch (@pwatchug) February 26, 2015 [20]
They decried poor service delivery:
#Gulu [13] “our women die every day and night because of lack of midwives! This can not be tolerated!” #MPsEngage [2] pic.twitter.com/yVat6StZEg [21]
— Danny T (@DannyT_UG) February 26, 2015 [22]
Although the chat took place on Twitter, Denis R Tumusiime noted that female MPs have not yet embraced social media:
@deejahn [23] @she_infinite [24] I am yet to see a tweet from a female mp. #MPsEngage [2]
— Dennis R. Tusiime (@drwatooro) February 26, 2015 [25]
As the debate drew to a close, Jackie Asiimwe, the lawyer, noted that engagement should not be a one-off:
Our time here is coming to an end, but the conversation continues. We must all engage our MPs all the time. #MPsEngage [2]
— Jacqueline Asiimwe (@asiimwe4justice) February 26, 2015 [26]