“Press Conference by PARENTS on the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2009”

[Friday September 2, 2011, Imperial Royale Hotel, Daisy Hall, 10.00am]

Launching the “Pass the BILL Now Campaign”

“Who will protect or speak for our Children when homosexuals are targeting them?”

Introduction

We the parents of Uganda again come together with a united voice to state our position on the issue of homosexuality and the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

Every time I hear this phrase I remember one of my favorite ones, “I take risks coz I’m all that”. The first time I heard it I thought it was a little on the rude side but come to think about it now, its about being bold and doing what I want to do while making a conscious decision on my body, my life,my friends and everything that is around me.I was reading an article the other day in one of the local dailies that was titled “Young women would rather contract HIV then fall pregnant”.

I was surprised to see the Report on Hidden Talent Academy 2 weeks ago after the candidates discovered that they have not been registered by their headmaster to sit for thier KCPE Final Examinations. When asked the headteacher alleged that he  had made payments the previous year and his students did not sit for the examinations so the money was to be carried forward. Unfortunately the Teacher Service Commission Code of Ethics does not apply to him since Hidden Talent is a private school.

Reacting to the one of the blogs shared last week, I was saddened by the truth that young women and girls would rather contract HIV than fall pregnant. I was taken back by the alarming figures shared, but it is the sad truth. I remember when I was in school and the thought of falling pregnant was like a death sentence. It was a death sentence because your peers, parents and those around you had evidence that you were sexually active. This was the biggest fear and the thought of the shame and stigma that one would face led many girls in our schools to do many life threatening things.

I was having a discussion with a couple of my friends on the role that women and men play in relationships and then the topic of sex came up, and how relationships work with or without it. I was the only female in the group and was out numbered but that did not stop me from engaging them on this. They shared that it is impossible for a relationship to work if a woman is not willing to “give it up” to her man. They said it is important that women know how to satisfy their partners for the relationship to last.

YWLI recently carried out an Essay competition for primary and secondary school students. The essay for the Secondary schools was to start   ’As a boy/girl I want to live my life my way but …’ The primary schools were to argue that ’Life is easier for boys than for girls ‘(and vice versa)”.

GLOBAL: Male circumcision does not protect women

JOHANNESBURG, 17 July (IRIN) - New research suggests that circumcising HIV-positive men does not reduce the risk of their female partners becoming HIV-infected.
 
 The findings, reported on 17 July in the British medical journal, The Lancet, emerged from a clinical trial in Rakai District, southern Uganda, involving 922 HIV-infected men and 163 of their HIV-negative female partners.