Diary of a Feminist: Joan Kembabazi - Girls Are Not Voiceless
Joan Kembabazi, born and raised in rural Uganda, Kayunga district, was inspired to take matters into her own hands when her childhood best friend Moureen Gufasha died at age 13 giving birth. Moureen was forced into child marriage, a prominent issue in Uganda, with 1.5 million girls married before the age of 15 in 2023 according to UNFPA. Following the loss of her friend, Joan wanted to make sure girls had the power to write their own future, pursue an education and avoid facing the same life-threatening experience that her friend did. Therefore, in 2012, while she was only a young girl herself, Joan began her advocacy and later founded the Gufasha Girls Foundation, poignantly named after her late friend.
“I love talking about the roots of my advocacy, and my personal story of losing my best friend, even though I talk about it a lot it still gets me emotional. When my friend and her baby died, it really triggered me, I was really traumatized.”
Joan’s relationship with Moureen goes way back through their childhood as they were neighbors, “We could always chat, share things, went to school together. I believe wherever Moureen is now she must be proud of me because I am doing what I am doing because of her.”
Getting people to listen
In countries like Uganda, laws exist to prevent child marriage, but there are also common loopholes that make it difficult to prevent. Not only this but child marriage has been around for centuries, therefore it is deeply rooted in society. Joan was raised in a community seeing this all her life and knew that to make a difference, she needed to address the community. “I started by myself, I talked to teachers and parents, I needed everyone to be part of this, I educated myself using the internet which I had access to at school.”
Joan had this passion for change but was unsure how to execute it herself, finding ways to challenge attitudes and beliefs was a difficult starting point. At the same time, she wanted to be a role model and continue her education. even though she was going through a very difficult and traumatic time, it was important for her to lead by example.
“There’s so many people that supported the journey, directly, indirectly. The community leaders welcomed me which was important because you need to have them on your side to make change.” However, challenging these norms has not become easier, “It is difficult to question someone’s mindset, it is still a struggle.”
“If Joan can do it, so can I”
Throughout her journey, Joan has become more empowered and those with a negative take on her work and passion affect her less and less. “We still face challenges, there are people that say: “Even if girls go further with their education, the end goal is always marriage so what’s the point.” People sometimes cannot see that education should also be a priority for their money and resources. “We rely heavily on agriculture in Uganda for income so sometimes people say we can buy chickens and cows with the money we would spend on investing in girls’ education, and when those are the views of the community leaders, it is hard to accept that you and will not be able to reach that community.”
Joan is from a large family, she is one of 24 siblings and was the first in her community and her family to graduate from school. “When I talk to young girls they see me as an inspiration, they are willing to put in the energy and listen, every time I talk to these girls you can see they are willing to put in the effort.”
For these girls, Joan is someone they can relate to a person who has grown up in a family similar to theirs in the same community and school. “If Joan did it, I can too,” is what the girls started to realize, she explained.
A real-life Angel
Throughout her life, Joan has worked with and empowered thousands of people, she reflected on the girls she has worked with and said, that Angel, comes to mind as a young person who has had a poignant impact on her.
“She is very shy, she doesn’t speak up in front of people, but I realized she is a powerful person and just doesn’t know it yet. So I thought we just need to spark something in this girl for her potential to come out.”
To let Angel shine, Joan placed her in charge of leading an activity where she would have to stand up and present. In the lead-up to the activity, Joan told Angel she could come to her with any questions but she didn’t. When the time came for the activity, Angel was so confident she did amazingly and exceeded expectations, which shows that girls have the power within themselves, we just have to let them lead.
Girls are not voiceless
“I wish people asked me more; how can we support girls? How can we see more girls become empowered leaders? Because the most beautiful thing that a girl can ever have is her voice and agency. This is what can take her places. Every woman we see in leadership positions is there because she has her voice and agency, she is empowered.
I believe in the power of empowering girls, I believe in the power of girls owning their voices. I don't want people to call these girls voiceless. These girls have their voices, they can speak up for themselves but how can we make them believe in their voices and discover their voices is the important question,” Joan concluded.
About the author:
Olivia Hooper is one of the co-directors of Politics4Her, she is a British journalist and editor with a degree in translation. Olivia uses her career in journalism to advocate on gender-based issues surrounding women and girls.
