Joy Constance Kwesiga is a Ugandan academic, academic administrator, gender specialist, and community activist. She is the vice chancellor of Kabale University, a public institution of higher education in Uganda and accredited by the Uganda National Council for Higher Education in 2005.[1][2]

Joy Constance Kwesiga
Born1943 (age 80–81)
NationalityUgandan
CitizenshipUganda
Alma materMakerere University
(BA in Geography)
(Doctorate in education and gender issues)
Uganda Management Institute
(Diploma in public administration)
University of London
Master of Arts in higher education)
OccupationAcademic administrator
Years active1967 — present
Known forAdministrative skills, community activism
TitleVice chancellor
Kabale University

Background and education edit

She was born in present-day Rukiga District, in the Western Region of Uganda in 1943. She is the daughter of Andrew Mafigiri, a member of the Anglican Church laity, and Esteri Mafigiri, a housewife.[3] She attended Kabale Girls' Junior Boarding School for her elementary school. She then transferred to Gayaza High School for her O-Level and A-Level education. In 1964, she entered the University of East Africa at Makerere, graduating in 1968 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in geography. In 1979, she completed the postgraduate diploma program in public administration at the Uganda Institute of Public Administration (now the Uganda Management Institute). Her Master of Arts in higher education and Doctor of Philosophy in education and gender issues were obtained from the University of London in 1987 and 1993, respectively.[3]

Career edit

At the moment she is participating in the ERASMUS-JMO-2021-MODULE. This project is for Spreading women’s Empowerment and Active citizenship values to enhance Union Policies combating gender discrimination and violence in a globalized world (https://www.dss.uniroma1.it/it/didattica/SPEAKUP-JM-Module). Following her graduation from the University of East Africa in 1967, she stayed on, working as an executive secretary in the university administration. She advanced to become the postgraduate studies deputy registrar by 1994. Between 1995 and 1998, she served as the head of the Department of Women and Gender Studies at Makerere University. From 1998 until 2001, she was the dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Makerere University.[4] In 2001, she was appointed vice chancellor of Kabale University.[5]

Women Rights advocacy edit

She was a founder member of Action for Development (ACFODE) – a national women’s rights organization which redirected the Women’s Movement in Uganda during the 1980s and 1990s.[6] She co-founded a national women rights body (Action for Development) and actively promoted gender equity in education through organisations such as Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) where she represents Uganda on the FAWE Africa Board,[7] Uganda Association of University Women, and African Women in Research and Development (AAWORD). She is s also a founding member of KOMAZA (2006) – a Civil Society Organisation with headquarters in Kabale, with the goal of empowering communities, especially girls and women, and other disadvantaged members of society.[8]

Books published edit

  • Women's Access to Higher Education in Africa. Uganda's Experience (Fountain Series in Gender Studies).[9]
  • African Women's Movements : Transforming Political Landscapes.[10]
  • The Women's Movement in Uganda : History, Challenges, and Prospects.[11]

Articles and Papers published edit

  • Gender mainstreaming in the university context: Prospects and challenges at Makerere University, Uganda.[12]
  • On Student Access and Equity in a Reforming University: Makerere in the 1990s and Beyond[13]
  • Consultancy research as a barrier to strengthening social science research capacity in Uganda[14]
  • Gender Equity in Commonwealth Higher Education: Emerging Themes in Nigeria, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Uganda[15]
  • The women's movement in Uganda revisited: will the twenty-first century create a different strand?[16]
  • The doors have been left ajar: Women in contemporary African higher education[17]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ NCHE (11 November 2016). "Uganda National Council for Higher Education: Private Universities". Kampala: National Council for Higher Education (NCHE). Archived from the original on 21 June 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  2. ^ WSRU (11 November 2016). "Women's Situation Room Uganda: Eminent Women - Professor Joy C. Kwesiga". Kampala: Women's Situation Room Uganda (WSRU). Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  3. ^ a b Aanyu, Rehema (16 October 2009). "Women are not extensions of men - Professor Kwesiga". New Vision. Kampala. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  4. ^ "African Books Collective: Joy Kwesiga". www.africanbookscollective.com. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
  5. ^ "The Africa Society Profile of Dr. Joy Constance Kwesiga: Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Makerere University, Uganda" (PDF). University of Alberta. 2000. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  6. ^ Tadria, Hilda Mary (December 2015). "Preface from one of ACFODE's Founder Members, Associate Prof. Hilda Mary Tadria". ARISE: A Women's Development Magazine. 59: 5. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  7. ^ Forum for African Women Educationalists - FAWE. "Prof. Joy Constance Kwesiga". Forum for African Women Educationalists - FAWE. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  8. ^ Komaza Initiative. "Professor. Joy C Kwesiga". Komaza Initiative. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  9. ^ Kwesiga, Joy (January 2002). Women's Access to Higher Education in Africa. Uganda's Experience (Fountain Series in Gender Studies). Amazon: Fountain Pub Ltd. ISBN 9789970022953. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  10. ^ Tripp, Aili Mari; Casimiro, Isabel; Kwesiga, Joy; Mungwa, Alice (January 2011). African Women's Movements : Transforming Political Landscapes. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780511800351. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  11. ^ Tripp, A.M.; Kwesiga, J.C; Escalante, Mijail C. Mendoza (2002). The Women's Movement in Uganda : History, Challenges, and Prospects. African Books Collective: Fountain Pub Ltd. ISBN 9789970023400. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  12. ^ Kwesiga, Joy C.; Ssendiwala, Elizabeth N. (December 2006). "Gender mainstreaming in the university context: Prospects and challenges at Makerere University, Uganda". Women's Studies International Forum. 29 (6): 592. doi:10.1016/j.wsif.2006.10.002. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  13. ^ Kwesiga, Joy C.; Ahikire, Josephine (2006). "On Student Access and Equity in a Reforming University: Makerere in the 1990s and Beyond". Journal of Higher Education in Africa. 4 (2): 1–46. doi:10.57054/jhea.v4i2.1652. JSTOR 24486258.
  14. ^ Wight, Daniel; Ahikire, Josephine; Kwesiga, Joy C. (September 2014). "Consultancy research as a barrier to strengthening social science research capacity in Uganda". Social Science & Medicine. 116: 32–40. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.06.002. PMID 24973572. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  15. ^ Gunawardena, Chandra; Kwesiga, Joy; Lihamba, Amandina; Morley, Louise; Odejide, Abiola; Shackleton, Lesley; Sorhaindo, Annik (2004). "Gender Equity in Commonwealth Higher Education: Emerging Themes in Nigeria, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Uganda": 1. Retrieved 1 June 2021. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  16. ^ Kwesiga, Joy Constance (December 2003). "The women's movement in Uganda revisited: will the twenty-first century create a different strand?". Uganda Journal. 49: 20. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  17. ^ Kwesiga, Joy Constance. Commonwealth Education Online. Commonwealth Education Partnerships https://www.cedol.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/145-148-2009.pdf. Retrieved 1 June 2021. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links edit