Joyce Mpanga, a leading proponent for the advancement of women in Africa, will speak at Wake Forest University Oct. 28 at 4 p.m. The event, sponsored by the Wake Forest women’s studies program, will be in Benson University Center’s Pugh Auditorium. It is free and open to the public.
Mpanga’s talk, “Education and Social/Political Changes for Women in Uganda,” will focus on Ugandan society and the status of women. She says that by sharing experiences from her homeland, she hopes to widen the horizons of women in the United States.
“I want to sensitize people to exercise the freedom that is given to them here,” says Mpanga, Uganda’s chairperson for the Non-Government Organizations Board. “In Uganda, because of tradition, culture and custom, boys are most often given better educational opportunities than girls.”
In 1960, during the colonial days in Africa, Mpanga was one of the first women appointed by the British Colonial Governor of Uganda to represent women in Parliament. During her term she initiated legislation and policies for the advancement of women and for their inclusion in the mainstream. She has also held several leadership positions in Uganda, including secretary of state for Women in Development, secretary of state for Education, and deputy chairperson to the Public Service Commission.
For more information, call 336-758-5139.
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