Ugandan women have been urged to engage in wellness practices such as hygiene, preventive health care, nutrition, exercise, sleep, and meditation continuous learning, therapy, and stress management to boost mental health.
While delivering a keynote speech at the annual sisterhood forum event on Thursday, November 28, 2024, at Hotel Africana in Kampala, Dr. Joyce Tamale, who doubles as an accomplished leadership coach and human rights activist, revealed that one out of two women is suffering from a chronic illness due to stress, which has affected the efficiency of women in different spheres of life.
“76% of middle-aged women are experiencing loneliness. Loneliness is a serious killer, worse than obesity. We need to adopt wellness practices and take care of our mental health,” Dr. Tamale said.
Tamale added that “life comes in batches of tens. When you turn 30, 40, or 50, something always happens, and we need to be able to do checks, such as health or relationship checks, at all these stages.”
According to Hellen Okiring, a mental health and wellness coach, some elements empty women’s emotional cups and leave them emotionally exhausted, adding that it is imperative to recognize such and deal with them in the promotion of self-care.
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However, commenting on the strengthening of the women’s movement, Patricia Munabi, the Executive Director of the Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE), said that the women’s movement has made progressive strides in ensuring women’s wellness, but it is still faced with challenges.
“The work we continue to jointly undertake is taking a toll on our mental and physical well-being, leading to burnout. And yet, a tired movement is bound to be more fragmented,” Munabi said.
Munabi added that sustaining activism in the women’s movement through centering mental health and wellness will ensure a more connected, resilient, and thriving movement.
Over the last five years, Forum For Women In Democracy has been convening sisterhood forums aimed at contributing to a movement that is more inclusive, empowering, and transformative.
This year’s forum is meant to provide a safe space to reflect on the importance of wellness and self-care in strengthening the women’s movement.
