Honorable Winnie Kiza made history as Uganda’s first female Leader of the Opposition and served in parliament for 15 years. But long before she was a national leader, she was a young girl watching her mother fight for their family’s survival. Her story is a powerful reminder of why we must support women in politics at every step of their journey; and it captures the very heart of the Colmena Fund’s mission.
A Spark of Resistance
Winnie’s journey into leadership began at home. When her father passed away, her mother bravely refused the cultural tradition of “widow inheritance,” where she was expected to be passed on to one of Winnie’s uncles.
“She said, ‘I married one man in this family and I don’t want to be passed over to another man,’” Winnie recalls.
Because she refused, family elders labeled her “rebellious”, “undisciplined” and abandoned her to raise seven children alone. To pay for school fees, her mother began baking and selling pancakes. As Winnie helped vend those pancakes, she saw how deeply her mother and other widows suffered in silence. That pain sparked a fire.
“I kept telling myself ‘this situation can change’,” Winnie says. “I think I better step up and be the voice of those whose voices cannot be heard.”
The “Tiny Little Girl” Who Won
Stepping up was not easy. When Winnie first ran for local office at age 25, she faced harsh judgment. Senior community members asked how a “tiny little girl” who wasn’t even married could possibly represent them. Some even claimed she was just a prostitute trying to steal their husbands.
Instead of backing down, Winnie used quick wit and humor to fight back. She joked with the crowds, asking the men, “Do I really look like the most ugly girl that you wouldn’t want to have for a wife?” By challenging the culture directly, she won over the people and took the election with over 86% of the vote. More importantly, she broke the barrier so that the single women who ran after her never had to face those same insulting questions.
Today, Winnie is calling for a complete change in how politics works. To her, reimagining democracy means centering people’s issues and putting the right persons in the right places for the good of the communities.” She calls for:
- Intergenerational Mentorship: She advocates for intentional mentorship circles where senior female leaders hold the hands of younger women, ensuring they do not have to walk the difficult political journey alone.
- Economic Independence: Policies that put money directly into women’s hands so they can run campaigns without being vulnerable to exploitation and sexual harassment.
- Global Solidarity: As she declares: “an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us,” Winnie calls for a united, global network of women who will stand up against gender-based violence, online harassment, and political intimidation worldwide.
Finding Sisterhood with the Colmena Fund
Winnie’s vision is exactly why the Colmena Fund exists. The fund provides the resources women in the Global South need to get their political journeys off the ground, sustain their roles and thrive. As Winnie explains, to truly change a country, we must start by “transforming the mothers of those nations.”
The Colmena Fund does more than provide resources; it helps women realize they don’t have to fight alone. Too often, female politicians are trapped in their local villages, burdened by childcare and isolated. By bringing women together at global events, the fund creates a powerful sisterhood.
“I get to understand that I’m not alone,” Winnie shared after meeting other women leaders. “I get to understand that there is someone I can call.”
A Call to Action: Stand Up and Fly
Winnie knows the path of leadership is hard, but she believes deeply in the next generation. For any young person thinking about stepping up to make a difference, her message is simple: Take the risk.
“You just have to defy the narrative and defy what other people may think is the norm,” she urges. You cannot wait for others to make decisions for you. Instead, you must find your courage, step into the room, and “stand up and fly.”
Full conversation with Winnie Kiiza in Episode 05, Season 2 of Colmena Fund’s podcast Resist, Persist and Reimagine: A New Era for African Women’s Political Power.
