Today, on International Women’s Day 2025, we honor the resilience, strength, and contributions of all women in their diversities. This year’s theme; Rights, Equality, and Empowerment is a powerful reminder that true liberation cannot be selective. All women, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, or background, deserve full rights and protection under the law.

In Uganda and across the African continent, discriminatory laws continue to threaten the safety, dignity, and freedoms of women. The Anti-Homosexuality Act, the Sexual Offenses Bill, and the Marriage Bill are all part of a legal system designed to control, police, and exclude certain groups of women from enjoying their fundamental rights. These laws not only violate international human rights standards but also reinforce patriarchal systems that dictate who is worthy of protection and who is not.
LBTQ+ women, sex workers, women living with HIV, and all those who challenge societal norms face heightened risks of violence, criminalization, and exclusion from essential services. These realities contradict the very essence of empowerment and equality. No woman should live in fear because of who she is, who she loves, or how she chooses to exist in the world.

As we commemorate this day, we at Kuchu Times Media Group reaffirm our commitment to amplifying the voices of marginalized women, documenting the injustices they face, and advocating for a world where all women are free, equal, and empowered. We call on policymakers, civil society, and allies to stand against these discriminatory laws and to recognize that the fight for gender equality is incomplete unless it includes every woman.

Let this IWD be a call to action: Until all of us are free, none of us are free.
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