Background: ACFODE was created in 1985, inspired by the 1985 Women's Conference in Nairobi. It is a nonpolitical, non-profit, non-governmental women's organisation, which in close cooperation with other relevant women's organisations, is striving to improve and enrich the lives of women, helping them realize their full potential and enhancing their contribution to national development. It is dedicated to improving the professional, personal, legal, economic and educational outlook of women.



Objectives: ACFODE seeks to: conscientize Ugandan society about women's problems, economic contributions, potentials and needs; campaign for a positive portrayal of women in all areas of life; cooperate and network with other national and foreign women's organisations for the welfare of all women; carry out research in order to collect and process data on women's activities in Uganda and in other developing countries; ensure women's representation and participation at all levels of decision making; promote legal education and the rights of women; use the media to affect change; foster communication among all women; offer women the opportunity for increased personal development; work continuously for the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women.



Activities: ACFODE has the following major programmes. "Networking" is designed to establish channels through which Ugandan women can communicate and share information on development, on problems and on how to solve them. "Legal Education" aims at creating women's awareness of their legal rights and to raise the status of women in society. ACFODE holds legal education workshops and seminars of men and women and community leaders at the grassroots level. It provides information about the current laws that need redress and re-enforces the battle against out-moded laws and customs which keep women in bondage. ACFODE writes "The Counsellor", a legal column in the newspaper, The Weekly Topic, where legal questions are answered by its legal committee. It also also produces a weekly page called "Women's Vision" in the daily newspaper The New Vision. ACFODE's "Research" propgram has focused on Uganda's compliance with the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women; it has done a survey of income generating projects for women; a survey of women and the constitution; and it has examined the causes of girls who drop out of school. ACFODE also has a "Job Centre" for training women in secretarial skills. Its "Education" program includes family life education courses carried out in schools around Kampala, literacy classes, and raising awareness about society's insensitivity to the needs of schoolgirl dropouts, health needs, attitude and the position of women in religion.