Source: The New Vision
SHE keenly listened each time her father, George Kadaga, a civil servant in the Ministry of Justice, narrated the proceedings of court cases. 

“Every evening, he briefed us about the different cases that had come before court,” Rebecca Kadaga fondly recalls. 

At 12, she had already made up her mind to study law. 

She is a pioneer on two significant fronts. In 1984, she became the first female Ugandan lawyer to open chambers in Uganda and recently, the first female Speaker of Parliament. 

Kadaga was born in Kamuli district on May 24, 1956. 

In 1979, she became a legal assistant with Obol Ochola and company advocates, but was restless. 

“I was working for long hours, yet earning insufficiently.” 

Five years later, she set up Kadaga and Company Advocates. 

She notes that women had not ventured into opening their own chambers because it takes a lot of courage for any lawyer to stand on their own. 

“You must find business to keep you running, because you will have employees who have to be paid. It is challenging and that is why many lawyers prefer working under others.” 

From 1986 to 1989, Kadaga was president of the Uganda Association of Women Lawyers (FIDA). 

She joined politics in 1989 when she became woman MP for Kamuli district. However, on becoming Deputy Speaker, she closed down the chambers, as it was considered inappropriate for someone in her position to practice. 

In 2000, she obtained a first class post graduate diploma in women’s law from the University of Zimbabwe and three years later, a Master of Arts degree specializing in women’s law, also from University of Zimbabwe. 

In December 2010, Kadaga led the African regional Commonwealth Women Parliamentary delegation to Abuja, Nigeria, to lobby for increased representation of women in parliaments in West Africa. 

She is the president of women members of parliament in Commonwealth countries in Africa.  

 

• Uganda