Lydia Namubiru
27 February 2009
column
Kampala — HE is good looking, educated, confident, eloquent and the most powerful man in the world. His charisma and good looks have made him a favourite of women. He is Barack Obama and yes, he is good for women.
He cares about the issues women face and he is doing a lot about them. Obama has a realistic outlook on the difficult reproductive choices women have to make. For instance, he lifted the ban that barred US aid from going to family planning providers who offer or advise on abortion.
The ban had mostly affected family planning service providers in the developing world by making them unable to provide other family planning services like contraceptive pills. He has also been a champion of reproductive choice and is intent on preserving women's rights. He has also supported efforts to combat breast cancer, another leading cause of death among women.
He supports legislation to encourage research that will examine gender and health disparities. The same legislation would establish community outreach programmes in underserved areas to help women access health care and maintain healthy lifestyles.
He is very sensitive to women's financial struggle and understands that women are more economically vulnerable than men. He has, for instance, appointed a woman to head the small businesses administration in the US knowing well that small businesses are the lifeline of many women.
Raised by a single working mom, Obama is aware of a need for work/life balanced policies and understands how hard it can be to keep a job while caring for families. Consequently, he has appointed a woman to head the US Department of Labour.
He is an advocate for equal pay for women and men when they work equal hours on the same jobs. He is a good role model for our sons and men. He is a loving father, a faithful husband and an ideological man.
He is inspiration for our men and when they emulate him, the gain will be all ours. His wife Michelle is a champion for working women's and family rights. American media has reported that she is currently drafting a policy to help women work and care for their families simultaneously. At the very least, such a policy would give women and family rights activists here, a draft to work with when advocating similar issues.
Six of the most influential people in Barack Obama's life are or have been women. He was raised by his mother, grandmother, grandfather. As an adult, he as been closest to his wife Michelle and his sister Maya Soetoro-Ng. He is inspired and motivated by his two daughters Malia and Sasha. What more would it take to make a president who is good for women?
Barack Obama is good for the world economy. Ladies, our children will go to school, get good jobs and achieve their potential. Why? Because Barack Obama is going to fix this crumbling world economy.
His presidency has raised high hopes for peace around the world because of his respectful and tactful diplomatic nature.
Women and their children are the most vulnerable in war situations so a president who is good for world peace is good for women.
Last, but not least, he is eye candy. A poster of him on your desk or dash board certainly lifts a woman's spirit.
Like his sister Maya says, Barack Obama is a feminist. "People laugh but I think it is true," Maya says. Well, dear sister, we are not laughing. We are only grateful that you drove our point home.
Additional reporting by Carol Kezaabu.
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