EAST AFRICAN JOURNAL OF PEACE & HUMAN RIGHTS Journal of the Human Rights and Peace Centre (HURIPEC) School of Law, Makerere University Volume 24, Number 1 June 2018 Copyright © 2018 by HURIPEC EAST AFRICAN JOURNAL OF PEACE & HUMAN RIGHTS Volume 24 Number 1, 2018 EDITORIAL COMMITTEE SCHOOL OF LAW, MAKERERE UNIVERSITY Managing Editor Zahara Nampewo HURIPEC Editor George Lugalambi COMMITTEE MEMBERS Sylvia Tamale Fredrick W. Jjuuko Hadija Namyalo Law & Jurisprudence Law & Jurisprudence Public & Comparative Law Robert Kirunda Christopher Mbaziira Esther D. Naggita Public & Comparative Law HURIPEC Law & Jurisprudence Phiona Muhwezi-Mpanga Commercial Law Assistant Editor Francis X. Birikadde HURIPEC ii EAST AFRICAN JOURNAL OF PEACE & HUMAN RIGHTS Volume 24 Number 1, 2018 INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD Selina Goulbourne Winston P. Nagan Hope Lewis Coventry University University of Florida Northeastern University Penelope Andrews Patricia Kameri Mbote Fareda Banda CUNY Law School University of Nairobi School of Oriental & African Studies Chris Maina Peter Karin Arts Makau wa Mutua University of Dar es Salaam Institute of Social Studies SUNY, Buffalo Gudmundur Alfredsson Amina Mama Peter R. Schmidt University of Strasbourg University of California, Davis University of Florida Christof Heyns Onalenna Selolwane Abdul Paliwala University of Pretoria University of Botswana University of Warwick Deepika Udagama J. Purusi Sadiki University of Colombo University of Ghent iii EAST AFRICAN JOURNAL OF PEACE & HUMAN RIGHTS Volume 24 Number 1, 2018 The East African Journal of Peace and Human Rights, ISSN: 1021-8858 is a bi- annual published by the School of Law, Makerere University under the auspices of the Human Rights and Peace Centre (HURIPEC). Contributions for publication should be original. The text of the article, including footnotes, should be double-spaced. Footnotes should be placed at the bottom of each page and citations should follow A Uniform System of Citation (15th ed). Contributors are requested to indicate their professional, academic, and other qualifications as well as their e-mail and physical address for communication. Published authors will receive a free copy of the Journal in which their contribution appears. Works published in the Journal do not necessarily represent the views of the Editors, the International Advisory Board, or the Human Rights and Peace Centre. This journal should be cited as EAST AFR. J. PEACE HUM. RIGHTS. Further inquiries should be directed to: Zahara Nampewo HURIPEC School of Law Makerere University P.O. Box 7062 Kampala, UGANDA Telephone: (256-414) 532-954 Fax No: (256-41) 543-110 or 532-956 E-mail: [email protected] iv TABLE OF CONTENTS EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION Patricia Atim & Damalie Naggita-Musoke.................... 1 MATERNAL HEALTH RIGHTS FOR WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES IN UGANDA Ben K. Twinomugisha.................................... 5 ACCESS TO PUBLISHED WORKS FOR PERSONS WHO ARE BLIND, VISUALLY IMPAIRED OR OTHERWISE PRINT DISABLED IN UGANDA R. Kakungulu-Mayambala ................................ 38 WE HAVE A RIGHT TO LOVE: THE RIGHT TO MARRY AND REPRODUCE FOR WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES IN UGANDA Zahara Nampewo....................................... 64 DISABILITY POLICIES, ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT, AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR IN UGANDA Dianah Ahumuza Ateenyi................................ 92 IN-VITRO FERTILIZATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: EMERGING ISSUES Dennis Odigie & Florence Iyasere......................... 108 THE FINAL CUT: ACCOMMODATION OF ASYLUM VICTIMS OF FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION IN THE WEST Patricia N. Jjemba ..................................... 120 v EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION Patricia Atim* & Damalie Naggita-Musoke** The School of Law under its Disability Law and Rights Project and with support from the Open Society Initiative of East Africa (OSIEA) has embarked on a journey to spearhead the protection and enjoyment of rights by persons with disabilities through the academia. Although Uganda has a legal regime for the protection of persons with disabilities, the actual enjoyment and realisation of their rights remains illusory. While Uganda’s Persons with Disabilities Act, 2006 and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which was ratified by Uganda, have played an important role in helping people understand disability rights, the full enjoyment of these rights by persons with disabilities has not been achieved due to factors such as attitudinal and environmental barriers. The continuous perception of persons with disabilities as objects of charity as opposed to rights-holders, hinders the progress of the disability rights movement. It is in the above context that the School of Law conceived the Disability Law and Rights Project. With the project theme of “Promoting Disability Rights through Legal Education”, the School believes that the lens through which disability rights are viewed should be adjusted because the removal of attitudinal and environmental barriers is critical to the realization and enjoyment of disability rights. One way of doing this is through widening the curriculum to include and integrate disability issues and concerns in and within the syllabus. Due to the dearth of appropriate and relevant teaching materials in the area of disability, the Project has encouraged staff to undertake research in the different aspects impacting disability law and rights. This special issue is thus intended for publication of various papers from research on different aspects of disability rights authored by the academic staff at the School. The intended outcome of the papers is that they can be used as a tool for academic research, teaching and advocacy to enhance the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities in Uganda. Contending that all models of disability are critical in understanding the challenges faced by women with disabilities in their struggle to access and utilise maternal health care, Prof Twinomugisha, in his article 'Maternal health Rights for women with Disabilities in Uganda', advocates for the protection of the maternal health rights of women with disabilities in Uganda. He recognizes the fact that women with * Guest Editor; Assistant Lecturer/Clinical Instructor, Public Interest Law Clinic (PILAC), School of Law, Makerere University. Email: <[email protected]>. ** Guest Editor, Senior Lecturer, School of Law, Makerere University. Email: <[email protected]>. 1 2 East African Journal of Peace & Human Rights [Vol 24:1 disabilities are not a homogenous group, and notes that they face multiple forms of discrimination because of various variables like poverty, disability and gender. And yet, there exists a progressive international and domestic legal framework that guarantees their rights to life, health, equality and non-discrimination, privacy and freedom from cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment, among others. Despite these legal guarantees, women with disabilities still face discrimination in the enjoyment of maternal health rights. This is attributed to several barriers including physical barriers of infrastructure, unavailability of safe transport to attend health facilities, disability inaccessible medical equipment, communication barriers and negative societal attitudes that view women with disabilities as asexual, hypersexual and lacking control of their bodies. To combat these barriers, Prof. Twinomugisha calls for the need to adopt reasonable accommodation measures as well as break the physical and communication barriers to enhance access to the physical environment, information materials, and effective communication especially in health facilities. He observes that negative attitudes that also affect medical practitioners must not be left unabated, and massive sensitization to fight stigma, discrimination and marginalisation is also crucial. He urges state and non-state actors to embark on disability mainstreaming of all policies and programmes that relate to the maternal health rights of women with disabilities. Related to Prof Twinomugisha’s study, and the need to promote and protect the right to sexual and reproductive health for women with disabilities, Dr Zahara Nampewo, utilising the gender and human rights lens, interrogates the conundrum about the recognition and enjoyment of sexual rights of women with disabilities. In her article 'We have a Right to Love: The Right to Marry and Reproduce for Women with Disabilities in Uganda', she contends that although various laws exist that recognise the sexual and reproductive rights of women with disabilities just like their non-disabled counterparts, there is glaring evidence of limited enjoyment of sexual rights by women with disabilities. This is attributed to several factors including the negative societal perception, which views women with disabilities as asexual and therefore unable to enjoy their sexual rights to marriage and reproduction. Historically, women with disabilities globally have had limited enjoyment of consensual marriage, often subjected to sterilisation in a bid to curtail the multiplication of disabled genes or birth of persons with disabilities. They also suffer multi forms and layers of discrimination as a result of the intersectionality of various factors like race, gender, class or nature of disability. On a positive note, her empirical findings reveal that women with disabilities in Uganda take an active part in the community, as well as fewer cases of incest and sterilisation being reported. However, her findings show that there is lack of support