Fund a woman, fund a child

Data from Pathfinders indicates that, five billion people lack significant access to justice globally, representing approximately the majority of the world’s population. This challenge is more pronounced in Uganda, where only 1% of the population can afford legal representation. This is further exacerbated by the multiple vulnerabilities women and children face such as abject poverty, unemployment, lack of access to land, domestic violence and family disputes. As a leading legal aid service provider in the country, FIDA-Uganda has been delivering essential legal aid services to those in greatest need, especially indigent women and children. With generous support received through GlobalGiving, the organization provided critical legal services to 3,632vulnerable individuals, majority of whom were poor women (72% of clients) between March and May 2025.

As a result, we have registered tremendous success:

• 70% of cases were successfully resolved through legal advice, mediations, and court interventions.
• 18% of clients were referred to partner organizations for additional support services, including shelter, health, and police assistance.
• Additionally, vulnerable women also received crucial counselling to address psychosocial and mental health issues that exacebate their vulnerabilities.

Despite the progress made, your support remains vital. Women in Uganda continue to face multiple systemic vulnerabilities that heighten their need for justice. That's why we need your continued support.Your Donation Can Make a Difference. By contributing to FIDA-Uganda, you'll be helping us:

• Deliver essential legal aid and psychosocial support services to indigent women in Uganda.
• Promote policy changes that advance gender equality and justice.
• Empower women to assert their rights and shape a brighter future through economic empowerment and strengthened agency.

Your donation —big or small —truly matters. Together, we can build a society rooted in justice and fairness for everyone.

Success story: Interim relief granted to two female health trainees following legal challenge to discriminatory pregnancy regulations

In June 2025, FIDA-Uganda formally filed a constitutional petition in the Constitutional Court challenging Ministry of Education and Sports’ regulations requiring mandatory pregnancy testing and suspension for pregnant students in nursing schools.

As a result, two female students from Jinja Medical Laboratory Training School who had been expelled from school due to pregnancy, received interim relief after a joint intervention by FIDA-Uganda, Uganda Law Society, and the Women’s Probono Initiative.

A complaint filed before the Equal Opportunities Commission resulted in an interim order directing the school to allow the students to write their exams. FIDA-Uganda’s legal team followed up to ensure the order was implemented.

This timely intervention not only upheld the students’ right to education but also laid the groundwork for a constitutional petition challenging the legality of the pregnancy-related regulations. The case promotes sexual and reproductive health rights for women in tertiary education and underscores the importance of legal aid and strategic litigation in advancing sexual and reproductive health rights for underserved and vulnerable women in Uganda.

Links:

• FIDA-Uganda Website