Why Us
COWAD Vison
A just and sustainable Society where all women and girls enjoy their human rights and
health, and have power over their lives.
COWAD seeks to have a society tthat balances economic, environmental, and
social dimensions to ensure women and girls are able to enjoy their human rights
and dignity equitably without compromising quality and availability of finite
resources in the future.
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COWAD Mission
To achieve gender justice and advance the sexual and reproductive health and rights of
women and adolescent girls.
To achieve our mission, we
a) We provide fund and supporting feminist leaders, organizations, and movements
in Uganda
b) We advocate for policies, programs, and funding, and holding local governments
and the government of Uganda accountable to their commitments
c) We generate knowledge and leading dialogues on critical and emergent issues.
COWAD seeks to transform political, cultural, legal, and economic systems and
structures to support the dignity and self-determination of all, through the explicit
lens of gender, gender identity or expression, and expression of sexuality.
COWAD Objectives
1. To advocate for the inclusion of Women in decision making processes
2. To empower and build the capacity of Women Advocates to promote and protect
sexual and reproductive rights
3. To advocate for the promotion and respect of sexual and reproductive rights
4. To ensure an enabling environment for the protection and promotion of sexual
and reproductive rights and to protect advocates from threats and attacks.
5. To deepen support and recognition of the work of Women Advocates for sexual
and reproductive rights and strengthen protection mechanisms, including at local,
national and international levels
COWAD Values
The staff and board of COWAD decided to explicitly name a set of enduring values that
have guided and motivated our engagement on women’s health and rights. We
consulted our members and partners, sister organizations to understand how they
experience us and our work. We reflected intensively and collectively on COWAD 10-
year history as an advocacy and intellectual leadership organization, our role in national
women’s movements, our track record of achievement, the challenges we face, and our
ongoing aspirations. The following ten values are the result of this reflection.
Our Values
Excellence
We take pride in the quality and integrity of our work and the transformational impact it
has on the lives of women and girls. We ground our expertise in evidence, cross-cultural
competency, and intentional listening. We challenge ourselves to ongoing learning and
to holding ourselves accountable.
Feminism
We recognize that all forms of oppression are connected, and that women and girls
experience multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination based on their identities,
realities, and unequal access to power and resources. We believe that we must
challenge patriarchal systems in order to end misogyny and achieve equality and
justice.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
We amplify and celebrate the voices and realities of women and girls with less power
and place them at the center of our work. We commit to creating an environment of
inclusion, support, and belonging.
Participation
We ensure that women and girls are fully involved in the decision-making processes
Generosity of Spirit
We bring our best selves and intentions to our work and show compassion and
appreciation for each other. We work collectively to ensure that we all have what we
need to thrive..
Trust
We foster and maintain relationships and partnerships based on respect, honesty, and
transparency. We rely on each other’s word and have each other’s best interests at
heart.
Capacity Building
We support women and girls to obtain, improve and retain the skills, knowledge, tools,
equipment and other resources needed for their empowerment.
Autonomy
We uphold the rights of women and girls to make decisions and have control over their
bodies and lives. We respect our members and partners’ independence and trust them
to set their own agendas and define their own strategies, just as we do.
Movement Building.
We invest in collective action to drive sustainable social change. As feminists and
activists, we are more effective, strategic, and powerful when we work together in
solidarity.
Community Philanthropy
We seek and work to gain the support of community members, mobilize community
and external resources to respond and address challenges faced by women and girls in
communities where we have a presence