FIDA Uganda is a membership based, feminist NGO formed as an association for women lawyers in 1974, registered as a company limited by guarantee in 1995 and as an NGO in 1999. It is a member of several networks and belongs to several human rights, legal aid providers and NGO networks at grassroots, national and international levels.

It is affiliated to FIDA International and associates with other FIDA chapters. FIDA has progressed from its initial goal of assisting widows to navigate through the Administrator General’s department to attain their legal inheritance rights, to a broader agenda of advancing women’s social, economic and political rights through legal aid, research, rights education, advocacy and strategic litigation. Over the years FIDA Uganda has influenced the content of government programmes and policies by providing technical support to government agencies in mainstreaming women’s rights. FIDA engaged in reforms of the law, policy and practice for the protection of women’s rights, holding the government accountable to its international commitments to gender equality, women’s rights and FIDA entrenched women’s rights in the public domain.

FIDA Uganda’s programme focus in its 2015-2020 Strategic Plan is Access to Justice for Women, Enhancing Gender Responsive Governance and Women’s Effective Participation in Public Life and Women’s Social Economic Justice. It uses a feminist, human rights based approach, conducting advocacy, legal education and rights awareness, alternative dispute resolution and strategic litigation. FIDA provides a holistic response to the needs of women and children specifically around livelihood, health and education through networking.

The Enhancing Voices for formerly abducted Women & Children born in captivity project is developed with lessons learnt and gaps identified during the implementation of two projects; Promoting Gender Just Redress for Wartime Sexual Violations in Northern Uganda and Accountability and Redress for Victims of Sexual Violence in Post-conflict Northern Uganda.

This project  bridges the gaps from the earlier projects. These interventions have been inadequate in addressing the needs of former abductees and their children born while in captivity, land issues they face and limited agency in public spaces. The project increases the efforts of humanitarian agencies supporting the large refugee population in northern Uganda by facilitating access to justice around sexual and gender based violence (SGBV).

Activities under this project promote the participation and voice of formerly abducted women and children born in captivity in public spaces; strengthens the legal and policy framework protecting land rights for former abductees and children born in captivity; and enhances access to justice for refugee women and girls who are victims of  Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV). This happens through community dialogues, media engagement, dialogues with policy makers and regulators, accountability forums with duty bearers, documentation of post conflict oral testimonies of experiences of the target group, training of refugee paralegals and building the capacity of local law enforcement agents to facilitate access to justice.

The interventions strengthens social support structures for the target groups, thereby reducing stigma, fostering reconciliation and peace building.