African women's mag breaks ground

KAMPALA, Uganda (AFX) - Its glossy pages, sleek layout and beautiful models wouldn't look out of place on the shelves next to "Vogue" and "Cosmopolitan." Yet "African Woman" comes from Uganda, a country more associated with poverty and war than with glamor. 

The year-old magazine expanded its distribution in June to four other countries in East Africa and early next year will open offices in Kenya and Tanzania. The magazine targets women aged 20 to 40 and has a circulation of 10,000. It presents slick fashion features, the lowdown on stylish hotspots, the inside track on female celebrities and plenty of gossip and advice -- all with a distinctive African flavor. All the models are African and the pages showcase African designers and artists.

The magazine also deals with tough issues relevant to women in Africa. Stories narrated and written by women deal with AIDS, domestic violence, rape and abuse.

"`African Woman' is a celebration of women and a celebration of Africa," said Sylvia Owori, founder and publisher of the magazine. "In Africa women are the ones who hold a family together -- they are at the forefront of family life. The woman is strong .... Men oppress women to take that power but we want to celebrate that power. That power we have as mothers, that power that women have all over the world."

Antony Munyua, Uganda country manager for the Steadman Group, a market information and media monitoring organization, said "African Woman" taps into a growing market.

African "women have more disposable income, more access to education and more independence than ever before," he said. But "there is still a long way to go though. This trend is still very urban and is not yet reflected in rural areas."

Uganda's constitution celebrates the roles of women as house managers and providers of food, and reserves seats for women at both local council and parliamentary level. According to the United Nations, of the 17,000 decision makers in Uganda, 40 percent are women -- a figure unrivaled by any other country in the East Africa region. In 1994, President Yoweri Museveni appointed a woman as his vice president, one of the first in Africa.

But even here, Owori pointed out, many educated women are expected to stay home and raise children once they marry and domestic violence is a private, rather than judicial, matter.

"Here family values are not the same as in the West," she said. "There are lots of things we don't talk about and many women accept ... because they don't think they have a choice. We're telling these women that it's OK to say, 'No, I don't accept that.'"

African women endure some of the worst discrimination in the world. For example, female genital mutilation, the partial or complete removal of external female genitalia, is practiced in up to 28 central African countries from Somalia on the east coast to Senegal on the west coast.

Women's groups in Uganda have welcomed "African Woman", saying its mass appeal forges an important link with younger readers who have little interest in explicitly feminist, political tracts.

"The issues are put in a simple and entertaining manner that is easy for people to understand. It's accessible," said Margaret Sentamu-Masagazi, executive director of the Uganda Media Women's Association, formed to promote women's causes through the media.

However Masagazi said that many more women need to be reached.

"A magazine like "African Woman" is not likely to be read by women from rural and village backgrounds who are unable to afford it or read in English," she said.

For those who are able to pick up a copy, "African Woman" is a glimpse of changing attitude toward women on the continent.

"It's the first stylish magazine to spring up in Uganda," said Stella Thorach, 25, a psychology student at the university in the capital, Kampala. "We deserve some glamor!" Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be

Copyright 2006 AFX News Limited. All Rights Reserved.