Sylvia R. Tamale

Sylvia Tamale is a leading Ugandan legal scholar, feminist and human rights activist, and the first woman to serve as Dean of Makerere University’s Faculty of Law. Her book When Hens Begin to Crow (1999) had an important social impact throughout East Africa. Her research focuses on how women can become effective political actors through an enhanced understanding of advocacy and representation, in the traditional political arena of parliament as well as in the non-governmental arena. Tamale is also an activist who played a leading role in establishing a sexual harassment policy at Makerere University in 2002, becoming the first institution in Uganda to have such a policy. She has also been a leader in legislative efforts to establish women's rights in the areas of land ownership and family relations. She took a controversial and courageous stand on behalf of equal rights for gays and lesbians in Uganda, making her the target of public threats and attacks. Tamale received the Bachelor of Laws degree with honors from Makerere University, the LL.M. (1988) from Harvard Law School, and the Ph.D. (1997) in sociology from the University of Minnesota.