Paper short abstract:

Given the continued stifling reality where women voices are suppressed by dominant male voices with the privilege of better education, it is vital, therefore, for women to receive the same type and quality of education to enable them to compete on equal footing with men in legislative deliberations.

Paper long abstract:

For years, women's access to and consumption of quality education has been the outcry of the feminist movement and modern-day development initiatives like the Millennium Development Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals. Even with progress like the introduction of free elementary and secondary education, the gender gap widens at a higher level of education (tertiary levels), a situation evident in Uganda. More men tend to achieve higher educational qualifications compared to the women. This study, therefore, aimed to establish the implications of these inequalities in educational access and consumption by women and its impact on their deliberative and legislative capabilities. By employing a phenomenological qualitative research design, one on one interviews were carried out with 14 long serving Ugandan parliamentarians (10 women and four men) to identify their perspectives on the influence of women's educational achievement on their voices during legislative deliberations in parliament. Findings revealed that education as a whole and most importantly higher levels of tertiary education had a significant influence on the voices of women legislators. The study concluded therefore that since the minimum educational requirements for a member of parliament in Uganda was an A' Level secondary school certificate, there was a need for a revision of this policy and provision of more facilities to enhance women's voices through increasing their educational achievements.