Sugra Visram (15 July 1923 – 29 October 2012), also known as Sugra Namubiru Visram, was a Ugandan politician, activist and businesswoman. She was one of the first female members of parliament co-opted into the Buganda Lukiiko by Kabaka Muteesa II. Affiliated to the Kabaka Yekka Party, she represented Kibuga Constituency (present day Mengo) in Uganda's First and Second Parliaments till she resigned as a member of parliament in 1966. Together with Florence Alice Lubega and Eseza Makumbi, she was one of the first three women to serve in this position in post-independence Uganda. In 2012, she was awarded the National Independence Medal

Background and education

She was born Sugra Jamal in Nsambya Hospital to Mohamedali Jamal, of Pakistani origin and Kawkab Aha Mirza of Iranian descent. She grew up in Mengo and Old Kampala and she studied at Old Kampala Senior Secondary School

Career

Much as she worked with her husband, Visram also ran a clothing shop and started a driving school for women. Between 1950 and 1951, she was the headmistress the Ithnasheri School, a nursery school.http://awaazmagazine.com/previous/index.php/component/k2/item/275-ugandas-reluctant-hero-sugra-visram Visram joined politics in 1962 and in that year's pre-independence Buganda elections, Visram along with Florence Alice Lubega and Eseza Makumbi, were elected to the '' Lukiiko''. After the

1962 Ugandan general election General elections were held in Uganda on 25 April 1962 in preparation for independence on 9 October. However, elections were not held in all parts of the country, with the Parliament of Buganda nominating 21 members (all of whom belonged to the Ka ...

s, she was nominated to the Independence National Assembly of 1962 to 1966 to serve as a representative from Buganda still with Florence Alice Lubega thus making them the first female members of this body. She was affiliated to the Kabaka Yekka (KY) party and represented the constituency known as "Kibuga" (present day Mengo). Visram was one of five Kabaka Yekka legislators who resigned their parliamentary seats after she declined to subscribe to the provisions of a new constitution that was presented after the 1966 constitutional coup in Uganda. She was head of the Women's Wing of Kabaka Yekka (KY) in addition to being the Vice Chair of the Uganda Council for Women which she joined in 1944. She was one of the founders of the Family Planning Association of Uganda (currently known as Reproductive Health Uganda) in 1957. She also helped found the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) in Uganda and was its treasurer.

Post 1972 expulsion

After the expulsion of Asians from Uganda in 1972, Visram worked in the Education department of the

Commonwealth Institute The Commonwealth Education Trust was a registered charity established in 2007 as the successor trust to the Commonwealth Institute. The trust focuses on primary and secondary education and the training of teachers and invests on educational pr ...

. She was also active in the

Commonwealth Parliamentary Association The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), previously known as the Empire Parliamentary Association, is an organisation which works to support good governance, democracy and human rights. In 1989 the patron of the CPA was the Head ...

and the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

. She came back to Uganda in 1993 and worked as a Special Presidential Assistant on Inward Investment

Personal life

In 1941, Visram married Haider Visram, a grandson of

Allidina Visram Allidina Visram (185130June 1916) was an Indian settler, merchant, and philanthropist who played a prominent role in the development of British East Africa. Biography Visram was born in Kera, Kutch, in the Bombay Presidency of British India in ...

. He died in 1998 and they had three children. She was adopted into the Buganda Mamba clan and given the name Namubiru. Visram left Uganda in 1972 after President

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 30 May 192816 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 until Uganda–Tanzania War, his overthrow in 1979. He ruled as a Military dictatorship, ...

expulsion of Asians from Uganda In early August 1972, the President of Uganda Idi Amin ordered the expulsion of his country's Indian minority, giving them 90 days to leave the country. At the time, South Asians in East Africa were simply known as "Asians". They had come to dom ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Visram, Sugra 1923 births 2012 deaths Members of the Parliament of Uganda 20th-century Ugandan women politicians 20th-century Ugandan politicians Women members of the Parliament of Uganda Ugandan people of Iranian descent Ugandan people of Pakistani descent Ugandan refugees

Background and education

Career

Post 1972 expulsion

Personal life

See also

References