WHAT'S GOOD FOR THE GOOSE IS GOOD FOR UGANDA:

Women lawyers force big rights gains in Uganda: This spring, a small group of lawyers helped overturn laws that gave men more rights than women. (Alexis Okeowo, 6/14/07, The Christian Science Monitor)

There are hundreds of groups in Africa advocating women's rights. But few, if any, have been as effective in alleviating the injustices suffered by women as this small group of lawyers in Uganda.

In April, the Uganda Association of Women Lawyers (FIDA-U) achieved its most significant legal success to date when the nation's Constitutional Court overturned key parts of the adultery law – which allowed married men, but not women, to have an affair. It also scrapped parts of the Succession Act, which gave more rights to husbands than wives when a spouse dies. But more important for many of the lawyers here is the ability to improve the individual lives of the women they advise.