Dr. Zahara Nampewo is a lawyer and human rights practitioner with over 20years experience in the private, public and non – profit sectors. She has been with the School of Law at Makerere University since 2006. She is a Senior Lecturer and Ag. Deputy Principal – School of Law
Dr. Nampewo received her PhD from Emory University in the United States. Her PhD research focus followed a feminist socio-legal examination of law and culture on how women’s sexuality is articulated within the social domains of family and marriage. She holds a Master of Laws degree (International Human Rights) from the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom and an advanced Diploma in Human Rights Protection from Abo Akademi University, Turku, Finland. She completed her Bar Course and acquired a Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Centre in Uganda in 1999. She is an Advocate of the Courts of Judicature in Uganda. Dr. Nampewo’ s areas of interest and expertise include human rights, health justice, gender and transitional justice. She teaches and practices in Health Law, International Humanitarian Law, Human Rights and Gender Law.
Dr. Nampewo has published on a range of subjects including health and disability justice, gender and family law, sexuality, human rights and access to justice. Her recent publications include: ‘Respecting, protecting and fulfilling the human right to health’, Internal Journal of Equity Health (2022); ‘Sex Trafficking as a form of Gender-Based Violence against Women: Lessons from South Africa and Uganda’ in Emma Lubaale & Ashwanee Budoo (eds), ‘Violence against Women and Criminal Justice in Africa’, Palgrave Macmillan (2022); ‘Gender, Disability and Human Rights in Africa’, (Book Chapter), in O. Yacob-Haliso & T. Falola (eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of African Women’s Studies, Palgrave (2021); ‘The Illusion of Greener Pastures: Violence and Justice for Female Ugandan Migrant Workers in the Middle East’, Strathmore Law Journal Vol. (2021); ‘Assisted Reproductive Technologies in Uganda. Law and Practice’ (Book chapter), in Clayton O’Neill et al, Routledge Handbook of Global Health Rights, Routledge (2021); ‘Family and Succession Law in Uganda’ International Encyclopedia of Laws, Wolters Kluwer Publishers, (2020); ‘We Have a Right to Love. The Right to Marry and Reproduce for Women with Disabilities in Uganda’, East African Journal of Peace and Human Rights (2018); and ‘Til Violence Do Us Part. A Critical Analysis of the Legal Regime of Cruelty as a Ground for Divorce in Uganda’, a book chapter in Maria Nassali (Ed) ‘The Politics of Putting Asunder. Divorce, Law and the Family in Uganda, Fountain Publishers (2016).
Dr. Nampewo is a Board member of the African Legal Think Tank on Women’s Rights (ALTOWR), an African continental legal institute that provides technical expertise and advocacy on women’s rights. She is Chief Editor of the East African Journal on Peace and Human Rights, an international, peer-reviewed, bi-annual scholarly publication of HURIPEC at Makerere University School of Law. She is also a member of the Editorial Board, Journal of Human Rights Practice (JHRP) Oxford University Press, and a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Mawazo Journal of Makerere University College of Humanities and Social Sciences. She is a Country Expert (Uganda), Varieties of Democracy Project at the V-Dem Institute, Department of Political Science, University of Gothenberg, a Visiting scholar, Institute of Law, University of Zurich, Switzerland and an External Examiner with the Nelson R. Mandela School of Law University of Fort Hare in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Also, Dr. Nampewo is a member on the Forum of Children, Youth and Families of the Uganda National Academy of Sciences, an eminent body of scientists providing independent evidence based advice for the prosperity of Uganda.
She was a Member of the International Expert Group, Education for Justice (E4J) initiative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) between 2018-2019. She has also held the position of Chairperson, Examinations Verification Committee of the Law Development Centre (LDC) for the period 2014 – 2015.
Prior to joining Makerere University, Dr. Nampewo served as Programme Coordinator of the Access to Justice Programme for the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) in Uganda, and as Gender Justice Specialist with UN Women in Liberia.