Mildred Apenyo is a prominent Ugandan women’s right activist and feminist through her work as an entrepreneur, trainer, and writer. Apenyo is also the founder of FitCliqueAfrica, Uganda’s first female-only gym, aimed at empowering women and sexual minorities.
“In the [human rights] movement, a significant amount of people face trauma and burn-out due to the work they do,” she says. Apenyo says that she wanted to create a space where women feel safe – a place to heal and regain strength.
"It’s such a terrible waste of time that so many wonderful, powerful women are spending all of their lives fighting things that are obviously unfair, and fighting what obviously should not exist”
FitCliqueAfrica is passionate about the wellness and safety of women, with a focus on women’s mental health and physical well-being. The organisation teaches women emotional and physical self-defence as a means to relief trauma and stress. “I didn’t know anything about fitness,” she says, “but I had a passion.”
“What inspires me is the vision, the idea, of a world where no one’s dignity has to be fought for. It’s such a terrible waste of time that so many wonderful, powerful women are spending all of their lives fighting things that are obviously unfair, and fighting what obviously should not exist”
Apenyo was a 2014 Mandela Washington Fellow at the age of 24, and she has been featured in New York Times and BBC due to her work in protecting and empowering women.