Meet Gloria Asasira

Mgahinga National Park, Uganda

In honour of World Ranger Day, we wanted to introduce you to Gloria Asasira, who is one of the only female Ranger Guides working in Mgahinga National Park in Uganda.

World Ranger Day is a day for celebrating the courageous efforts of rangers who are working to protect our natural world, as well as remembering fallen rangers, who lost their lives in the fight to save our wildlife and wilderness areas.

Photo by: Alizé Jireh

While there are now numerous male and female rangers throughout Africa doing incredibly important work, previously being a ranger was a job that was only seen fit for a man. It was often believed that this type of job was too dangerous and demanding for a woman. This is changing, because of women like Gloria, who are inspiring young girls and other women to pursue their passion by breaking through the glass ceiling and leading the way for other women in this field. In sharing Gloria’s story with you, we want to create awareness around the critical role female rangers are playing in conservation.

Rise of the Matriarch | Gloria Asasira, Mgahinga National Park, Uganda — Photo by: Alizé Jireh

We met Gloria while on a recent assignment for Sanctuary Retreats in Uganda. Gloria is on the ground every day, tracking and protecting mountain gorillas in Mgahinga National Park. These incredible species are endangered due to habitat loss, deforestation, illegal wildlife trade and human-wildlife conflict. While mountain gorilla populations were once thriving, there are now only around 1000 mountain gorillas left in the wild. These great apes are on the brink of extinction, which is why the work rangers are doing is so critical.

Rise of the Matriarch Gloria Asasira — Photo by: Alizé Jireh

Gloria chose to be a ranger because of her love of nature and conservation. She knew from a young age that she wanted to be as close to nature as possible and wanted to work in a field that would truly make a difference to the protection of wildlife and natural resources; becoming a ranger was a natural choice. At the time, however, female rangers were not being recruited and it was only once a new government came into leadership in the region that women were encouraged to pursue any career they wanted, regardless of whether these jobs were previously considered to be for men only.

It’s encouraging for young girls, most of who are in school. They are capable of doing any work, including being rangers, because now where a man can reach, any courageous woman can reach.

- Gloria Asasira

As Gloria mentions, this change is so inspiring for young girls, not only in Uganda but throughout the world, who are realizing that because of strong, courageous women like Gloria, they are capable of achieving anything.

Female rangers like Gloria and Ruth, who we have already introduced you to, are not only working on the frontlines every day protecting endangered wildlife, safeguarding vulnerable ecosystems and inspiring a new generation of conservationists and wildlife protectors.

gloria-asasira-mgahinga-national-park — Photo by: Alizé Jireh

The work these women are doing is so important. We need more female leaders in Africa, like Gloria, who are encouraging young girls to study, to work and to build a career and life around their passions.

Watch our short film to learn more about Gloria’s story and the groundbreaking work she is doing to protect endangered mountain gorillas.

Happy World Rangers Day - a huge thanks from our Rise of the Matriarch team to all rangers working globally on the frontline to protect our natural heritage.