State Minister for Gender Labour and Social Development Peace Mutuuzo has Monday revealed that rural women and girls deserve an environment free from violence and harmful practices, and where they are able to access land and productive assets, food security, nutrition and decent work
Adding that empowerment of rural women and girls is essential for inclusive growth and development.
She was briefing the nation ahead of March 8 fete slated to be held in Busubuzi Core Primary Teachers’ College in Mityana District.
Statement
The world will again on 8th Marchtake a pause to commemorate the International Women’s Day, a special day on which wecritically delve into the women’s achievements, opportunities and potential in terms of socioeconomic advancement.
Uganda will join the observance under the theme: “Empowerment of Rural Women and Girls: Opportunities and Challenges”, a theme that draws our attention to a demographic that constitutes the largest percentage of our current population.
The Uganda National Household Survey (UNHS) 2017 established that of the 37.7 millionpeople in Uganda, 52 percent were females. Meanwhile 76% of all Ugandans reside in rural areas and only 24% are in urban areas.
The National Population and Housing Census Analytical Report, 2017 revealed that more rural households (90%) participate in agriculture compared to the urban households (46%).And yet 1 (one) in every 7 (seven) households obtain their livelihood from subsistence farming.
This implies that many of our social factors play out in the rural areas, where the women and girls are the majority, and therefore puts them at the centre stage of economic production, care and support to families as well as engaging in community management activities.
It’s therefore appropriate to assert that rural women and girls fuel local and national economies through their contribution to agriculture and rural enterprises. They are central to the sustainability of rural households and communities, improving rural livelihoods and overall wellbeing.
Rural women are known to spend more time than urban women and men in reproductive and household work, including time spent caring for children and the sick, the elderly and other vulnerable groups in the households.
These multiple tasks and workload severely limit women’s participation in employment opportunities.
Empowering rural women and girls therefore is key to the well-being of individuals, families and rural communities, but also to overall socio-economic and inclusive development.
Government has put in place several legal and policy frameworks as well as interventions that have endeavoured to create a favorable environment for women and girls to realize their rights and potential.
The Constitution of the Republic of Uganda (1995), as a cornerstone of all laws in Uganda, provides for the protection and promotion of the rights of women and girls in all spheres of life.
The Local Government Act, 1997 provides for women’s representation in decision making at all levels of governance.
Because land is a key factor of production, The Land Act, 2010 Cap 227 and Land Policy (2013) contain provisions for security of tenure and safeguard of land rights of women and children. They outlaw discrimination against women and children in respect of ownership, occupation and use of land, and Section 40, provides for mandatory consent before disposal, mortgaging or transferring of land where the family derives sustenance.
Furthermore, the Public Finance Management Act (2015) provides for ring-fencing finance allocation for programmes for gender equality and empowerment of women.
Investment in health infrastructure across the country has improved women’s accessibility to specialized services such as antenatal care, immunization, family planning, adolescent reproductive health services and HIV/AIDS care and counseling.
Regarding water and sanitation, over 78% of the households accessed improved water sources in 2016/17, an increase from 68% in 2012/13.
Policies that support girls’ education such as the Universal Primary Education (UPE), the Universal Secondary Education (USE) and the Gender in Education Policy have led to increased literacy rates, enrollment ratios in primary and secondary schools as well as attainment ratios.
My Ministry is successfully running the government’s flagship community empowerment programmes namely; the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP), the Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP), and Social Assistance Grant for Empowerment (SAGE).
Since 2015, UWEP has financed 3,448 projects reaching 43,977 women.
The Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP) has financed a total of 13,107 projects supporting 163,130 beneficiaries, of whom 74,140 (45%) are female.
By end of 2017, the SAGE programme had benefited 153,221 older persons of which 91,277 (60%) are female and 61,944 (40%) were males.
However, women and girls still face multiple and intersecting inequalities and forms of discrimination. Rural women face challenges in terms of access to productivity resources like owning land, accessing agricultural inputs, water, transport, health care and education, financing and technologies for climate resilience. They also face disadvantages and exclusion rooted in the power inequalities associated with gender roles.
Some customary, traditional and religious practices discriminate against women and undermine the full implementation of some laws. Negative cultural practices like child marriages, forced marriages, early pregnancies, Female Genital Mutilation, and unfair distribution of property of the deceased continue to affect the girl-child.
As I conclude, I urge each one of us to understand that empowerment of rural women and girls is essential for inclusive growth and development. Rural women and girls deserve an environment free from violence and harmful practices, and where they are able to access land and productive assets, food security, nutrition and decent work.
A special call to all State and Non-State actors to rally towards addressing the remaining gaps in women empowerment.
Lastly, this year’s celebrations will be held at Busubuzi Core Primary Teachers’ College in Mityana District and I extend an open invite to everyone to attend.
