Free Access | 2024-04-12

THE EXTENT OF WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN UGANDA: A MULTIDIMENSIONAL APPROACH

Authors/Editors: Gemma Ahaibwe

Abstract:

Despite the extensive efforts made by the Government of Uganda to promote gender equality and empower all women and girls through enacting legal frameworks, women and girls continue to face barriers in realizing their rights in the economic, political, and social spheres. Quite often, women and girls are discriminated against in education, political participation and representation, in the labour market etc. – with negative consequences for development of their capabilities and their freedom of choice. Using the 2017 National Governance, Peace and Security Survey data, this study estimates an empowerment index for women in Uganda. The index shows the extent of disempowerment headcount among women and the simultaneous gaps or inadequacies experienced by the disempowered women at individual level. The index results show that more than 60% of the women are disempowered. The extent of disempowerment is higher among women in rural areas and those resident in Northern and Eastern regions. The economic empowerment dimension contributes the highest percentage to the observed levels of disempowerment. Some of the proposed recommendations include: Expanding interventions that support women’s entry into better, more profitable and empowering work; improving access to education and adult literacy programs; debunking and demystifying perceptions on women’s participation in politics; bolstering community sensitization campaigns on legal frameworks on violence against women and implementation of targeted programs for special groups (the youth, elderly, disabled, widows).