This article is part of ASF’s 2023 annual report.
In Uganda, women often play a secondary role to men in most aspects of social, economic and political life. Pervasive gender inequalities include women’s limited share in wage employment in non-agricultural sectors, lack of control of productive resources such as land, exposure to sexual and gender-based violence (GBV), educational inequalities with men, and limited participation in household as well as community decision making.
The fight against gender-based violence (GBV) finds a crucial ally in economic empowerment of women. For example, women facing poverty, unemployment, and dependence on social benefits are disproportionately vulnerable to GBV. Economic empowerment initiatives for women therefore become a potent tool in preventing and combating GBV. Economic self-sufficiency not only elevates women’s status but also emboldens them to assert their rights, engage in civic activities, and participate in political processes, thereby fostering more inclusive governance tailored to their unique socio-economic context.
ASF’s “From Access to Equality” (FATE) project embodies this dual mission, with the provision of mini grants designed and tailored to empower women economically while fortifying their legal awareness. Mini grants are a form of cash grant or seed capital given to a diverse array of women, including survivors of violence and former female prisoners for reintegrating into society. The women in conflict with the law in prisons are mostly composed of women with low or no education at all, from very poor backgrounds but who at the same time are often bread winners in their respective families. These grants help them develop their economic activities, ranging from agricultural enterprises to artisanal crafts, uplifting individuals and entire communities.
The FATE project conceives and acknowledges that legal education alone is not a sufficient remedy to legal empowerment; legal empowerment should involve opportunities for vulnerable groups and individuals to apply the knowledge and skills they acquired to advance their interests.
In 2023, the FATE project supported 24 female offenders to start their own businesses with start-up packs disbursed through partner Penal Reform International (PRI). ASF has also awarded 16 mini grants to women and girls including survivors of GBV in the regions where the project intervenes. The startup packs for women ex-prisoners support their reintegration in their communities and through economic empowerment helps them break the cycle of re-offending. The business supported include bakery, piggery, produce buying and selling, farming, liquid soap making, village loan saving schemes, and Tailoring, among others.
These businesses/projects contribute to countering the negative effects of the economic situation of the majority of Ugandans particularly women, who are suffering from the increase in prices for basic commodities[1]. For example In Eastern Uganda, where the FATE projects is implemented in the districts of Kamuli and Namutumba, many incidences of rights violations, including GBV, could be linked back to financial constraints of individuals and communities. Additionally the highest number of cases (62%) handled by the FATE mediators were related to men selling their land without the consent of their wives, and of family neglect, which served as triggers of GBV.
The supported projects have been selected for their ability to transform the income of those that benefit from it, increasing their material benefit and ultimately allowing them to access to justice for themselves and the wider community. The individuals and groups supported have a responsibility to further conduct sensitizations on refered GBV cases to the relevant actors and can become active advocates on access to justice for women in their regions.
Throughout 2024, ASF and its partners will continue to monitor the positive impact of these mini grants, including on legal empowerment and access to justice for women and girls, and will award more grants to marginalized women, to further support their uplifting.
