WUNRN
October
29, 2008
UGANDA
- Women feed the nation, but due to cultural and conservative laws, they are
usually denied land ownership, which is at the heart of food production, writes
Jane Nafula.
Uganda: No
Land for Women + Hunger Free Woman Campaign
Ms Lucia Namuganga lost her husband to HIV/Aids a couple of years ago. Before a
month elapsed, in-laws chased her away from their land, accusing her of
infecting their son with the virus. Confused and frustrated, she went back to
her parents’ home with five children thinking that she would be able to till
part of their land and fend for herself and the five orphans.
Unfortunately, her elder brother who inherited the land after the death of the
parents told her never to tamper with the land. He instead directed her to go
back to her late husband’s home yet none of her in-laws wanted to see her
again. Namuganga tried to explain to her brother how she had been chased away
as she pleaded with him to allow her stay, but it fell on deaf ears.
When Namuganga insisted that she had a right to use her father’s land, the
brother allegedly attempted to stab her. She took off with her children and
went to seek refuge at a neighbour’s home for two weeks. It was from here that
a women’s group in Kalangala where she stays at the moment advised her to go to
court and today, the matter is being handled by court.
|
Ms Lucia Namuganga breaks down as she
narrates her ordeal during the launch of Hunger Free Woman Campaign
in Kalangala. PHOTO BY STEPHEN WANDERA |
The
story of Namuganga is similar to that of the two sisters who have been denied
access to their father’s land by their own brother. Ms Teddy Nakiganda and
Rosemary Nakatanda both residents of Ssese in Kalangala District say that
their brother, Joseph Bayiga assaulted them when they insisted on sharing their
parents’ land. “One time, he brought surveyors to demarcate and fence off all
the land. When my sister and I forced ourselves into his fenced land, he beat
me so badly. I was rushed to the hospital and he was arrested,” she says. “The
case is now before court but up to day, he continues to attack us. He has
demolished our houses and whenever we grow our crops, he sprays them with
poison and they wither,” Nakiganda adds.
The three women gave their testimonies during the launch of the Hunger Free
Woman Campaign in the district by Actionaid Uganda on October 7. The
journey of the Hunger Free Woman Campaign which was flagged off in
Kalangala on October, 7 travelled to Masindi, Lira, Kumi and ended in Tororo
where the celebrations to mark this year’s World Food Day were held on October
16. The campaign was a response to the current global food crisis manifested by
increasing food prices for many staple food crops and the increasing number of
people who are going hungry.
It focuses on three policy issues that came out of the hunger assessments that
were undertaken by Actionaid International Uganda in 2007. The key issues
include, access to land by women, market access for small-scale farmers, and
access to inputs like seeds. The stories of these women reflect how culture
still denies women access to land despite being the major producers. Women most
of whom constitute the majority of the subsistence farmers hold the key to
ending hunger.
Women's ownership and access to land in Uganda is still very low yet they grow
between 70-80 per cent of the food crops in Uganda and are responsible for the
household food security. According to the charter on Women’s Rights to Land and
Livelihoods which was handed over by members of Actionaid International Uganda
to the third Deputy Prime Minster during this year’s World Food Day, women in
Uganda own less than eight per cent of the land.
A recent study by Actionaid on food security in Kalangala indicated that 11.5
per cent of respondents interviewed said they owned titled land and less than
one per cent of these were women.
With fish stocks falling on Lake Victoria, many fish dependent communities may
not have adequate resources to meet the food needs of the family. The
Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW) which Uganda ratified in 1985 recognised that rural women face
discrimination in access to water, land, seeds, credit, and at the same time,
they have a crucial role in ensuring their families’ livelihoods.
Article 14 of the Convention obligates states to adopt all appropriate measures
to eliminate discrimination against women in rural areas and enforce their
rights to have equal treatment in land reform and resettlement plans and enjoy
appropriate means of livelihoods.
The comprehensive food security and vulnerability analysis carried out by the
World Food Programme in 2005 indicated that five per cent of the rural
households in Uganda are food insecure, 13 per cent are highly vulnerable and
19 are moderately vulnerable.
According to the 2002 Census Report, about 88 per cent of Ugandans live in the
rural areas and only 12 per cent live in urban areas. Such irregularities in
the production chain undermines the country’s production potential and limits
efforts at poverty eradication.
The Country Director of Action Aid Uganda, Mr Charles Busingye says food
security is important in the achievement of Millennium Development Goals
including improving outcomes in education, health, natural resource management,
and poverty eradication
Mr Busingye says that in Uganda, the proportion of the population unable to
meet the recommended food caloric intake increased from 58.7 per cent in 1999
to 68.5 per cent in 2006. He adds that three in every 10 people lack food while
six in every 10 people eat but they don’t get satisfied.
Food and Agricultural Organisation estimates that about eight million Ugandans
are hungry. Globally, there are 854 million hungry people. Kumi Resident
District Commissioner, Mr William Kaija says greedy men who deny women access
to and control over land are responsible for the increasing food insecurity in
the country. “Greedy men who have clang on primitive cultural beliefs continue
to grab land from women especially widows because they believe that owning land
is a preserve of men,” Mr Kaija says.
He says cultural leaders should start convincing their subjects to change their
attitudes towards land ownership among women. Although the government is trying
to eradicate poverty through the implementation of programmes such as Poverty
Eradication Action Plan, Naads and Bonna Bagaggawale among others, the
inequalities between women and men in different spheres of life may continue to
keep women in poverty.
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