By Patricia Munabi Babiiha
President Yoweri Museveni has imposed another lockdown in Uganda. After what appeared the obliteration of the coronavirus from Uganda since 2020, with some hospitals closing their COVID-19 units, it appears that laxity set in, both within government and the citizenry. The government relaxed on its strictness at the borders and the airport, letting variants of the coronavirus from elsewhere into the country. The citizens, almost forgetting the lethal virus was still a reality, disregarded all standard operating procedures put in place by government to contain spread. As this happened, the virus, like a vicious enemy, was gathering momentum and bounced back to our motherland with repulsive viciousness. We are now in the second wave and things are looking really bad. Therefore, against this background, it is understandable that the president, as others in our situation around the world are doing, was compelled to shut down normal operations in the country.
That said however, we at the Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE) in no unequivocal terms state the fact that government should be deliberate about and conscious of addressing these challenges in a gender-sensitive way. This is not even about women only. It is about people with disabilities, children who are underprivileged such as those on our cities’ streets, the elderly and other marginalised groups in society. A broad-brush proclamation of solutions is not helpful and is, to say the least, insensitive to these groups who are affected by the pandemic and efforts by the state to contain contagion, differently. Each of those groups are, for emphasis sake, affected uniquely. Government must, therefore, not only be alive to this but be seen to be deliberate about taking into account these unique aspects of our society in its approach to the pandemic.
It is my considered view that the government is not doing this adequately and we invite the president and the line ministries to do better.
From the onset, allow me to make it clear that we at the Forum for Women in Democracy support measures that the government has instituted to curb the spread of this deadly virus. However, we cannot give the government the luxury to abdicate its responsibility of ensuring that socio-economic development, even in the face of a pandemic, is as inclusive as possible.
It is common knowledge that women and girls suffer the most during crises, more so during a crisis as gravely unique as the Covid-19 pandemic. There is anecdotal and empirical evidence to the effect that lockdowns increase harmful practices against girls and women like child marriages and teen pregnancies. This is so because during the lockdown, young girls and women are more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior leading to them becoming victims of sexual exploitation and violence.
Furthermore, women are more likely to experience the mental and emotional strains of the lockdown than men.
It also goes without saying that in conservative societies like Uganda, the care-taking role of women makes them more susceptible to catching the virus than men. Women in Uganda typically nurse and care for the sick, making them disproportionately exposed to catching the virus more than men. In Uganda, the socio-cultural dynamics place women and girls in a position of subservience, making them more exposed.
From an economics and livelihood sustainability perspective, the impact of the lockdown on economic life of the average Ugandan women will be markedly grim.
During lock downs, women are forced to stay at home to look after the locked down children while most men somehow find a way of remaining at work, meaning that women become more economically vulnerable to the vagaries of the lockdown.
Before the pandemic struck, it is estimated that women were spending about 3.5 times more hours than men each week on domestic labour. With the lockdown, such care burdens have become heavier, leaving women with less time to devote to economic activities. Sadly but rather inevitably, some women have been kicked out of the labour market altogether.
The lockdown also increased incidents of partner violence with the women more affected than men.
Therefore, with all these unique effects of the lockdown on women and girls, it is prudent that the government’s Covid-19 recovery strategy is geared towards Gender Equality and Women Empowerment as practically as possible.
The government’s strategy to alleviate vulnerable households during this lockdown should be tailored to address the unique challenges of women like Gender-based violence (GBV), child labour and child protection.
The government must ensure that the economic empowerment of young women and girls is not jeopardised by the shocks that come with the lockdown that has been imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19.
During this lockdown, the government’s recovery strategy must ensure that women and girls still access essential sexual and reproductive rights, with emphasis on maternal, new born and child health services for both women and girls.
The government through the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) must take deliberate interest in conducting research to find out the particular impact of lock downs on women and girls in order to make recovery plans that are more evidence-based.
Patricia Munabi Babiiha is the Executive Director, Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE).
