The ambition to fully include women in the money economy could be derailed unless the government, cultural institutions and other stakeholders fix the cultural hindrances to women’s land access, the State Minister for Culture in the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Ms Mary Kamuli Kuteesa, has said.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the Women Economic Empowerment for Green Transformation Project under the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (WEEG-UWEP) in Kampala on Thursday, Ms Kuteesa said cultural norms that prevent women from owning and inheriting land have left women, who are a large section of the population, unable to make meaningful investments, widen their enterprises and other land-based economic activities.
She explained that the lack of secure land rights discourages women from investing in permanent enterprise projects because they fear losing their investments if relationships break down or landowners reclaim the land.
‘For most women in this country, if they’re going to plant coffee for example, they’re on their husband’s land. They’ll tell them, ‘No, no, no, that’s my land, don’t plant your coffee there.’ Or if she plants it, the husband will take it over anyway,’ she said.
The minister added that women face similar restrictions in their parental homes, where cultural practices often prevent daughters from inheriting land.
‘On the women’s fathers’ side, the same story; you got married on the other side, so you can’t come here to plant on the land. The land is for the male clan members only,’ she said.
She said while government financing through projects like WEEG-UWEP can help women establish formalised enterprises, insecure access to land can prevent them from scaling up.
The minister also highlighted the importance of opening up economic opportunities for women beyond agriculture, including employment and leadership opportunities in institutions such as churches.
‘The other area is the church. The church is sustained by women generally. If you go to church on any Sunday, it’s the women that are in church, but when you look at the fraction of jobs that go to women in the church, women are left behind,’ she said.
The call came as women beneficiaries of the two- year WEEG-UWEP Programme showcased how it has enabled them to move from informal village activities into registered women-led enterprises.
Ms Stella Kaygi, a beneficiary from Bulambuli District, said a Shs6.5 million UWEP grant enabled their five-woman group to establish a sunflower cooking oil-processing business.
‘UWEP got us dealing in sunflower oil in Bulambuli District. We were working as just women in the village, but because of UWEP, we formed a group called Ungali Women Sunflower Cooking Oil Processors,’ she said.
Similarly, Ms Annet Oreta Redempter, a member of Kitagwenda Women Network, said WEEG-UWEP funding helped their group transform from an informal group making wine into a formalised women-led enterprise.
‘We were in a position to get formalised and our products certified by the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS). However, our capital is still minimal; we don’t have enough machinery, and we appeal to the government to help us with this machinery,’ she said.
To address such structural barriers, Mr Bernard Mujuni, the Commissioner for Equity and Rights, said the government is working towards linking women to other bigger programs like the Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women Enterprises (GROW) project to enable women to invest more confidently.
‘GROW is for lead entrepreneurs who have a certain level of capital, and these women have gotten there, and so connecting them to programs like the GROW project, we are ensuring they scale up, thus have continued access to market and opportunities,’ he said.
Launched in August 2024 under the theme, “Employment Promotion for Women for the Green Transformation in Africa,’ the UWEP project supported over 600 women’s groups to expand enterprises in sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, waste management, and eco-tourism.