Women leaders from local governments and civil society have urged the government to allocate 30 percent of public procurement contracts specifically for businesses owned by women.
The appeal was made during the Second Women’s Parliament, which took place on March 3, 2025, at the Parliament of Uganda.
They also advocated for a policy change that would enhance women’s involvement in government procurement processes, aiming to improve their financial well-being.
According to the 2022 Uganda Bureau of Statistics Report, women are the primary earners in 55 percent of households across the nation.
Their request is grounded in the ongoing challenges women encounter in their pursuit of economic empowerment, as highlighted in articles 32 and 33 of the 1995 Constitution.
“While women empowerment and economic participation in Uganda has improved and is currently at 39 per cent, women continue to face structural barriers such discriminatory socio-cultural norms, limited access to productive resources like land, credit and formal employment opportunities,” Jennifer Kengaju (Chairperson, Bunyangabu District Women Council) said.
These calls were part of a motion urging government to strengthen policies and initiatives for women’s economic empowerment and financial independence.
The Second Women’s Parliament was presided over by the Chairperson of the National Women Council, Hajjati Faridah Kibowa who assumed the speakership role through a public vote by show of hands.
With over 500 participants, the women observed that whereas there are several government livelihood programmes that can benefit women economically, most of them lack requirements for access and utilisation.
Keller Angiru from Amolatar District said that empowerment of women should not be limited to only those in urban areas.
“We do not have access to loans such as the GROW project which requires a woman to have a land title which most of our women do not have,” she said.
The Chairperson of the Women’s League in Mityana District, Harriet Ntambi said that men tend to dominate marketing of lucrative crops such as coffee with women who may have contributed to the labour having no share in the proceeds.
“We have a lot of coffee but men are killing their wives because of coffee. Let government intervene to ensure that at least the legally married women share on coffee proceeds and land ownership,” Nambi said.
The Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Peace Mutuuzo said there is need for education of the masses about the amended laws on succession and land ownership that allow women to inherit and acquire land.
Mutuuzo added that a percentage of government procurement contracts at the districts should be earmarked for women since they have demonstrated the potential as they now run and own 44 per cent of business enterprises.
“The proposal that Shs20 billion at each district be reserved for women makes me ask what is micro about women that they cannot manage money which is even bigger than that?” Mutuuzo said adding that, ’we need to uplift that policy to empower women and other interest groups such as the people with disabilities’.
The Second Women’s Parliament had 29 resolutions from the four motions on climate change, economic empowerment, women’s involvement in education and politics.
Speaker of Parliament of Uganda, Anita Among pledged to have the resolutions debated and adding that she will also present them to President Yoweri Museveni.
