THE INVISIBLE Labourers of Kampala
A research paper on women street vendors in Kampala
The Strategic Initiative for women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA Network)
Acronyms
CEDAW: Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women FGD: ILO: KCCA:
Focus Group Discussion
International Labour Organisation Kampala Capital City Authority
KACITA: Kampala City Traders Association PLAVU: SDG: SIHA: UWEP:
Platform for Vendors Uganda
Sustainable Development Goal
Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa
Uganda Women’s Entrepreneurship Programme
UWONET: Uganda Women’s Network
WEDGE: Women’s Entrepreneurship Development and Gender Equality
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Foreword
This paper is the outcome of sequential efforts that were carried out by the SIHA Network across the Horn of Africa region, in a bid to address the situation of the mass population of women street vendors occupying the pavements of capital cities and smaller informal markets across the region. Our research is part of our on-going endeavour to reach out to poor women working in the informal sector in urban areas of the Horn of Africa through concrete work on the ground, advocacy and partnership, to bring them and their challenges to the heart of the women’s rights movements in their countries and territories whilst enabling them to become instrumental actors in changing their circumstances. From a historical perspective, vending is one of the oldest occupations by both women and men on the African continent in general and the Eastern and Horn of Africa region in particular. It has always been respected socially, and considered as a decent and honourable way for women to earn a living with the breakdown of traditional and institutional structures heretofore meant to protect and cater for them. Vending on the streets of cosmopolitan Kampala, however, is subject to dynamics different from those experienced in smaller towns and villages. Women street vendors in Kampala are confronted with layers of aggression and resentment from local authorities, shop-owners and other traders, which exposes them to constant challenges and vulnerable to gross human rights violations and other serious risks. The rapid increase in women street vendors reflects the changing socio-economic situation prevailing in Uganda and across the region. It further speaks to the lack of empathy and understanding from Government institutions regarding the impact of economic shifts on the masses. vii