Women Street Vendors’ Affirmation

CONSCIOUS that the condition of the lives of women street vendors is often constrained by poverty and that their work is often under paid,

UNHAPPY that women street vendors’ wages when paid are low and often uncertain,

APPALLED by the number of Ugandans living below the poverty line and the conditions of extreme poverty and hardship, deprivation and exclusion of the rural and urban poor, the majority of whom are women,

CONCERNED that socio-cultural attitudes conspire with institutional and policy practice to reinforce the unequal status between women and men, and even more so for women street vendors,

DISTRESSED by the increasing incidents of gender based violence on the streets of Uganda,

DISSATISFIED that women’s multiple roles place disproportionate unpaid care and domestic work on their shoulders in the face of economic crises and the retreat of the state from its social development mandate,

AGGRIEVED by the nature of our political culture that makes it extremely difficult for women street vendors to participate in political and decision-making processes,

DISTRESSED that women street vendors remain underrepresented in Parliament and in Local Authorities with their voices are not sufficiently heard,

DISMAYED by the inability of our health system to halt the unacceptably high incidence of maternal and infant mortality and deaths,

DETERMINED to have equal access to productive resources and to economic opportunities,

DEDICATE ourselves to the search for a peaceful, just environment where women exercise their equal rights as human beings,

CONFIDENT that with organisation and fortitude we can make a difference to the situation of women, men, and children and achieve gender equality in all aspects of life,

HEREBY ADOPT this Women Street Vendors’ Manifesto as an affirmation of our commitment to collective actions toward achieving gender equality and as a set of minimum demands for action on gender equality and equity in Uganda.

WE, THEREFORE, call upon the Government and all its Ministries, Departments and Agencies, Political Parties, Non-Governmental Organisations and Community Based Organisations to adopt and work towards implementing the demands of the Women Street Vendors’ Manifesto – Making Her Visible: Reclaiming and Reframing the Policy Arena.

Promotion and protection of women’s rights is one of the Republic of Uganda’s primary objectives. The Constitution of the Republic of Uganda of 1995 guarantees gender equality through Objective VI and Objective XI of the “National Objectives of State Policy” section (11). Objective XV recognises the significant role that women play in society.1 The Government of Uganda has committed to achieve these objectives through the ratification and domestication of key international and regional legal instruments, namely: The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women ratified in 1985, without reservations; the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action; the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 1987; the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1995; the Convention Against Torture in 1986; and the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990. Uganda has also ratified the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) and, in July 2010, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol). Uganda is also a signatory to the African Union Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa; the East African Treaty 1999; and the East African Gender Equality and Development Act 2017.

International human rights law provides no explicit protections for the right of street vending. Nevertheless, vendors are subject to the more general rights outlined in human rights treaties, most notably the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Article 6 of the ICESCR ‘recognises the right to work, including the right of everyone to the opportunity to gain their living by work which they freely choose or accept.’2

The Constitution of Uganda of 1995 contains several provisions on the principle of non-discrimination and equal rights of women and men. Under Article 21, “All persons are equal before and under the law in all spheres of political, economic, social and cultural life and in every other respect and shall enjoy equal protection of the law... [A] person shall not be discriminated against on the ground of sex, race, colour, ethnic origin, tribe, birth, creed or religion, social or economic standing, political opinion or disability.” Article 33, entitled Rights of women, provides that “The State shall provide the facilities and opportunities necessary to enhance the welfare of women to enable them to realise their full potential and advancement”; “Women shall have the right to equal treatment with men and that right shall include equal opportunities in political, economic and social activities,”3

Further still, gender equality and women’s empowerment has been integrated into national development strategies of the National Development Plan aimed at achieving development targets, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The advancement of gender equality and women’s empowerment is dependent on the mind-set and social norms change to discard biased cultural practices and attitudes that discriminate against women and the readiness of Government to formulate and enforce gender responsive policies and legislation. Efforts have been made to domesticate the international and regional gender equality commitments in national legislation, policy and development programmes including the Ugandan Constitution (1995); the Local Government Act (1997); the National Gender Policy (2007); the National

1  FAO: Rights entrenched in the Constitution. Available online via http://www.fao.org/gender-landrights-database/country-profiles/countries-list/ national-legal-framework/rights-entrenched-in-the-constitution/en/?country_iso3=UGA 2  Graeme Young (2018): De-Democratisation and the Rights of Street Vendors in Kampala, Uganda. Available online via https://www. researchgate.net/publication/326355554 3  FIDA – U et.al: Women’s rights in Uganda: gaps between policy and practice. Available online via https://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/ uganda582afinal.pdf

Action Plan for Women 2016; Vision 2040; the 2nd National Development Plan (NDP) 2015/16–2019/20); the Equal Opportunities Commission Act (2007); Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act (2009); the Domestic Violence Act (2010) and the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act (2010).

Despite their relevance and contribution to urban life, economic and urban planners seem to view informal workers, and street vendors in particular, as problematic, perceiving these workers as a source of crime and deregulation. Since 2011, a number of by-laws and policies have been passed to run the city. These include; Maintenance of Trade Order Act (Main Act), Trade Licensing Act, Public Health Act, Market Statute law, and payment of the ground rent, which are in accordance with the Ordinance Act 2006 and KCCA Act 2010. These laws were administered under a newly established KCCA by the Ugandan parliament in 2011.4

However, this criminalisation does not take into account the value and dignity of street vending work, as it is an alternative (possibly the only alternative) for thousands of people that the formal employment system is unable to absorb. The bad reputation of urban informal traders does not match reality and contributes to further marginalization and exclusion. In addition to this, urban informal traders must also deal with the daily threat of violence, harassment, bribes, confiscations, and evictions by local authorities and law enforcement bodies. These workers are not only forced to rely solely on themselves, but they are also persecuted for daring to survive by working in the informal economy.5

The demands in the Women Street Vendors’ Manifesto are aimed at fostering gender equity and equality as well as protecting and empowering women street vendors. These demands were developed by women street vendors to reflect women-specific needs and concerns in order to open up the space for them to participate in public affairs. The Women Street Vendors’ Manifesto serves as an avenue for women street vendors to express their concerns and establish a platform for their active role in the policy arena. The demands aim to ensure that political parties are accountable to the large number of women voters - with a specific focus on women street vendors – and that they will no longer use the women street vendors’ vote simply to propel men to leadership positions. The Manifesto also holds political parties accountable for how they treat women street vendors’ concerns.

In a nutshell, the Women Street Vendors’ Manifesto is a political document and a public declaration of key demands that must be met for Uganda to fully realise its vision for gender equity, equality and women’s effective participation in governance and development. The Manifesto is a direct result of concern about the historical injustice and insufficient attention given to critical issues affecting women street vendors. It is also the result of concern about the under-representation of women street vendors in politics, policy and decisionmaking levels and public life in general. The purpose of this Manifesto is to specifically stipulate women street vendors’ demands, which when met, will encourage and ensure women street vendors’ advancement, involvement, and meaningful participation in leadership, good governance and socio-economic spaces in Uganda.

4  Margaret Nakibuuka (2015): The Vulnerable Livelihoods of Street Vendors in Uganda: A Case of Kampala Central Division. Institute of Social Studies 5  Margarida Teixeira (2020): Women’s leadership, COVID-19 and informal economy workers. Available online via http://streetnet.org. za/2020/07/06/womens-leadership-covid-19-and-urban-informal-workers/