Woman of Purpose, African Partner, Uganda
Some findings from the baseline survey of widows condition and position made by Hope for Widows in Pallisa District, Uganda .
Over 500 widows were interviewed in all. 27% were between 17 and 39; 37% were between 40 and 59, and the rest were over 60. The fact that 64% of the widows were under 60 gives a good indication of the situation women face in the area. Many widows still have young children to care for; many also are the main support of their grandchildren, given the high rate of mortality from HIV-Aids in the District.
Although 45% had been to primary school, 61% could neither read nor write, and 16% could only read with considerable difficulty. This raises the interesting question of what rural women need to ensure that the skills of literacy learnt in primary school do not erode over time.
Most of the widows (66%) had to undertake casual labour in other families’ farms
to earn any income, but their weekly earnings were very
low (5000 Ugandan Shilings
as compared to the 20,000 earned by a school teacher). Of the widows interviewed
95% were allowed to keep their children and 86% were allowed to use their dead
husbands land and other property, but could not sell it. 14% were not allowed
even use rights.
When asked whether widows had any rights at all a surprising 55.2% said that such rights did exist, while 44.8% said that such rights did not exist. Half of the widows however wanted better laws to protect widows and punish offenders, while 17% wanted offenders sent out of the community.