This 8^th March 2023 Top Notch-CDI joins the world to commemorate Women’s day under the   theme DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality. The world has gone digital however persistent gender gaps in digital access keeps women from unlocking technology’s full potential.  This is caused by many barriers to women and girls exercising their rights. This include; harmful gender norms, gender-based violence, uneven education (boys are more likely to be prioritized), uneven employment (men are more likely to be employed), laws and policies that do not keep in mind inclusivity.

Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) remains a common occurrence in many of the communities in Uganda and is widespread across the country. More than one in five (22 per cent) women have ever experienced sexual violence in their lifetimes (UBOS & ICF, 2018). Further, nearly 10 per cent of girls age 15–19 and close to 20 per cent of women age 20–24 reported ever experiencing sexual assault, with more than half of these women experiencing it in the year preceeding the survey (Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) and ICF 2018).

Women’s experiences of violence have a serious negative impacts on their children’s well being and on their productivity and ability to participate fully in society. However, VAWG case management continues to be undermined by the lack of accessible, integrated services and reporting mechanisms; weak institutional capacity across sectors (justice, health, education, and social welfare); and the absence of effective coordination of services. For example, the medical services and the justice system, including police and the courts, are profoundly ill-equipped to support and assist survivors.

Economic disparities also perpetuate vulnerabilities for women and yet many Ugandan women and girls are economically disable. Women do not have control of land due to patriarchal system which is real in most of the communities, Women lack access to credit and financial control to make spending decisions on education and health among others.

Top Notch CDI implements different programs in different districts of Lira, Rwampara, Hoima and Wakiso. One of its programs is to fight against GBV as well as empower women and girls economically. During implementation Top Notch- CDI interacts with women who have faced different challenges.

Kancungura Patience a beneficiary of Top Notch- CDI thanks Top notch for empowering her economically, “I dropped out of school in P7 because my brother and I could not study at the same time, life was hard as I had to toil to give a supporting hand to my mother so that our family could eat. I thank Top Notch-CDI for 5 chicks which were given to me, they have multiplied and I now have 36 and it can supplement our income. Many other girls are in the same situation as me but do not have any kind of support” 

Closing the gender gap for women and girls in all spheres of life is urgent particularly in Uganda where there are very limited opportunities. Many women and girls end up in indecent work like sex trade to earn a living which exposes then to risk of contracting HIV. Others are exploited sexually to gain favors.

By promoting women’s rights, supporting them, documenting the reality of women’s lives worldwide, and shaping global standards on gender equality and women’s empowerment, the CSOs play a vital role in ensuring women’s rights are upheld.

We therefore call upon government, Civil Society, and the private sector alike to:

• Put in place policies that support the rights of women, girls, and marginalized groups; and, ensure health and key equity measures are disaggregated by sex and age
• Put in place systems that support the fight against VAWG and functionalize existing referral path ways for addressing VAWG
•  Increase women’s representation in leadership and decision-making to redistributing care-work and productive resource
• Increase access to education for women and girls at all levels
• Increase programs that are geared towards empowering women and Girls economically