Activists condemn ban on women from front seats of trucks
Authorities in Lira City have banned female market traders from sitting in the driver’s cabin as part of the efforts to mitigate the rampant road accidents in Lango Sub-region. Photo | File
What you need to know:
- About 51 percent of Ugandan women between the age of 15 and 49 have experienced some form of violence at some point in life, according to UBOS.
A section of Members of Parliament (MPs) and members of the Domestic Violence Coalition, a consortium of about 30 women’s rights organisations, have condemned the directive issued by traders’ associations in Lira District that bars female traders from taking front seats while transporting goods in trucks.
The traders’ associations effected the ban in January on grounds that the women entice truck drivers who in turn fail to concentrate, leading to accidents.
But addressing journalists last week, Mbarara Woman MP Margret Ayebare advised men to have self-control to avoid giving lame excuses to justify their behaviour that infringes on women’s rights.
“Most of the time, you find that those women who are given a chance to sit in front of trucks have babies. If they put a ban on that, it means that they will not work and this pulls them back economically and makes it hard for them to fend for their families,” Ms Rwebyambu said.
She stressed the need for the Uganda Police Force and Lira District leadership to sensitize men in Lira on the causes of accidents and also encourage them to co-exist with women instead of taking them as sex objects.
‘Lame excuse’
Mr Julius Peter Emigu, the MP for Ochero in Kaberamaido District, said whereas he does not encourage women to dress indecently, he wonders why someone who is driving will focus his attention on a passenger.
Ms Stella Atyang, the Woman MP for Moroto, said such decisions are informed by old cultural beliefs that discriminate against women.
Ms Shartis Musherure, the Mawogola North Member of Parliament, noted that such discriminatory acts deter women from engaging in meaningful economic activities yet many have been left with the burden of fending for their families singlehandedly.
Ms Diana Nasumba, the programme Officer at Centre for Domestic Violence Prevention, who spoke on behalf of DVA coalition, said such discriminations are prohibited in the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda that grants gender equality and condemns all acts of discrimination against all persons regardless of age, sex, gender. She described it as an act of attacking women in general, their bodies and the fact that they can also make money.
Ms Nansumba noted that in the recent past, the country has witnessed the increasing prevalence of violence against women and girls.
While quoting the Uganda Bureau of Statistics study done this year, Ms Nansumba said about 51 percent of Ugandan women between the age of 15 and 49 have experienced some form of violence at some point in life.
