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Women miners cry foul over sexual harassment
Artisanal miners search for gold in Tiira Village, Tiira Town Council, Busia District in 2020. Photo/File
What you need to know:
- “Women are not given equal pay in associations. Men are paid higher than women and this leaves them vulnerable because they do not have funds,” Ms Josephine Aguttu, a miner
Sexual harassment and land ownership disputes have been cited as the major challenges affecting women in gold mining dotting the country.
Women from the mining sites say they are forced into sexual encounters to access jobs. Ms Josephine Aguttu, a miner in Busia District, said the gendered nature of the menial jobs make mining sites a bastion for men. She suggested that other sections of the mining process such as records keeping be ring-fenced for women and People with Disabilities to avoid creating old boys’ clubs.
“You will never see a woman heading an association. Men dictate and are always in control. Women are used and can never take decisions and are given simple roles without influence to appease those seeing the structure,” she said, adding: “Women are not given equal pay in associations. Men are paid higher than women and this leaves them vulnerable because they do not have funds.”
Ms Aguttu said the low pay forces women into prostitution, exposing them to sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
The women also decried the lack of access via ownership to mining pits, thereby forcing them into petty jobs such as carrying ore.
“In Busia, gold is in community and family land. We have had cases of loss of husbands and the relatives take ownership of the deceased’s property and this leaves the women and children suffering,” Ms Aguttu disclosed.
Mr John Bosco Bukya, the chairperson of the Uganda Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (UGAASM), said gender involvement in the mining sector should have a business perspective.
“A company is run by shareholders unless there is affirmative action that there is no shareholding without a woman,” he said.
They were speaking at the gender assemblies under the Reclaim Sustainability Gold Project organised by UGAASM in partnership with Solidaridad East and Central Africa.
“Government has put in place laws on equality, equal opportunities for women for inclusion, gender strategy in the mining sector. What is lacking is the implementation of policies and regulations on inclusion of women in mining leadership,” Dr Catherine Odenyo Ndekera, a gender and social inclusivity advisor at Solidaridad East and Central Africa, said.
Raphael Kaduggala, the labour officer for Busia District, said: “Mining is a business but our intervention is to sensitise people on how to protect themselves and also avoid being in conflict with the laws. We also link the miners to the various service providers and the ministry for minerals for them to formalise their businesses on top of enforcing the existing laws to ensure justice.”
