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.
Making Her Visible
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