School of Women and Gender Studies (SWGS) Collections

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Now showing 1 - 5 of 118
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    Gender inclusive participation and the implementation of parish development model programme in Gulu City
    (Makerere University, 2025) Monday, Ruth Buckley
    Effective community participation is central to the success of development programmes, yet gender disparities and structural barriers often limit its impact. This study examines how gender-inclusive participation shapes the implementation of the Parish Development Model (PDM) in Gulu City, Uganda, drawing on Kabeer’s (1999) empowerment framework, with insights from Sen’s capability approach and Arnstein’s ladder of participation. The PDM aims to foster socio-economic development through community-driven initiatives, but uneven engagement has constrained its effectiveness. Using a qualitative design, data were collected from 64 participants, including 46 community members, 8 community leaders, and 10 government officials, through interviews and focus group discussions. Findings reveal that early implementation relied on a top-down approach, with weak communication, delayed fund disbursement, elite capture, and limited ownership. Participation varied by gender, age, disability, and geographic location. While quotas for women, youth, and persons with disabilities (PWDs) existed, they did not guarantee meaningful engagement. Women-led groups in poultry and vegetable projects demonstrated higher agency, confidence, and economic outcomes when supported by mentorship, peer networks, and co-creation processes. Men dominated resource-intensive and technical ventures, reflecting enduring gendered labor divisions. Youth and PWDs benefitted most from structured capacity-building, technical support, and market linkages. The study recommends gender-sensitive training for officials, practical integration of gender analysis in PDM planning, strengthened local capacity, mentorship and peer support for marginalized groups, and engagement with cultural and religious leaders to challenge restrictive norms. Future research should explore division-specific strategies, adaptive program implementation, and long-term empowerment outcomes to guide more equitable and sustainable community development initiatives.
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    School after child birth: experiences of teenage mothers returning to school in Makindye Division-Kampala City
    (Makerere University, 2025) Nabukeera, Diana
    Teenage pregnancy is a contemporary global challenge with disproportionate representation in the global south. This hinders attainment of sustainable development goals including, good health and wellbeing, quality education and gender equality. Using a qualitative approach, the study sought to examine the experiences of teenage mothers returning to school to understand factors facilitating teenage pregnancies, the choices available to teenage mothers, challenges they encounter and the resilience mechanisms they adopt. The study was anchored in liberal feminist thought. The study findings indicate that factors explaining teenage pregnancy are interconnected and range from economic to social, religious, and cultural factors. The challenges on the other hand point to stigmatization, unfavourable school environments, financial challenges and increased workloads. The main strategies that teen mothers employed to cope with their challenges were leveraging on peer-to-peer support and depending on schools’ guiding and counselling services. The study concludes that schooling teenage mothers are among the most vulnerable group of learners as motherhood becomes a heavy responsibility for them, at an early age, with multiple and conflicting roles. Teenage mothers must be supported adequately to avoid high school drop-out rates. The study recommends that the Government and the other stakeholders should develop and deliver sensitization campaigns for community members about the school re-entry policy. This policy provides for students’, teachers’ and community members’ awareness and understanding of the existing policy, and how it protects the rights of teenage mothers.
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    The parish development model and women’s socio-economic status: a case of Kyebando Parish, Kawempe Division, Kampala
    (Makerere University, 2025) Bunalema, Moreen
    The Parish Development Model (PDM) is Uganda’s latest attempt at making devolution work for local development, economic transformation, and social inclusion. This study examined the effect of the PDM on women’s socio-economic empowerment in Kyebando Parish, Kampala. The specific objectives of the study were: To explore how value addition in key growth opportunities under PDM has enhanced women’s status in Kyebando Parish. To analyze how private sector capacity strengthening under PDM has driven growth and job Creation for women in Kyebando Parish. To investigate the extent to which PDM has enhanced the productivity of women in Kyebando Parish Using a cross-sectional design, the study used a mixed-methods approach and surveyed 159 women-led PDM group members. Also, six key informant interviews and the study conducted Four FGDs of which Two were for Men and Two for women PDM Groups with each group containing six members and the sessions were moderated by the researcher. The study concludes that while the PDM has contributed meaningfully to women’s economic empowerment in Kyebando Parish, its transformative potential can be fully realized through more flexible enterprise models, improved institutional coordination, and gender-responsive support systems. These findings offer valuable insights for policymakers, development practitioners, and community leaders seeking to enhance inclusive and sustainable development through localized economic empowerment initiatives. The current study recommends that household incomes are achievable through access to commodity markets, increased production and productivity of agricultural and non-agricultural commodities. This can be done by organizing farmer/community groups into clusters/associations and supporting them to reliably, consistently and effectively engage in bulking and marketing of high-quality/standard commodities.
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    The dual burden of care and unpaid work : women's experiences in Kawempe Division, Uganda
    (Makerere University, 2025) Akankunda, Mourice
    This study examined The Balancing Act: The Dual Burden of Care Work and Paid Labor among Women in Kawempe Division, Kampala, Uganda. The research aimed to (i) examine the different unpaid care work activities women combine with their paid employment, (ii) identify the push factors for women’s persistent dominance in unpaid care work, and (iii) explore the strategies and coping mechanisms women employ to navigate the challenges of balancing paid and unpaid work. A mixed-methods research design was employed to capture both quantitative and qualitative insights from formally and informally employed women in Kawempe, one of Kampala’s seven divisions and a hub of business activity. Purposive and snowball sampling were used to select participants. Data collection involved the Rapid Care Analysis (RCA) tool, in-depth interviews, key informant interviews, and structured questionnaires. Thematic analysis and descriptive statistics were applied to analyze the intersection between paid labor and unpaid care work. Findings indicate that women engage in multiple unpaid care activities, including cooking, cleaning, laundry, childcare, and caring for the sick and elderly, alongside formal and informal paid work. Cultural norms, religious beliefs, male-dominated decision-making, low education levels, and internalized gender roles were identified as the key drivers of women’s persistent dominance in unpaid care work. To cope with this dual burden, women employed strategies such as using electrical machines, hiring domestic help, delegating care responsibilities to older children, adjusting work schedules, and shifting toward home-based businesses. While these strategies provided temporary relief, they did not fundamentally redistribute care responsibilities or address structural gender inequalities. The study concludes that unpaid care work remains a significant barrier to women’s economic empowerment and well-being. Recommendations include fairer redistribution of unpaid care responsibilities, gender-responsive workplace policies, affordable childcare solutions, and community and policy interventions to challenge cultural and structural barriers. Implementing these measures would enable women to dedicate more time to paid employment, increase earnings, and advance economic equality.
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    Empowerment backlash: gender based violence amongst adolescent girls and young women peer leaders of Oyam District
    (Makerere University, 2025) Auma, Grace Slyvia
    The study explored the experiences of Gender Based Violence (GBV) amongst peer leaders of Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) of Oyam district as a type of empowerment backlash. The study objectives were; to establish the causes of empowerment backlash amongst AGYW peer leaders of Oyam district; to identify the various types of GBV being experienced by the AGYW peer leaders of Oyam district, to assess the effects of GBV amongst AGYW peer leaders of Oyam and to examine the strategies used by the AGYW peer leaders of Oyam district to cope with the experiences of GBV. The research design was grounded in a qualitative framework which provided a deep, contextual, and nuanced insights into the experiences of GBV among peer leaders in Oyam District. The methods used included in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and document reviews. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis with the assistance of Atlas.ti application. The findings indicate that while the DREAMS program has provided economic and psychosocial empowerment, it has also triggered unintended resistance from male partners and community members. Many participants reported negative perceptions and stigma from community members who viewed DREAMS as a program for “failures.” The peer leaders faced resistance from close family members who viewed their participation in DREAMS as disruptive and ’spoiling their good morals.’ Types of GBV included physical, psychological emotional, sexual and economic violence. Male partners often resisted women's newfound financial independence, leading to conflicts over money management, assertive behaviors were viewed as disrespectful as it goes against gender norms. Participants reported psychosomatic symptoms from GBV including ulcers, breathing difficulties, and depression resulting from chronic abuse. Male partners predominantly employed conflict avoidance and economic appeasement while female participants developed more complex resilience strategies as coping mechanisms. The study found that Desired, Resilience, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored and Safe (DREAMS) as an empowerment initiative had significantly empowered AGYW peer leaders through life-skills such as; assertiveness, decision making, communication skills, access to health information, economic skills, financial independence, and conflict resolution training. Community resistance, stigma, and misconceptions about DREAMS remained major challenges that affected the peer leader’s ability to fully perform their roles. The study recommends increment of community sensitization to change negative perceptions about DREAMS, highlight its benefits to prevent its backlash inform of GBV. There is need for more male, community leaders and parent’s/guardians’ engagements to support AGYW participation and peer leader’s roles while addressing harmful gender norms. Strengthening economic opportunities for AGYW; address project induced backlash such as enrollment restrictions, benefit disparities, delayed payment of stipends and poor time management that caused a lot of backlash on the peer leaders.