Do women in developing nations have financial independence?

Through my observation of life here in Uganda, nothing is more glaring to me as the quality of living. I often wonder how poverty can co-exist with new age capitalism and globalization in a developing nation such as this. I have seen more Mercedes Benz and Mitsubishi Pajero on the streets of Kampala than I have seen in the streets of Toronto and Ottawa.

How is it that some individuals who earn less than one dollar (US) a day, co-exist with people who live in the mansions of Kololo and have the latest computer technology?

According to a colleague of mine, Saul Akandwanaho, the simple reason is that power and money is being held by the few! More specifically, when it comes to developing nations, though there are obvious signs of progression and social stabilization, at every level - from the village to the highest governmental office - there is some form of corruption that seems to debilitate the upward movement of the poor. Thus, it seems, according to Mr. Akandwanaho, there is a "perpetuated corruption" that leaves many Ugandans in poverty.

Consequently, poverty seems to affect women most in particular. So much so, that most women have no economic power or access to jobs and opportunities. According to The World's Women 2000: Trends and Statistics (a United Nations report that looks at the status of women through the lens of statistical data and analysis):

*Two thirds of the world's 876 million illiterates are women, and the number of illiterates is not expected to decrease significantly in the next twenty years.

*More women than men lack the basic literacy and computer skills needed to enter "new media" professions.

*More people are living alone in the developed regions, and the majority are women

*Physical and sexual abuse affect millions of girls and women worldwide---yet are known to be seriously under-reported.

*In some African countries, more than half of all women and girls have undergone female genital mutilation and its prevalence is not declining.

*Despite calls for gender equality, women are significantly under-represented in Governments, political parties and at the United Nations.

Due to the above statistics, it is no wonder that women in developing nations find it difficult to achieve financial independence. By way of illustration, according to S. Akandwanaho, women are used by some men for economic security in the form of maintaining the family farm. In some Ugandan families, the woman is responsible for tilling the land and harvesting the food. But on the other side of the coin, the man sells the food, receives the income from the selling, and uses the money as he pleases. As a result, the woman has no part in the economic decision making of the family. To some men, women are seen as having the intellect equivalent to that of a child and should therefore have no financial independence.

To make matters worse, most women in developing nations are denied education and therefore lack the literacy to be financially independent.

So…what needs to be done?

Fortunately, great strides are being made by developing nations, especially in Uganda, to improve and promote “girl-child education”. However, more efforts need to be made to encourage females to be more “financially aware” so that they can be released from the “shackles of financial dependence”. Especially in Africa, more companies and/or organizations need to provide women the education and resources needed to start and maintain an income generating activity, and to make informed banking and financial planning decisions (2). In this day of age, it’s important that women feel financially independent and also financially secure, in the event that a man decides to leave her and the children!

At a local level, university students in particular (yes, both males and females) need to advocate for, and participate in, activities that promotes the financial independence of women. Eventually, the gender gap, with respect financial stability, will be non-existent and poverty will not affect women in developing nations.

REFERENCES: 1.http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/indwn/hr2000/htm 2.http://www.count-me-in.org/moneyworks