As Uganda Heads to the Polls, Many Women Fear Economic and Security Fallout

With Uganda’s presidential election just days away, a growing wave of concern is sweeping across communities, particularly among women, who make up a slight majority of registered voters. Many women are voicing anxiety about the potential for insecurity, economic disruption, and lost livelihoods in the run-up to and aftermath of the January 15 election.

The general atmosphere is tense. The government has recently introduced restrictions on live broadcasts of protests and other unrest, citing a need to prevent panic and maintain order. Critics, including human rights groups, warn these measures may curb freedom of expression and reflect wider fears about the conduct of security forces around election time.

Many women, traders, market vendors, and informal economy workers, have memories of previous elections when demonstrations and heavy security presence disrupted markets, transport, and daily life. These disruptions make it harder for women to keep their businesses running and their families fed.

For women earning their living in Uganda’s large informal sector, which accounts for the majority of employment for both men and women, the stakes are especially high.

Pre-election uncertainty often dampens consumer demand, stalls sales, and risks eroding slim profit margins on which households depend.

The structure of Uganda’s economy, where most jobs are in the informal and precarious sector, means that economic downturns hit women particularly hard. Women in markets and street vending often lack formal contracts, savings, or social safety nets. Any period of instability, even perceived uncertainty around an election, can lead to lost income, falling sales, and deferred economic activity.

Some women have also expressed concern about informal work being disrupted by curfews, transport restrictions or market closures, which have occurred around tense political events in the past. These disruptions ripple across households that rely on daily earnings for food, school fees, and basic expenses.

Beyond immediate economic worries, many women feel marginalised politically and economically. In this election, no female candidate was confirmed among the presidential contenders, a development some say reflects deeper structural barriers facing women in politics today.

Concern about physical security remains acute. Women’s rights advocates have previously warned that security agencies can act with excessive force, particularly around political gatherings, which discourages women from participating fully in civic life.

During election periods in Uganda, there have been reports of intimidation, arrests and clashes. Past election cycles saw deaths and detentions linked to protest activity, and many women remember the fear this created in their communities.

Civil society organizations and women’s groups are urging political leaders to go beyond campaign promises and address concrete issues that affect women’s daily economic lives such as gender-responsive job creation, security for informal workers, and protections against gender-based violence.

Activists have also pointed to a broader lack of attention to women’s specific concerns in party manifestos, noting that economic policies often fail to tackle issues like childcare support, access to finance, and safe working environments, all crucial for women’s economic participation.