Why do women not have economic rights?

In Uganda, women take on the burden of unpaid care and domestic work, from looking after their children and caring for relatives to doing household work. This reinforces gender inequality as women have less time to do paid work and to attend to their own well being and self-care.
When women do find paid jobs, they struggle to find decent work. This means finding a job that guarantees a fair income, safe working conditions and social protection. In fact, in some communities husbands can stop their wives from working. Women are paid less than men. Most women are left out of decision making around the use, ownership and control of land and resources. This violates their right to economic rights including the right to own and control land, food and water. In turn, they can’t earn a livelihood.

Defending the rights of Women

WEJUNET has a network of Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) working to promote economic justice and advance the rights of women.
WEJUNET WHRDs are self-identified women and lesbian, bisexual,
transgender, queer and intersex (LBTQI) people and others who defend rights and are subject to gender-specific risks and threats due to their human rights work and/or as a direct consequence of their gender identity or sexual orientation. WEJUNET WHRDs are subject to systematic violence and discrimination due to their identities and unyielding struggles for rights, equality and justice. WHRDs are exposed to the same types of risks that all other defenders who defend human rights, communities, and the environment face. However, they are also exposed to gender-based violence and gender-specific risks because they challenge existing gender norms within their communities and societies.
WEJUNET is working to promote a holistic approach to protection which includes:
a) Emphasizing the importance of self-care and collective wellbeing, and recognizing that what care and wellbeing mean may differ across
cultures
b) Documenting the violations targeting WHRDs using a feminist
intersectional perspective
c) Promoting the social recognition and celebration of the work and resilience of WHRDs
d) Building civic spaces that are conducive to dismantling structural inequalities without restrictions or obstacles
e) Collaborating with local, national, international partners as well as the WEJUNET membership to raise awareness about these risks and threats, advocate for feminist and holistic measures of protection and safety, and actively promote a culture of self-care and collective
wellbeing in our movements.