WOMEN’S RIGHTS ONLINEREPORTCARD
UGANDA
Measuring Progress,Driving Action

INTE’SENACCESS & W
ET OWERM OM
NEN
R MPT
E

UGANDAOVERALL SCORE:
SCORE:

30%

SCORE:

Y

3Affordability is a major reason for low Internet uptakein Uganda. 1GB of data costs more than 22% of
average monthly incomes, though prices have been
dropping recently. Kampala’s free wi-fi pledge is apromising step for affordable access.

DIGITAO R DA BILIT

A survey by the Uganda Communications Commission
found that only 6% of women are online. Kampalahas the largest gender gap in Internet access across
10 cities we surveyed globally. Only 21% of womenreported having used the Internet, versus 61% of men.

SCORE:KILLS & EDU
SCL

ION
ATFAF

23

A third of women surveyed in poor areas in Kampala
say lack of digital know-how stops them from using
the Internet. Uganda does have a policy to expand ICTs
in education and some teacher training programmes
have been introduced. However there is no data
available on the number of schools connected tothe Internet.

RELE
VA

ICES
RV

SCORE:

LINE S AFETYNOCONTENT & SETN

7

Almost a third of women in Uganda report using mobile
financial services. Relevant content, for example,
about reproductive and sexual health rights andservices is available online, but the information is notcomprehensive, and is often only available in English.

SCORE:

2

A shocking 45% of female Internet users in Kampala
report having experienced online threats. Women’s
online expression is also being restricted by frequentInternet shutdowns and mass surveillance. The draft
Data Protection and Privacy Bill needs stronger
privacy safeguards.

CLOSING THE GENDER GAP: A 5 POINT ACTION PLAN
1IMPROVE ACCESS AND AFFORDABILITY. Ensure government policies make the Internet moreaccessible for all by lowering Internet and mobile service costs, and prioritising public access programmes.

2

FOCUS ON DIGITAL EMPOWERMENT TRAINING FOR WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS.
Put in place a structured programme to use ICTs to help female entrepreneurs secure finance, receivementoring and access other resources needed for success. This should help grow women’s enterprises,
increase ICT use, and create job opportunities for others.

3

PRIORITISE RELEVANT ONLINE CONTENT FOR CITIZEN PARTICIPATION. Ensurethat public information is easily accessible, well disseminated and open for citizens’ access and use.

4

PROTECT WOMEN’S DIGITAL RIGHTS. Laws should be passed that uphold women’s online
rights, and protect citizens from bulk surveillance, Internet shut-downs and censorship. Government should
also review and enact the Data Protection and Privacy Bill, ensuring that it upholds online freedoms andprivacy of communications.

5STOP GENDER BASED VIOLENCE ONLINE AND OFFLINE. The police and judiciary’s
ability to address online gender-based violence needs to be strengthened through training and capacity
building. ICTs should be harnessed to fight GBV offline as well online, including by rallying partners todevelop relevant applications and services.

PROJECT OVERVIEWThe United Nations recently
made gender-equitable access toinformation and communications
technologies (ICTs) central to the
Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs), which set the global
development agenda until 2030.
Why? ICTs are powerful. They can help todeliver improved healthcare, quality education
for all, financial inclusion, more accountable
government, and much more. In adopting theSDGs, all countries have pledged to prioritise
universal Internet access, and to use ICTs toempower women.
But much hard work lies ahead if weare to translate this vision into reality. Aformidable gender gap in Internet access,digital skills and online rights exists - our
Women’s Rights Online research shows that inmany communities, women are 50% less likely
than men to be online and 30-50% less likely
to use the Internet for economic and politicalempowerment. Women face many barriers including high costs, lack of know-how, and ascarcity of relevant and empowering content as well as social and legal obstacles to speaking
freely and privately online.
The Web Foundation and partners have
prepared these gender audits to help countries
assess what they need to do to overcome
the gender digital divide. Women of Uganda
Network (WOUGNET) has taken the lead, inconsultation with other national stakeholders,on identifying concrete steps that government
can take in the next year to address thechallenges and gaps identified. We hope that
this report card and action plan will spark
debate and galvanise policy change.

A NOTE ON METHODOLOGY:
We based our scores on 14 simple indicators for which reliable empirical evidence
exists, and grading was done in the second quarter of 2016. See the accompanying
overview for a description of the indicators and sources used. A full methodology isavailable on our website.

Produced in collaboration with:

With support from: