How COVID-19 has affected women in Uganda

Oct 20, 2020

Ajiambo's husband trippled his drinking and pysical abuse on her and the children during the lockdown. He severed her hand with a panga. 

I met Jennifer Ajiambo on her hospital bed at Bishop Caesar Asili Hospital in Luwero district in Central Uganda with metals on her right arm. Ajiambo had spent four weeks in hospital recovering from surgery to re-attach the arm, which her husband, Robert Masinde Naku, had severed with a panga.

Ajiambo recovering from surgery to re-attach her arm that was severed by her husband

Ajiambo considers the incident, which happened nine weeks after Uganda was put under lockdown in relation to COVID-19, the epitome of the 16 years of the violence, abuse and neglect that Masinde had subjected her and their six children to.

A resident of Kamila village in Luwero district, Ajiambo narrated that she was used to her husband drinking a lot, regularly becoming aggressive, verbally insulting her and refusing to provide for the family. Sometimes, the family would go up to three days without a meal if Ajiambo, who used to dig plantations for money or food, could not provide.

Ajiambo says she had worked out a way to live with Masinde, but his behavior became extreme during the lockdown. From the beginning of the lockdown, Masinde became increasingly difficult and quarrelsome. In addition, he would beat her and the children for no reason.

The lockdown that was imposed in March as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic exposed women and girls in abusive situations to new facets of exploitation.

Her Vision, in today's paper, delves deeper into the situations women and girls have had to face and what policy solutions are in place to help them seek a better life.

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