Married but Single: The Life of Women in Border Communities in Northern Uganda
If a dollar was paid for each hour that women invested into their home-care and for all the kinds of domestic violence (Physical, Emotional, Sexual & Economic) that they suffer while at it, women in Sub-Sahara Africa would be rich!
Amony Agnes, 31 and a mother of 4 girls was born and is living in Ngomoromo – a village bordering Uganda and South Sudan. Like many other women in the region, even though she lives with the father of her children, Amony is the breadwinner of her family.
The Suicide
Feeling a burn-out from solely taking care of her family and yet being repaid with physical and emotional abuses by the husband & being forced to sleep out, Amony decided that signing out of this life was the last resort to end the miserable life she has been experiencing. On that fateful night of Saturday 14th, September 2024, at 9:00pm, while 2 of the children (5 & 8) were asleep in their grass-thatched house, and the husband still out, Amony, who recalls that her father was a soldier and was killed when she was 3 & whose only sibling is mentally ill & lives in the bushes, aided herself with a bicycle to climb up, tied a rope on one of the logs that support the roof from the inside, put the rope on her neck and kicked the bicycle to the ground! The 2 children woke up at the sound of the bicycle falling, and saw their mother up. They rushed out in the dark to alert those in the neighborhood, who came in quickly to rescue the situation. Unconscious, Amony was then rushed to a clinic from where she received some medications. Three of her colleagues volunteered to spend few nights with her, to avoid a second attempt to commit suicide.
But Amony’s Suicidal attempt has never brought any change to the husband. He has continued to drink alcohol and does not support Amony in raising income to sustain the family. He still blames her for giving birth to only girls, calls them “stupid births”.
In addition to some counseling to help her cope, Amony now spends some time in church to listen to some teachings, from where she gets some comfort. She continues to juggles through a number of activities to provide for her family.
Survival Strategies
Communal Mary-Go-Round Farming: Amony belongs to a group of 30 women called “Wan Kiken”, who do mary-go-round farming. In this arrangement, each of the women have their own land for farming, far away or nearer their homes in Ngomoromo. During farming season, the women make turns to cultivate for each other by providing in-kind labor. For instance, when the 1st person is to cultivate her land, all the other 29 women team up and work in that person’s land, while she (host), provides the meals throughout the time. They then rotate until all the registered members have their land cultivated, then they start weeding and also harvesting. The group is headed by Anyero Jessica and Amony Agnes as chairperson and deputy respectively.
Barter Trade for Ploughing Machine: Some crops like simsim need ox-plough to plough the land. Amony assists owners of cows & ox-ploughs to chase/hit cows to move forward during ploughing, so that in return, they can use their cows to plough her other gardens. If the owner of the ox-plough has 3 gardens, which each require 5 or 7 days to plough, she has to offer her service throughout until he finishes digging all his three gardens, after which, they go as a team and plough her garden too. Sometimes, she makes deals with owners of the cows to allow her to weed their gardens, then they dig for her in exchange for her services.
Scooping sand: Sometimes, she scoops sand from a small river in Limur, the next village and she sells to people who want it for building.
Barter Trade for School Fees: In some occasions, Amony works in school gardens if they have jobs, for instance weeding, in exchange for school fees, so that her children are not sent back home for lack of school fees
Other activities: Cooks and sells alcohol, and Sells firewood, a bundle at approximately $1.50
Not only Amony
Unfortunately, Amony’s experiences are a representation of the life of the majority of the women in the village. “Many families in this village are suffering in the hands of their husbands, especially those who drink. Families where the men do not drink are doing better”, said Kenneth Kaunda, a local leader who provided counseling to Amony and husband after the suicide attempt by Amony.
The other challenge is that both men and women are in competition with each other. For instance, for some couples that successfully farm together, after harvesting the crops, the man can sell off part of the foodstuffs and instead of saving the money for school fees, treatments in case of illnesses or other needs, he either goes on a drinking spree or spends it on other women. So, in revenge, the woman will reciprocate by selling off all the remaining food stuffs and spends it on alcohol too. Barely a week after harvesting, they would have nothing in the house and sometimes this would lead to divorce.
The Security Risks
Amony and a group of other women do farm on land available about 3km away, closer to South Sudan than Ngomoromo but far from the security forces. There are security risks in the area, especially during the harvest period. During or before harvest, the perpetrators (most of whom are armed), believed to cross from South Sudan side, tend to block the road and demand for the food stuffs, money or both. On bad days, women are raped or killed in addition to confiscating all their harvests. They mostly kill men because most of the men respond to them rudely.
However, the local security forces are always on alert. They provided their phone contacts through which the community can reach out to them in case of any dangers. The challenge though is that the majority of the women do not own phones. For instance, only 2 of the 30 women in the wan-kiken group own some old phones. So, those who farm in those risky areas but do not have communication devices normally have to move in groups, operate collectively and are always very alert.
In addition to the existing efforts to protect the communities, equipping the women with communication devices such as phones will help the women to promptly communicate to the security authorities in case of any dangers.
Way Forward: Call for financial support
School fees for the four children paid directly to the schools: As per the current fees structure, a grand total of USD 820.8, will see all the 4 children into primary schools. Any future annual fees increment by the school as part of their new fees’ structures will be contributed by the parents.
The 2 older girls (14 & 12), will be joining p6 and p5 respectively next year, in Akara primary school in Mucwini, Lamwo district. The 2 younger girls (8 & 5) will be in primary 4 & 1 respectively next year in Ngomoromo primary school in Lamwo. They each pay Ugx 60,000 (USD 17.1) per term.
Clearing the school fees will shade some of the burdens off Amony’s shoulder and will prevent her from another possible attempt to risk her life and that of her children.
Feature Phones for the 30 women farmers in the Wan-Kiken Women Group: Amony does not own a phone. Out of the 30 women, only 2 have phones. With a total of USD600, each of the 30 women in the group will own new feature phones. Since they do farm in risky areas at the borders, the phones will support them to communicate to the local authorities or to alert each other in case of any danger.
Ox-Plough and Cows: The 30 women currently spend approximately 2-3 days on each person’s garden. Additionally, most of their gardens are in the risky areas at the borderlands. A total of USD1000 will purchase 2 bulls and an ox-plough. This will allow them to spend less time and minimize security risks. Additionally, the group can hire out the ox-plough at a cost and use the funds for maintenance or to support their livelihoods.
Author: Lillian | Reviewer: Lucy Manang
For any further inquiries/clarifications or support, reach out to us through email: lillian.achom@gmail.com | lillian@accesspluss.org
