Tradition, lack of capital keep women out of fishing business

Grace Namalwa tries to calm her baby on the back as she cleans fish nets at Kasenyi Landing Site in Uganda. At the end of the day, she will be paid a paltry sum, by the owner of the nets, which she will supplement with the sale of her body. That is how most women in fishing communities survive.

Dr. Lucas Ndawula, the deputy director of the National Fisheries Resources Research Institute, says about 700,000 fishermen and 1.2 million people directly benefit from the industry.

According to the Fisheries Sector Strategic Plan, although, about 70% of the fish business is conducted by women, men benefit more from it.

"Men give us fish to smoke and we sell it for them," says Naome Nalwadda, a trader. "You have to befriend many men to get fish to sell. You cannot depend on only one fisherman," says another woman.

This, in reality, means sex for fish and there are several reasons for this.

Fishing is a labour-intensive activity. "Women cannot row boats or pull nets out of the water. That is why they remain at the shores," says Muzamili Lwanga, a fisherman.

A report by the Poverty Eradication Action Plan about lives of fishing communities shows that traditions prevent women from taking a dominant role in fishing. Just like hunting, there is a belief that women can bring bad luck if they went fishing. As a result, women were not even allowed to own boats or anything to do with getting fish out of the water, until a few years ago.

According to a survey carried out in 1991 at various landing sites, only 7% of the boats were owned by women. However, the number has grown over the past 15 years, thanks to various interventions.

According to research at Kasenyi, of the 200 boats and engines that operate there, only 30 were owned by women. "We employee men to fish for us," says Margaret Nakyejjwe, a boat owner who sold part of her land to buy boats. "I have to be around when my fishermen return to see how much fish they have caught," she explains. She then shares the day's catch with her male employees.

Getting capital to buy boats, nets and engines is a big challenge for women. However, some women have formed groups to solve this problem. For instance, the Katosi Women Fishing Development Association at Katosi landing site helps women get loans to buy boats, nets and engines and to demand for rights on the waters.

There is evidence that households where women are directly involved in fishing are better than those where only men are involved. "There is a greater willingness and opportunity to accumulate savings and invest in assets among households where both the men and women own boats," says the PEAP report.

More women are also involved in fish farming (aquaculture). Aquaculture has been developing steadily across the country. Many of the fish ponds were started by women's groups.

Overall, tradition, lack of capital and the fact that fishing is a manual job keep women out of the profitable fishing business.

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