Ugandan women should benefit from an East African common market

The start of July marked the point when the East African Community common market protocol kicked into operation. But Ugandan women face several obstacles before they will benefit from the boost that the protocol gives to the free movement of goods, labour and capital, according to IPS news.

Regional integration, which began with the signing of the east African customs union protocol in 2005, has increased export opportunities and expanded production in the agricultural sector where women predominate, cultivating 80 percent of agricultural products taken across borders.

It should give women the opportunity to be more active as traders, to raise their incomes and reduce poverty. But "the odds are against women, especially rural women, when it comes to competing regionally", says the executive director of the African Women’s Economic Policy Network, Daisy Owomugasho.