Please note this story contains references to sexual violence and abuse which some may find upsetting.
“You can only have this job if you sleep with me.”
That’s what many women in Uganda hear during interviews.
When Jazeo had to drop out of school because her mother couldn’t afford to keep her enrolled, she was desperate to find employment.
“Someone called my mother and said they had found a job for me,” Jazeo explained. “I was very happy because I had no source of income. I had no options. My sister needed tuition, so I decided to take it.”
The job was at a restaurant in Kampala, the capital. The owner knew all about the financial desperation of young women, especially those with relatives to support. And he used this to his advantage. He not only forced Jazeo to have sex with him in order to get the job, but told her, if she wanted to get a raise, she’d have to live with him.
“It was the only way for me to survive,” she said.
In Uganda, sexual abuse and exploitation often happens in the workplace — especially in the restaurant industry, where many women work. There, sexual exploitation meets economic exploitation. The pay is low and unreliable, and employees are expected to work long days with no breaks or food.
Another woman, Namusanza, started working at a bar in Kampala after her mother died and her father refused to pay for school fees. She was just 17 years old, and cried when her new boss propositioned her in the interview. He told her, “It is the role of waitresses in the bar to entice and to please the customers.” In order to keep her job, Namusanza had to have sex with customers.
Joy was in a similar situation. “The owner wanted me to put on attractive clothing and short miniskirts,” she said. “He wanted me to sit with the customers, to keep them company and allow them to touch my body and kiss me. The boss would beat me if I didn’t allow that.”
Many young women in Uganda are conditioned to keep quiet about abuse and accept it as just part of their role. If they are brave enough to speak up, they’re often not taken seriously or able to seek justice.
But Jazeo, Namusanza and Joy have had enough. They’re breaking barriers by speaking out against sexual exploitation.
“Girls working at bars are suffering,” Namusanza said. “We cannot be at the bars because we are treated as animals, as non-human beings. I want the future generation of girls to live a better life. Their rights should be respected.”
Joy and Jazeo are both pursuing different career paths — Joy is earning money as a hair stylist and Jazeo saved up to study fashion design.
[Read: Did you know? Fashion designers in Africa are changing more than styles]
But what they still have in common is the determination to use their stories to create change.
“There are many girls who have lost parents, who are orphans, who go to these places to work and are exploited,” Joy said. “If people hear my voice, they will know that it really exists, and I think action will be done if people hear what I’m saying.”
Like anyone else, young women deserve to find fair and safe employment opportunities that are free from exploitation. In some places, that’s harder for women to fight for on their own — that’s when Plan International steps in. As part of our programming in Skills & Work, Plan works with employers and governments to promote gender-inclusive workplaces and make sure there are avenues for reporting rights violations.
Joy is right — raising awareness on this issue is the first big step toward addressing it. Thanks to her, Jazeo and Namusanza, that’s more likely to happen in Uganda. We’re listening. And we hope their bosses are, too — because equality is coming.
The names in this story have been changed to protect the speakers’ identities.