Breaking Boda Barriers: Women Join the Business
By Kalungi James
It’s no secret that Kampala’s bodaboda is a male-dominated business. But in recent years, female bodaboda riders have been making their presence known on the city’s bustling streets by increasingly taking up the occupation. There are several reasons for this, including the high unemployment rate among women in Uganda, the low cost of entry into the bodaboda business, and the flexibility it offers.
The increase in female bodaboda riders in Kampala City has also been supported by both NGOs and private sector companies including, but not limited to the NGO Women Rising for Africa, electric motorcycle company Zembo and of course the ride-hailing app Safeboda. These organizations have provided essential resources and support to Kampala’s female bodas in the form of road safety training, gender-based violence training, self-defense training and access to motorcycle financiers.
“We have helped women from all backgrounds to join bodaboda; educated, illiterate, single mothers, married and students,” said Liliane Felix, the Founder of Women Rising for Africa. This support has enabled women to join the bodaboda business with ease and confidence. Women are now playing an increasingly important role in the city’s public transportation system and demonstrating their ability to be independent and empowered members of the society, while breaking into a male-dominated business.
Getting a Boda
There are a number of reasons women have begun joining the boda boda business, and many of them are the same as men: high unemployment, the low cost of entry, and flexibility in working hours and styles.
The alarming rate of unemployment among women in Uganda — 11.7%, compared to 8.4% for men — irrespective of the social status and education level has left many women with no option other than joining occupations which were traditionally known to be for men including bodaboda.
Allen Kisakye was the first female boda rider to join Safeboda. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Social work & Social Administration, but she decided to take on boda boda as her full-time job after failing to get a formal job in her field of education. “I’m contented with the money I earn from boda boda and feel no need to look for another job,’’ she told Lubyanza.
Another reason as to why women have embraced the boda boda job is because it is a much cheaper to join as compared to other businesses that would fetch the same income as boda boda. “One only needs an upfront of Shs. 500,000/= to get a bike on loan and join boda boda,” said Asiimwe Immaculate a female lubyanza rider we met at Kamwokya. “Personally, I save Shs. 150,000/= a week on average after paying my bike loan weekly instalment of Shs. 76,000/=” she added. Another woman rider who preferred to stay anonymous also told Lubyanza that there are organizations in Uganda that can pay for up to half of the price of the motorcycle to asset financers and recommend certain women to be helped to acquire bikes on loan.
Operating boda boda is a very flexible endeavor, that allows one to work at their own schedule — which makes it easy for women to balance family duties and the business. “As we speak now I have a baby of five months, but I take full care of her including breast feeding at least four times a day,” said Kisakye Allen. “I can do this without inconveniencing anyone like it would be at a formal job. I have never seen a flexible job like boda boda,” she added.
Dealing with Dangers
The first challenge faced by women in the boda industry is sexual harassment. Women boda riders are vulnerable to sexual harassment, making many women reluctant to take up the job. Female bodaboda riders in Kampala told Lubyanza several stories about the sexual harassment they have faced.
Princess Amina a.k.a Rasta, is a female boda rider at Bakyala Bazira boda stage located along Nkrumah Road. Rasta is a mother in her early 30s who recently began working as a bodaboda driver after quitting her job as a bouncer which she had hated due to her salary never arriving on time.She says she was inspired to become a bodaboda driver after seeing other successful women in the business, but she hadn’t yet faced the difficulties of taking men around.
“A few weeks ago, I picked up a gentleman from my stage who needed to be dropped at his home in Kyebando. When we reached the destination, the guy wanted me to enter his room that he would pay me more money if I accepted,” Rasta explained. “He later insisted that I either enter inside his house so that he pays me extra money on top of the agreed fare of 10,000 [UGX, or $2.8] or else he would not pay me. I started my bike and told him to remain with the money. [It’s a] good thing I had remained with my bike and life.”
Rasta’s story is just one example of how female riders have struggled with men with terrible motives as women are just trying to work. Other women have been sexually harassed or assaulted by male passengers who attempt to grope them while driving, to mention but a few of the indignities women face in the business.
Women riders face other means of discrimination as well which can prevent them from getting the best out of the job at the end of the day. Some passengers are reluctant to take a ride with a female driver, or may pay them less than their male counterparts. This makes it difficult for women to make ends meet in this line of work. In addition, there’s the issue of culture and societal norms where many people in Uganda still hold traditional views on gender roles, which can make it difficult for women to be seen as legitimate bodaboda drivers.
There are also still a lot of stigmas associated with women riding bodabodas in Kampala city which can make it difficult for female riders to feel safe, confident and respected on the roads. This stigma often leads to unwarranted harassment or even violence against female riders. Several women that Lubyanza approached for the survey were not willing to have their names mentioned in this article but rather to remain anonymous.
“Joining boda boda, we are looked at as failures in the society and less respected,” said one female rider who asked to remain anonymous. “My husband is often chanted by his colleagues to have married a fellow man — referring to me!” she added.
Of course, on top of all this, there are still the daily risk of accidents all boda riders face in Uganda. Bodas are the most common vehicle to be involved in accidents in Uganda, and are more likely to have a serious injury or die due to the lack of protection. Women face the same vulnerabilities and risks on the road.
Despite these challenges, there are brave women who have embraced the boda boda job and are currently making a significant contribution to the economy and transportation system of Kampala. They are showing that women can be successful entrepreneurs in this line of work, and they are helping to break down gender stereotypes. Women riders are looked up to by their communities and are helping to bridge gender gaps through their actions and accomplishments.
