Social protection measures utilised by older widows in Kamuli, Uganda: An African feminist perspective

Globally, social protection has become a key policy trend to afford the ‘greying’ population an opportunity to age with dignity amidst escalating nutrition and health care costs. As people are living longer, countries are increasingly urged to come up with concrete social protection measures that will promote equal opportunities particularly for older persons. Despite the progress made by the Ugandan government, social protection policies are arguably not gender sensitive. Informed by the African feminist perspective, this paper explores and describes the social protection measures that are utilised by older widows in Kamuli, Uganda. The African feminist perspective provides a contextualised understanding of the vulnerability facing older widows against the backdrop of the interrelated forms of injustice that confront them. Data was collected from 16 widows and 4 key informants through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, respectively. The findings revealed that older widows in particular face a nexus of related challenges that puts them at a higher risk of poverty and deprivation. The older widows use formal social protection measures, while all also utilising indigenous pathways. Particularly for social work practice and education, this paper recommends greater sensitivity by social workers and policy to the social and economic realties of older widows in addition to the structural barriers that perpetuate their disadvantage.