Research Proposal

GENDER INEQUALITY AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION AMONG

HOUSEHOLDS IN BUNSULE VILLAGE, KAKALGALA
SUB-COUNTY, LUWERO DISTRICT, UGANDA
By

Rafat Bin Nasir

2312664

Submitted

to

Faculty: Prof. Dr. Raisul Awal Mahmood

School of Business (SB)

Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB)

MBA 504

INDEPENDENT UNIVERSITY, BANGLADESH

Business Research Methodology (BRM)

DECEMBER 2023
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
TABLE OF CONTENTS.................................................................................................II
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION...............................................................................1
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY............................................................................ 1
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM............................................................................2
GENERAL OBJECTIVE..........................................................................................3
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES.........................................................................................3
RESEARCH QUESTIONS....................................................................................... 3
RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS......................................................................................3
SCOPE OF THE STUDY......................................................................................... 3
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY.............................................................................4
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK................................................................................4
OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS................................................................5

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE........................................... 6

INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................6
POVERTY.............................................................................................................6
CULTURE.............................................................................................................7
PEER INFLUENCE.................................................................................................9
IDENTIFIED GAPS.............................................................................................. 11

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY........................................................................12

INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................12
LOCALE OF THE STUDY.....................................................................................12
RESEARCH DESIGN............................................................................................12
STUDY POPULATION......................................................................................... 12
SAMPLE SIZE.....................................................................................................13
SAMPLING PROCEDURES................................................................................... 13
RESEARCH INSTRUMENT...................................................................................13
VALIDITY OF THE RESEARCH INSTRUMENT......................................................14
RELIABILITY OF THE RESEARCH INSTRUMENT................................................. 14
PROCEDURE OF DATA COLLECTION................................................................. 14
PROCEDURE OF DATA COLLECTION................................................................. 14
DATA PROCESSING AND ANALYSIS.................................................................. 15
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................16

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 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

More countries have undergone women equality as a prerequisite for

development and poverty reduction. Equally, gender equality has been understood as

one of the basic processes to poverty alleviation. Despite that, inequality is still a life-

long experience for girls and women. Women make up the majority of unpaid

workers in the world; only 15% of land owners and one in five lawmakers globally

are women (UNFPA Research Report, 2007). Yet equality between men and women

is more than just a matter of social justice; it is also a fundamental right.

Statement of the problem

There are high levels of gender inequality in Bunsule village. This has not just

made the fight against poverty futile, it has also tempered with attainment of the

Millennium Development Goals, making poverty alleviation the biggest problem to

consolidate in Bunsule village. Inequality in Bunsule village is caused by unbalanced

Research Questions

1. Can gender Equality be a driving force towards poverty alleviation in Bunsule

village?

2. Can women and girls contribute towards poverty reduction in Bunsule village?

3. Is there a relationship between gender equality and poverty alleviation?

General Objective

To find out the relationship between gender inequality and poverty alleviation

among households in Bunsule village, Kalagala Sub-county, Luwero, in Uganda.

Specific Objectives

2
1) To ascertain how gender equality can be a driving force towards poverty

alleviation in Bunsule village.

2) To investigate how women and girls contribute to poverty reduction in Bunsule

village.

3) To find out the relationship between gender equality and poverty alleviation in

Bunsule village.

Hypothesis

There is no relationship between causes of gender inequality and poverty

alleviation among households in Bunsule village, Kalagala Sub-county, Luwero

District in Uganda.

Scope and Limitations

The study will be limited to Bunsule village, Kamira Parish in Kalagala Sub-

county, Luwero District which is located on 320 acres of land, 33km North of

Kampala City on the Gayaza-Zirobwe Road. The Sub-county has a population of 750

with an average of 5 people per household (UAC, 2009).

The study will focus on gender equality in relation to poverty alleviation in

Bunsule village. Specifically, it enlightens the results of gender equality towards

poverty reduction. The research will be conducted in a period of 5 months.

Significance of the Study

Development agents, the government, schools, and stakeholders who might be

interested in the development of the area are the primary beneficiaries of the study.

The study will serve as a blue print for the above in any form of study regarding

gender equality and poverty alleviation.

3
 Students and the general public who serve as secondary and tertiary

beneficiaries respectively will get a clear insight on how gender equality can be a

driving force towards poverty alleviation.

Theoretical Framework

Philips (1984) in his richly documented study of Eve’s Myth observed that

biblical interpreters throughout the ages have been unanimously in support that the

serpent, being shrewd, recognized that the woman was the weaker of the two humans,

thus the serpent seduced Eve because of her weakness and she - in turn - was able to

seduce her husband because she was filled with the power of evil.

According to this theory, the origin of gender differences and inequality is sin,

as explained in Genesis 3:16, where the writer says God said to the woman, “I will

increase your trouble in pregnancy and your pain in giving birth; in spite of this, you

will still have to desire for your husband, yet you will be subject to him.”

Conceptual Framework

The researcher embarked on finding out the relationship between gender

equality and poverty alleviation and the driving force towards poverty alleviation.

This can be achieved through equal access to education, women empowerment, and

property inheritance.

Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Education Poverty Alleviation

Empowerment
Inheritance

Operation Definition of Terms

Education: This is a process of teaching, training, and learning especially in schools

or colleges to improve knowledge and develop skills.

4
Empowerment: To give power, authority or something in order to achieve a certain

goal.

Inheritance: The money, property, etc. that you receive from somebody when they

die; the act of receiving something when somebody dies.

Gender equality: This is the balancing of roles between male and female. The roles

may be sexual roles or social roles.

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 CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Introduction

In the last decade, gender equality has received considerable attention. Efforts

have been made to eliminate discrimination and to improve women’s, inheritance;

education and empowerment. This chapter looks at the work done by other

researchers.

How Education Contributes to Poverty Alleviation

Education provides the knowledge, values and skills that form the foundation

for lifelong learning and professional success. Education is child centered, gender-

sensitive and tailored to different groups. As long as girls do not have equal access to

education, gender equality is but a pipe dream. But beyond merely having equal

access to education, true gender equality means that schools are gender-sensitive

environments that promote equal participation and empowerment (Money j,2010,the

natural superiority of a woman).

Gender equality requires adapting equally to the needs and interests of girls

and boys, creating a school environment that is friendly to both sexes and ensuring

that women are equally represented in teaching, administrative and educational

leadership roles. This promotes the realization of roles by both girls and boys.

The gender equality equation is a powerful one. By combining the right to

education with rights within education, we can achieve rights through education.

Indeed, gender equality is an essential strategy for ending discrimination and

achieving poverty alleviation (Money, 2010, The Natural Superiority of a Woman).

According to Geeta Sharma (2005), Editor learningchannel.com in his

discussions developed on the website www.learningchannel.org, he puts the fact that

6
that investing in human capital is one of the most effective means of reducing

poverty.

In South Asia, women have only half as many years of schooling as men. This

according to Lion’s club project on women education (2003). In much of Sub-Saharan

Africa women obtain land rights, chiefly through their husbands as long as the

marriage endures and women account for only ten percent of seats in Parliaments

worldwide because they fail to reach the required education standards, this puts

women in the poverty cycle . So until nations are able to address this issue unbalance

education opportunities toward females and resolve it, the vicious cycle of poverty

will continue to pervade. This is because poverty leads to and aggravates gender

discrimination – it is in the poorer sections and nations that instances of gender biases

and inequality are more evident. Women and girls who are at the bottom of the social,

economic and political ladder in these societies, get even lesser opportunities to have

a command over productive resources such as land or credit. Access to the means to

influence the development process is a rare and difficult possibility. That in turn only

puts poverty on a rampart increase.

Educating girls is one of the best investments a society can make. An educated

woman has the skills, the self-confidence and the information she needs to become a

better parent, worker, citizen and reduce poverty, wrote Sheila Ruth (2000).

Girls’ lack of access to education isn’t always related to scarcity of places in

schools. It also emerges from expectations, attitudes and biases in communities and

families. Economic costs, social traditions, and religious and cultural beliefs limit

girls’ educational opportunities. Whatever the underlying reason(s), having large

number of girls outside the formal schooling system brings developmental challenges

to both current and future generations. Individuals, families, communities and nations

are affected. Inability to read, write and calculate complicates a person’s efforts to

7
engage in both market-focused production and household activities as effectively and

efficiently possible. This affects their family’s welfare and diminishes their potential

contribution to the development of the household, local and national economy. This

just increases poverty, UNICEF, project on African education (2009).

Despite reported progress, there is still a persistent gap between women and

men’s access to education. Combating the high rate of illiteracy among women and

girls remains an urgent global need. According to the UNESCO Institute of Statistics

(2005), it is now estimated that two-thirds of the world’s 875 million illiterate adults

are women. In Southern Asia, nearly three in five women are illiterate and it is

estimated that half of all women in Africa and in the Arab region are still illiterate.

Over the past 20 years, significant progress has been made with regard to

higher education. It is of particular interest that in countries where tertiary education

has expanded significantly, women’s school enrolment has increased more than

men’s, which is a positive move towards poverty alleviation.

This is not all and enough to ensure that women get equal employment

opportunities. However, in the context of the developing world, lack of education has

forced many women into the risky "informal" economy as street traders, domestic

servants, home workers and seasonal laborers. This in turn reflects a continuing belief

that there is little benefit in educating a girl when she could be working in the market

place or fields. Boys are affected by this thinking, too, though not to the same extent.

This alone is very enough to promote poverty in societies, increase HIV/AIDS that

yields poverty. Randall Margaret (2007) in his book this is about incest.

Although economically productive to society, once again, women’s work, if

they get the opportunity at all, is rarely recognized in official statistics and the women

8
often get no protection from unions or employment legislation because of the level of

education.

Just as women's domestic work is undervalued, so are their skills in the world

of employment. Most are concentrated in the poorly-paid, low-skilled "women's"

sectors of the economy like Free Trade Zones set up in many developing countries to

attract foreign companies. Educating girls and women is an important step in

overcoming poverty. Inequality and poverty are not inevitable. “The focus on poverty

reduction enables the right to education to be a powerful tool in making a change in

the lives of girls and women. Poverty has been universally affirmed as a key obstacle

to the enjoyment of human rights, and it has a visible gender profile. The main reason

for this is the fact that poverty results from violations of human rights, including the

right to education, which disproportionately affect girls and women. Various grounds

of discrimination combine, trapping girls in a vicious downward circle of denied

rights. Denial of the right to education leads to exclusion from the labour market and

marginalization into the informal sector or unpaid work. This perpetuates and

increases poverty” (Tomasevski, 2005).

. A World Health Organization (2010) study in Burkina Faso showed that

mothers with some education were 40 percent less likely to subject their children to

the practice of genital mutilation. When girls get educated, they are three times less

likely to contract HIV/AIDS. In this view, we see the contribution these positive

results will give to poverty alleviation. Unfortunately, many African parents still don't

know that their own lives can be greatly improved if their daughters go to school.

They're often uncomfortable when their girls have to travel long distances to school,

but in real sense this will reduce poverty.

Second Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper by World Bank, International

Monetary Fund, relates education of women to poverty reduction. Education is a

9
crucial priority and of the four pillars to poverty reduction strategy. This includes

educating female and male as a gender balanced approach.

These benefits include increased economic productivity, higher family

incomes, delayed marriages, reduced fertility rates, and improved health and survival

rates for infants and children which in turn reduce poverty. Over the years, education

has focused on access and parity - that is, closing the enrollment gap between girls

and boys - while insufficient attention has been paid to retention and achievement or

the quality and relevance of education in Uganda. Providing a quality, relevant

education leads to improved enrollment and retention, but also helps to ensure that

boys and girls are able to fully realize the benefits of education. The primary focus on

girls’ access to education may overlook boys’ educational needs. This approach also

fails to confront the norms and behaviors that perpetuate inequality.

Research has shown that education is “one of the most effective development

investments countries and their donor partners can make” (Basic Education Coalition

2004). “Adequate investments in education facilitate the achievement of most other

development goals and increase the probability that progress will be sustained”

(USAID 2005). Each year of schooling “increases individual output by 4-7 percent,

and countries that improve literacy rates by 20-30 percent have seen increases in gross

domestic product (GDP) of 8-16 percent” (Basic Education Coalition 2004).

Education builds the human capital that is needed for economic growth (USAID

2005). It also produces significant improvements in health, nutrition, and life

expectancy, and countries with an educated citizenry are more likely to be democratic,

politically stable and reduced poverty.

According to Action for Development (ACFODE), a research firm located

Plot 623/624 Bukoto, Kampala (Uganda), Educating girls achieves even greater

results. When girls go to school, they tend to delay marriage, have fewer but healthier

10
children, and contribute more to family income and national productivity. In fact,

“educating girls quite possibly yields a higher rate of return than any other investment

available in the developing world” (Summers 1992). Despite this fact, in 2005 only 59

(about one-third) of 181 countries with data available had achieved gender parity.

Education enhances lives. It ends generational cycles of poverty and disease

and provides a foundation for sustainable development. A quality basic education

better equips girls and boys with the knowledge and skills necessary to adopt healthy

lifestyles, protect themselves from HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases,

and take an active role in social, economic and political decision-making as they

transition to adolescence and adulthood. Educated adults are more likely to have

fewer children, to be informed about appropriate child-rearing practices and to ensure

that their children start school on time and are ready to learn. In addition, a rights-

based approach to education can address some of societies’ deeply rooted inequalities.

These inequalities condemn millions of children, particularly girls, to a life without

quality education - and, therefore, to a life of missed opportunities and increased

poverty.

How Empowerment Contributes to Poverty Alleviation

Empowerment refers broadly to the expansion of freedom of choice and

action. For poor people, that freedom is severely curtailed by their voice less ness and

powerlessness in relation particularly to the state and markets. Six out of ten of the

world’s poorest people are women who must, as the primary family caretakers and

producers of food, shoulder the burden of tilling land, grinding grain, carrying water

and cooking. This increases poverty. In Kenya, women can burn up to 85 percent of

their daily calorie intake just fetching water.

Yet some 75 percent of the world's women cannot get bank loans because they

have unpaid or insecure jobs and are not entitled to property ownership. This is one
11
reason why women comprise more than 50 percent of the world’s population but own

only one percent of the world's wealth, a sign of increased poverty. Bernice j(1999).

Access to information: Information is power. Informed women are better

equipped to take advantage of opportunity, access services, exercise their rights, and

hold state and non-state actors accountable. Critical areas where information is most

important include state and private sector performance, financial services and

markets, and rules and rights regarding basic services. All these sectors should have

women incorporated. Information and communication technologies often play a

pivotal role in broadening access to information. If women are put in the position of

accessing this, poverty would reduce in the society.

Inclusion/ participation: Opportunities for women people and other excluded

groups to participate in decision making are critical to ensure that use of limited

public resources builds on local knowledge and priorities, and brings about

commitment to poverty reduction. However, sustaining inclusion and informed

participation usually requires changing the rules so as to create space for women to

debate issues and participate in local and national priority setting, budget formation,

and delivery of basic services. In this case, women will be able to actively suggest

ideas on development address feminine issues and reduce poverty among themselves.

Accountability: State officials, public employees, and private actors must be

held answerable for their policies, actions, and use of funds. Government agencies,

both administrative and political, and firms must have horizontal or internal

accountability mechanisms, and must also be accountable to their citizens and clients

for their performance. Putting women in such driving areas will promote transparency

in every aspect .women will feel important and put out the best performance hence

work towards poverty alleviation.

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 Local organizational capacity: This refers to the ability of people to work

together, organize themselves, and mobilize resources to solve problems of common

interest. Organized women in communities are more likely to have their voices heard

and their demands met. This can only be achieved if they are empowered well.

The four elements of empowerment-information, inclusion/participation,

accountability, and local organizational capacity-can be combined to create more

effective, responsive, inclusive, and accountable institutions. Such institutions enable

women to develop their own capabilities, increase their assets, and move out of

poverty.

Key Issues and Linkages from UNFPA Women Empowerment Research

Reproductive health: Women, for both physiological and social reasons, are

more vulnerable than men to reproductive health problems. Reproductive health

problems, including maternal mortality and morbidity, represent a major – but

preventable -- cause of death and disability for women in developing countries.

Failure to provide information, services and conditions to help women protect their

reproduction health therefore constitutes gender-based discrimination and a violation

of women’s rights to health, life and build a poverty free society.

Stewardship of natural resources: Women in developing nations are usually in

charge of securing water, food and fuel and of overseeing family health and diet.

Therefore, they tend to put into immediate practice whatever they learn about

nutrition and preserving the environment and natural resources, a positive move to

alleviate poverty.

That reduces poverty through:

 Welfare: The level of material welfare of women, relative to men in such

matters as food supply, income and medical care.

13
  Access: Women's access to the factors of production: land, labour, credit,
training, marketing facilities and all publicly available services and benefits on
an equal basis with men;
 Conscientisation: The understanding of the difference between sex roles and
gender roles, and that the latter are cultural and can be changed;
 Participation: Women's equal participation in the decision-making process,
policymaking, planning and administration.
 Equality of Control: over the factors of production, and the distribution of
benefits so that neither men nor women are in a position of dominance.

and inherit property; ensuring tenure of property and housing, and equal

access to productive assets and resources, including land, credit and technology;

ensuring universal access to reproductive health; and eliminating all forms of

discrimination and violence against women and girls. The Summit noted, significantly

that failure to make any meaningful strides in these areas would not only result in

imbalances in the distribution of opportunities and benefits of development, but also

hamper the achievement of all the MDGs (UN RECORDS, 2011).

Young women are less susceptible to unemployment in sub-Saharan Africa.

This does not imply, however, that young women in sub-Saharan Africa have better

access to the labor market; rather, they do not have the “luxury” to actively search for

a job and hence take up employment in the informal sector, or are remaining outside

the labor force, which are both not reflected by unemployment figures that reflect

high levels of poverty. At the same time, young females in North Africa continue to

face barriers to gaining a job in these countries, which is captured by unemployment

figures. Women’s economic empowerment is measured through their share in wage

employment in the nonagricultural sector as part of MDG 3. Although female

employment rate for some African countries has increased. Since 1990, none of the

countries for which recent data are available has reached the 50% gender parity in

wage employment. The countries that were closer to reaching the parity target of 50%

14
in 2004 are: South Africa (45.9); Botswana (43); Ethiopia (40.6). Namibia scored 48.8

in

The progress in poverty alleviation is a prerequisite for women’s effective

participation in agriculture for instance, cannot be sufficiently emphasized. In most

African countries however, gender relations often play a central role in determining

land rights and production relations in Ghana (Awumbilla et.al., 2004). However,

adequate data on land access, which would have otherwise been used to analyze the

situation more crucially, is generally lacking on the continent. In Ghana for example,

gender inequalities in land access between men and women have mainly been

documented through secondary research (for example, FAO, 2004). These show that

women’s access rights are dependent on men, most often their husbands (FAO, 2004).

How Inheritance Contributes to Poverty Alleviation

Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and

obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in

human societies and poverty alleviation. The rules of inheritance differ between

societies and have changed over time.

Owning Land
Disempowering customary assumptions can be reinforced by land ownership

laws. Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa are in various stages of amending laws

which prevent women from gaining access to land and property. There is, however, a

long way to go. In Kenya women provide 70% of agricultural labour but only own 1%

of the land they farm. The HIV/AIDS crisis has accelerated these pressures, of the

30% of female headed households in southern Africa, few can claim ownership of

their home. In countries significantly affected by the HIV/ AIDS pandemic, stripping

women of their land and shelter has devastated the lives of many vulnerable women,

15
placing their lives at greater risk and imposing poverty in societies. If this is

addressed, poverty alleviation could be reached.( Working Paper - Chronic Poverty

Research Centre www.chronicpoverty.org,2011)

Careful Lawmaking
Securing land and inheritance rights 'is a critical dimension for ensuring

gender equality' says Anna Tibaijuka in July 2011, Executive Director of UN-Habitat.

But it is not simply a question of changing the law. Combating discrimination based

on customs or traditions requires different approaches depending on where it is

happening as well as what form it takes. Women who make a living from working

common lands might not be helped by changes in land-ownership laws alone. Any

land reform law would need to guarantee equal access to it. Challenging the tradition

of male-only inheritance could do a lot to advance and equalize the position of

women. Customary practices can also be challenged by writing a will, outlining who

you wish to inherit your property or wealth. By giving you a formal document,

witnessed by an independent person, a will gives a person authority over their lives,

an important element in empowerment, inheritance and poverty reduction.

Inheriting Empowerment
Wealth is not only generated by working hard in most societies but is often

inherited and can be a fundamental way to secure your livelihood. In some Middle

Eastern countries, where practices are based on Shar’ia Law, a woman’s inheritance

share is half that of a man’s. This deprives women of both their assets and their home,

losing their marital savings, and when a widow does not work she is left with nothing.

Such practices contribute to the ‘feminization of poverty’. A woman’s right to inherit

is protected by International Human Rights Law, and yet in Jordan one report showed

evidence that some women are subjected to systematic harassment, bullying and

16
beating, by both their female and male elders, until they agree to give up their

inheritance to their brothers. This promotes poverty (UNFPA, 2008).

Careful Lawmaking
Securing land and inheritance rights 'is a critical dimension for ensuring

gender equality' says Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director of UN-Habitat. But it is not

simply a question of changing the law. Combating discrimination based on customs or

traditions requires different approaches depending on where it is happening as well as

what form it takes. Women who make a living from working common lands might not

be helped by changes in land-ownership laws alone. Any land reform law would need

to guarantee equal access to it. Challenging the tradition of male-only inheritance

could do a lot to advance and equalize the position of women. Customary practices

can also be challenged by writing a will, outlining who you wish to inherit your

property or wealth. By giving you a formal document, witnessed by an independent

person, a will gives a person authority over their lives, an important element in

empowerment and poverty alleviation. as the heir the second male child instead of the

eldest female child (Magaya, 1998).

17
 CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

Introduction

This chapter will comprise the study area, study population, research design,

sample size and sampling procedures, methods of data collection, research

instruments, fieldwork procedures, data processing, analysis, and report writing.

Locale of the Study

The research will be carried out in Bunsule village. The village is in Kalagala

Sub-county, 32km North of Kampala City along the Gayaza-Zirobwe road in Luwero

District. The village is bordered by Katikamu to its East, Zirobwe in the West,

Busukuma to the Southeast, and Bamunanika to its North.

Research Design

The study will use both quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative

method will use correlation design to determine the relationship between gender

equality and poverty alleviation in Bunsule village. The compiling of inferences and

calculation will help to establish the relationship between gender equality and poverty

alleviation, which will be interpreted using the qualitative method.

The study will also be qualitative as since it will describe how education,

empowerment, and inheritance influence poverty alleviation. The use of two methods

is intended to draw a true conclusion from the data gathered.

Study Population

The study will be done in Bunsule village. It has a population of 760 people in

150 households (Uganda National Housing Census: UNHC, 2009). This will comprise
18
both female and males. The population of the study will include the peasant farmers,

the working class, and the non-working class.

Target Population

The target population will be the households and it will only get the views of

those aged 15 years and above. It will consider the views of those who have been

living in a household for the last three months. This is because they tend to understand

the situation better.

Sample Size

The sample size will be picked from a target of 150 households that will be

thought to be enough to determine the relationship between gender equality and

poverty alleviation.

This will be calculated using Taro Yamanne’s (1970) formula.

n= N .
1 + N(e)2
Where; n = Desired sample population
N = Target population of households (150)
e = Desired marginal error (0.05)2
n= 150 .
2
1 + 150(0.05)
n= 150 .
1 + 0.375
n = 150 .
1.375
n = 109 Households

Sampling Procedure

The researcher will use random sampling because of its simplicity and its

periodic quality. The researcher will randomly pick the subject from the population.

This is intended to give equal chance of the target population to be selected for the

sample.

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 Methods of Data Collection

The self-administered questionnaire/ interview schedule on gender equality

and poverty alleviation in Bunsule village will be used. This tool is preferred because

it is quick in data collection and it has a higher completion rate, and all questions are

always responded to and it keeps confidentiality too.

Research Instrument Construction

A questionnaire/ Interview schedule will be constructed and modified in the

form of a self-administered questionnaire/ interview schedule. The questionnaire will

be administered as an interview schedule for the respondents who could not read and

write, and other respondents. The questionnaire will contain close-ended and open-

ended questions. The instrument will be constructed in sections; that is, Section A will

contain questions on demographic information, Section B will contain close-ended

questions on the variables of the study on a four point Likert scale of:

Symbol Points Interpretation

1 = Strongly agree SA 3.21-4.00
2 = Agree A 2.41-3.20
3 = Disagree D 1.61-2.40
4 = Strongly disagree SD 0.8 –1.60

Validity and Reliability

This means the precision and consistency in which the measuring instrument

is demonstrated. The statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) will be used to

determine the reliability of the tool for collecting data using SPSS. The researcher will

pretest the instrument in Kalungu village if one alpha coefficient will be 0.7 and

above, then the instrument will be reliable for data collection.

20
 The instrument of data obtained in various sections being studied is called

validity. Validity of the instrument will be done with the help of the instructor by

going through to check if the instrument will give real results.

Data Processing and Analysis

Data processing and analysis will include:

Coding: This is the process of assigning numerous or other symbols to

answers so that responses can be placed into limited number of categories or classes.

Various items in the questionnaire will be assigned categories so as to make coding

frames.

Coding will be done on all sections of quantitative questionnaires and open-

ended questions which, where having similar answers, will be assigned the same code

from those with different codes. Codes, therefore, will be used to enter data into the

computer. This study will use a four (4) point Likert scale sampling.

Mean/ Average
H.V = Highest Value H.V – L.V
L.V = Lowest Value H.V
4–1 = 0.75 = 0.8
4

Points Mean/Average Interpretation

1 Strongly agree 04 3.21-4.00
2 Agree 03 2.41-3.20
3 Disagree 02 1.61-2.40
4 Strongly disagree 01 0.8 - 1.60

Post coding will be done after questionnaires and the questions placed in

categories as per objectives. This will be done for open-ended questions. To save time

and resources, entering codes for pre-coding and computing with SPSS will be done

after post-coding.

21
 SPSS will be used to analyze data that is quantitative. This is so because SPSS

package is found to be simpler and makes it easy to analyze and interpret social

science data.

The researcher will use frequencies to denote the number of responses for

quantitative data, statistical methods of data analysis will be used for each objective.

Editing
This is a process of detecting and eliminating errors or keeps them to a

minimum in the completed questionnaire. This helps the researcher to check for

completeness of the questions, accuracy in answering questions. It also helps the

researcher to check if the instruments and questions were interpreted by interviewers

uniformly. The new data collected using interviews schedule and self-administered

questionnaire will be edited by the researcher during fieldwork by making sure that all

questions intended to be asked have been answered.

Central Editing
This will be done after collecting data from the field to make sure that all

questions have been answered.

Tabulation
A contingency table will be created from the multivariate frequency

distribution of statistical variables.

Anticipated Limitations

The researcher expects to face language barrier as a problem since he is not a

Ugandan. Be it that way, the researcher will seek help of a research assistant who is

well advanced with the local language in the area who will help in interview and also

explaining the reason for research to the respondents.

22
 REFERENCES

Action for Development - Uganda (2009). Girl-Child Education. ACFODE Press.

Afsha, M. (2005). Faith and Freedom: Women’s Human Rights in the Middle East.
New York: Syracuse University Press (4Th Edition).

Angelou, M. (1991). The Heart of a Woman. New York: Random House.

Aswad, B. (2004). Family and Gender. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Baccon, M.H. (2000). Feminism. 4Th Ed. San Francisco: Harper and Row.

Bardwick, J. (1999). Feminine Personality and Conflict. Westport, CT: Greenwood

Press Orig. Pub.

Bernice, J. (1999). Poverty Alleviation. Yale: Yale University Press.

Beverly, L. (2010). Women and Education. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Press.

Biedleck, T. (2004). Psychology of Women and Poverty Alleviation. 4Th Ed. New
York: Harper and Row.

Geeta, S. (2005).
http://www.learning-channel.com/

Little Sisters Teachers Association. Soroti, Uganda. “Education and Poverty

Alleviation.” Little Sisters Publishing.

Mek, A. (2003). Lions Club Project as Women Education. Lions Club International
Press.

Money, J. (2010). The Natural Superiority of a Woman. New York: Columbia

University Press.

Myra, S., and Sadker, D. (2008). Falling at Fairness. Lanham, MD: Rowman and
Littlefield.

Nortion, A. (2011). Inheritance and Social Mobility. Washington DC: Washington

University Press.

Randall, M. (2007). This is About Incest. Rutgers University Press.

Sheila, R. (2002). Issues in Feminism. 5Th Ed. Mountain View, California: Mayfield
Publishing.

Sherry, A. (2007). The Feminine Face of God: The Unfolding of the Sacred in
Women. 4Th Ed. New York: Bantam Books.
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Stern, N. (2001). Poverty Reduction and Economic Management.

Tomasevski, (2005). Gender, Equality, and Poverty Reduction. Birmingham:

Haworth Press.

UNESCO, Institute of Statistics (2005). World’s Education Levels. Institute of

Statistics Publishing House.

UNFPA, 2011. “Women Empowerment.” UNFPA Published Research.

UNICEF, (2009). Project on African Education. UNICEF Press Release.

UNICEF, Uganda (2004). “Empowering Women.” UNICEF Reports. UNICEF Press.

USAID, (2009). Achieving Quality Education in Kampala, Uganda.” USAID.

World Health Organization (2010). “Women Education in Burkina Faso.” World

Health Organization Press.

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 APPENDIX I: SELF-ADMINISTERED QUESTIONNAIRE

Dear Respondent,

I, Bwite Lukama, am a student of Bugema University in the School of Social

Sciences pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree of Development Studies and therefore
carrying out a research on “Gender Inequality and Poverty Alleviation among
Households in Bunsule Village, Kakalgala Sub-county, Luwero District in
Uganda.” You have been specially chosen to share your views in the preceding
questionnaire; be assured that the information you present is intended purely for
academic purposes. For this matter, your name should not appear anywhere on this
questionnaire. Thank you.

SECTION A: (Bio-Data)
Please, tick [] where appropriate
1) Sex: Male [ ] Female [ ]
2) Age Bracket: 15-20 [ ] 21-30 [ ] 31 and Above [ ]
3) Education Level: Primary [ ] Secondary [ ] Vocational/University [ ]
4) Occupation: Farmer [ ] Self-Employed [ ] Civil Servant [ ]

SECTION B: QUESTIONS ON THE STUDY VARAIBLES

Tick [] in the appropriate box that corresponds to your views
1 = Strongly Agree, 2 = Agree, 3 = Disagree, 4 = Strongly Disagree
5) Education 1 2 3 4
a) There are more educated women than men in Bunsule village.

b) Women have less education opportunities compared to men.

c) There are cultural norms and beliefs that give men and boys an
advantage in education.
d) Boys are considered a priority when it comes to educating children

e) Conditions in schools mostly favor boys.

f) Women in Bunsule village do not just have interest in education.
6) Inheritance 1 2 3 4
a) Women are allowed to inherit property.
b) Long-term assets like land are owned by men.

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 c) There are cultural beliefs and norms that hinder women from
inheriting property.
d) Men are the allowed custodians of most property.
e) Religious beliefs put men at the helm of property inheritance.
f) Men have the overall decision on property inheritance because of
their superiority in the society.
7) Empowerment 1 2 3 4
a) Women have less chances of getting loans.
b) Men are less empowered than women.
c) Women have access to empowerment opportunities.
d) Level of Education hinders women from being empowered.
e) Lack of education and employment disables women’s chances to
meet conditions for getting loans.
f) Women’s empowerment addresses women’s needs, not gender
needs hence receiving resistance in the society.

SECTION C: SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

8) What can be done to reduce poverty in Bunsule village?
a) ...............................................................................................................................
b) ...............................................................................................................................

9) In your view/opinion, how can gender equality be attained in Bunsule village?

a) ...............................................................................................................................
b) ...............................................................................................................................

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