Uganda is still having a burden of more than 7.3 million Ugandan women who are still unable to read and write.
Statistics from Ministry of Gender reveal that this number (7.3m women) nearly double the number of illiterate men in the country .
The figures, released by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS 2024), show that while Uganda’s national literacy rate stands at 76 percent , approximately 11.9 million people remain illiterate — 7.3 million of them women, and 3.9 million men.
Addressing journalists at Uganda Media Centre in Kampala on Tuesday, as Uganda joins the world to mark International Literacy Day on September 8, gender state minister Ms Peace Regis Mutuuzo described the gender gap as both “deeply troubling and unacceptable. “It is disturbing that in 2025, we still have more than seven million women in Uganda who cannot read or write,” the minister said.
“This is not just a statistic — it’s a national emergency that we must urgently address.”Mutuuzo emphasised that women’s illiteracy is not just a barrier to individual empowerment, but a significant obstacle to national development, family wellbeing, and gender equality. “When a woman is literate, she is more likely to support her children’s education, manage her health, start a business, or participate in leadership. When she is not, the whole community suffers.”
This year’s International Literacy Day is being observed under the global theme: Promoting Literacy in the Digital Era, highlighting the growing need for both basic and digital literacy skills in a rapidly digitising world.
Mutuuzo called for targeted interventions to close the gender literacy gap, especially in rural communities where cultural norms, poverty, and early marriages often hinder girls and women from accessing education. “This is not just a matter for the education sector—it’s a social justice issue.
We must work together to remove the barriers that keep women and girls from learning,” she said.Uganda has implemented several programmes aimed at improving literacy among adults, including the Functional Adult Literacy (FAL) programme and the Integrated Community Learning for Wealth Creation (ICOLEW), which combines literacy with vocational and life skills training.
Through ICOLEW, community learning centres have been established at the parish level, aligning with the government’s Parish Development Model (PDM) to promote inclusive and grassroots development. “These centres are not just classrooms—they are spaces for transformation, where women acquire the skills they need to improve their livelihoods and support their families,” Mutuuzo said.
Shillings 83 billion earmarked
The minister also announced that the Government has approved shillings 83 billion to roll out the SUICOLEW programme nationwide over the next five years, expanding access to adult and digital literacy, especially for marginalised groups.“We are putting resources where they are needed most—to empower the seven million women who have been left behind for too long,” she added