Positioning Women in Informal Cross-Border Transportation: The Boda-Boda Industry at the Uganda–Kenya Border
Positioning Women in Informal Cross-Border Transportation: The Boda-Boda Industry at the Uganda–Kenya Border

Summary/Abstract: Informal modes of transportation have taken over the transportation sector in most developing countries. In the borderlands, informal cross-border transportation is common, especially with the presence of porous borders. In Uganda, the informal transport sector began as an informal cross-border mode of transportation, commonly known as the boda-boda at the Uganda–Kenya border. Today, the boda-boda is the most popular form of informal transportation used countrywide; however, the industry has been dominated by men, and the position of women has not been portrayed vividly, a case similar to most countries that use informal modes of transportation. This paper, based on an ethnographic research, is aimed at revealing the position of women in the boda-boda industry, more specifically how the women have boosted the growth of the industry at the Uganda–Kenya border in Busia District. The paper also portrays the culture in Busia and how it has impacted women’s usage of the boda-boda, and it gives a reflection on how the physical design of the boda-boda is limiting to the women.

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