Rural Women’s Legal Empowerment through Digital Technology : A case study in Northern Uganda

Estimates indicate that over 5 billion people in the world have unmet justice needs. Formal justice systems often appear too complex to navigate and are expensive. Particularly in remote areas in low-income countries, there are not enough legal advisors. Digital transformation is presented as a solution to reduce the justice gap. However, it is not clear that rural women benefit equally from the digitisation of justice systems. 

This book zooms in on rural women's legal empowerment through digital technology in Northern Uganda. It is based on research done by Robert Okello for his master's thesis, for which he won the Africa Thesis Award 2022. It offers nuance to assumptions made by some Western donors about how digital technologies can easily 'empower' the marginalised communities. Drawing from the experiences of rural women, it questions the faith in technology itself, while emphasising the need for a people-centered approach to justice innovations.