Sandra Aceng is the Executive Director at Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) where she champions the integration of gender perspectives in digital rights and ICT-related policies. She is a gender and ICT researcher, policy analyst, writer, and Wikimedian. Sandra is an outspoken and energetic woman human rights defender (WHRD) who advocates for the integration of gender perspectives in ICT policy and analyzes threats to free expression in Africa introduced by regulatory initiatives and was recognised by DefendDefenders as the human rights defender of the month in February 2021. Notably, she contributed to the book “Technology and Domestic and Family Violence: Victimization, Perpetration, and Responses” in 2022. She is a Global Voices contributor, a Freedom House Contributor, Impakter Magazine contributor, a former Associate Editor at Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), a 2020 Global Network Initiative (GNI)/Internews Fellow and a 2021 OPTIMA Data-Driven Activism Fellow where she researched the impact of Internet shutdowns on women. She was selected as one of the 40 fellows for the class of 2021 virtual edition of the African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG). Sandra leads efforts to advance data justice research and practices in Uganda, engaging policymakers, developers, and marginalized groups such as women and persons with disabilities.
Latest posts by Sandra Aceng
In Uganda, COVID-19 rules are ‘perfect instrument for criminalizing dissent’
In Uganda, increased criminalization of misinformation during the pandemic infringed on citizens’ rights to freedom of expression and access to information, especially targeting journalists and human rights activists.
Women journalists in Uganda carry ‘double burden’ with online attacks and harassment
Women journalists in Uganda carry the double burden of gender-based abuse online and potential threats related to political reporting. These threats have led women journalists to withdraw from public discourse.
Market mayhem in Uganda as COVID-19 measures upend women’s lives
In Uganda, sudden COVID-19 restrictions have led to increased violence against women in the informal sector, who continue to work as vendors to feed their families.
Taxing dissent: Uganda’s social media dilemma
Uganda’s social media tax essentially amounted to an internet shutdown, driving thousands offline and silencing dissent for others.
Will Uganda shut down the internet as opposition heats up for 2021 elections?
As the 2021 election approaches, Uganda authorities are very likely to continue to crack down on political dissent, including through social media shutdowns.
