Documents on Women's Issues in Uganda

Bibliography of Research on Uganda Women 1986-2001

 The Bibliography of Research on Uganda Women 1986-2001 has been prepared for a new book entitled The New Women's Movement in Uganda to be launched at the Women's Worlds 2002 Congress, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. The book is edited by Joy Kwesiga and Aili Tripp, and the bibliography is prepared by Sheela Jhaveri and Margaret Snyder. The Bibliography is categorised in the following subject areas:
Agriculture/Rural Development
Civil Society/Activism
Conflict/Post-Conflict
Economics
Education
Gender/Feminism/Women
General Health 		AIDS
Reproductive Health/Sexuality
History
Law and Land/Property Rights
Marriage/Family/Violence
Media
Politics and The State
Within each subject area, the writings are classified by type, such as, book, chapter, journal article. This bibliography includes sections on dissertations that will not be included in the book, because these sections include only partial information.
For further information on the bibligraphy, contact Margaret Snyder at Pegsnyder@aol.com.

Access to ICT Higher Education: Reflections on Good Practices in Promoting Gender Equality at Makerere University
(Aramanzan Madanda and Peace Mutuwa, 2005)

 This paper explores access to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) training in Makerere University by gender. It focuses on selected examples showing the promotion of general access to ICT training in the university. Examples of the Department of Women and Gender Studies (DWGS) and the Faculty of Computing and Information Technology (FCIT) are utilised. The paper also analyses the efforts of the gender mainstreaming division (GMD). The division is charged with the role of mainstreaming gender into all aspects of the university, including gendering the ICT training process. In all, the measures aimed at promoting and / or improving access to ICT higher education are tackled. In this context, the purpose of this paper is twofold: one, to present good practices that can be emulated in developing relevant ICT training policies and practices in similar higher institutions of learning; and two, to make recommendations for possible utilisation by organisations and institutions of higher learning as well as governments.
Download a copy of the paper which was part of the Gender and Information Technology Development (PDF format, 1.5MB) presentations at the Second Annual International Conference on Sustainable ICT Capacity in Developing Countries (SREC 2005) held August 2005 at Makerere University. Queries and comments related to the paper should be addressed to Aramanzan Madanda at: madanda@ss.mak.ac.ug.
The Gender and Information Technology Development series also includes a paper 'Design of Engendered Information Society: The Challenges' by K.R.Santhi and G. Senthil Kumaran who explore the potential of ICT that address both the fundamental issues on equality and gender and key barriers to ICT usage by them. It provides a considered and detailed understanding of some of the ways in which ICTs might be used most effectively for socio-economic development and poverty alleviation. The authors also provide an insight into how KIST, Rwanda is promoting gender equality in the context of education, technology, ICT, poverty reduction, etc.

Commercialisation and Gender Roles among Lake Victoria Shore Fishing Communities in Uganda
(Aramanzan Madanda, 2003)

 This study set out to establish the effect of commercialisation on the roles of women and men in the fisheries. This would be done through an analysis of the dynamic and changing gender roles in the fisheries sector resulting from commercialisation by focusing on the experiences of two fishing Lake Victoria Shore communities namely Majanji in Busia District, Eastern Uganda and Katosi in Mukono District central Uganda.
The study findings point to enormous gendered variations in the experiences of the two communities studied namely Majanji and Katosi. Key findings prove that the fisheries sector is highly ritualised and that cultural practices of the community determine whether or not a man or a woman will perform a role related to fishing and that however in some extents cultural barriers have been broken and challenged by women especially in Katosi albeit cautiously. In addition it is true that enormous benefits have resulted from the new commercialised environment to both women and men but losses too are abound and it matters whether one has grasped the whole game or strengthened their roles in the fishing sector which influence the positioning of the actor to either benefit, loose or opt out.
Download a copy of the study in WORD format. Queries and comments related to the study should be addressed to Aramanzan Madanda at: madanda@ss.mak.ac.ug.

Directory of Professional Ugandan Women
(Produced by Uganda Women's Network - UWONET)

 Uganda Women's Network (UWONET) has finalised the publication of a Directory of Professional Ugandan Women. The Directory is a resource to facilitate the appointment of more Ugandan women into positions of power and decision making. The directory will also facilitate networking among Ugandan women and others around the world.
Uganda Women's Network is a membership network of different women's non-governmental organisations, which was set up in 1993, with the main purpose of uplifting the status of Ugandan women through addressing critical concerns. Among the concerns identified by UWONET is the promotion of women's access to power and decision-making positions in all sectors. To this effect, UWONET will produce a directory of professional women. The second edition will be published by April 2001. Copies of the First Edition are available at Uganda Shillings 7,500 or US Dollars (US$) 5. Please get yourself a copy of the Directory.
Contact person: Jackie Asiimwe, Coordinator UWONET. Email: uwonet@starcom.co.ug
Updating of the directory is on-going. Download a questionnaire to be used to gather information about the professional women. Kindly complete the questionnaire in support of UWONET's mission to promote women's access to power and decision making in Uganda. To obtain the questionnaire by email, send a message to uwonet@starcom.co.ug requesting the questionnaire.

Fanning the Flame of Feminism in Uganda
(Sylvia Tamale, Faculty of Law, Makerere University)

 As part of the 18 years of existence celebrations, on November 17, 2003 ACFODE organised a public dialogue on the topic "FANNING THE FLAME OF WOMEN ACTIVISM IN UGANDA". Dr. Sylvia Tamale's paper was "... largely a critical, self-reflexive analysis of the Ugandan women's movement, bringing it to bear with the larger contemporary socio-political issues pertaining in our country. This introspective analysis is meant to fan the fire under the belly of the women's movement. Hopefully, it will provide the much-needed zeal that will spark many of us into action to initiate the process of transforming our society into a more equitable, democratic and tolerant one."
Click here for the complete paper. Click here to download a copy of the paper (WORD format). Queries and comments related to the paper should be addressed to Dr. Sylvia Tamale at stamale@muklaw.ac.ug.

Gender and Decentralisation: Promoting Women's Participation in Local Councils
(Case Study: Lira District, Uganda. Written by Ms. Maude Mugisha)

 More and more governments decide to decentralise their administration aiming to strengthen the planning and implementation of their development efforts by giving greater responsibilities to local governing bodies. From a gender perspective, decentralisation of a Public Administration opens up new possibilities to stimulate women's participation in local decision making processes: In Uganda, a "Gender and Decentralisation Programme" was implemented in Lira District, Northern Uganda. The programme ran from February to April 1997 and was funded by the Netherlands Government. It aimed at creating community level awareness on the need to support women in their efforts to effectively participate in local governing bodies. Two-day workshops were carried out in each of the 24 sub-counties of Lira district and the four divisions of Lira municipality. The programme provided opportunities for women and men to discuss and examine the issue of women in leadership positions. A strategic moment was chosen: just before the Local Council elections. The programme provided a chance for women to strategize for effective participation in community leadership.
Ms. Maude Mugisha, a consultant to the ''Gender and Decentralisation Programme,'' returned to the district at the request of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, to draw lessons from the Lira District experience with regard to mobilising community support for women's participation in decentralised decision-making.
Click here for the Executive Summary of the report. Click here for the full report. Queries and comments related to the case study should be addressed to Ms. Maude Mugisha at eassi@africaonline.co.ug.

Gender and Soil Fertility Management in Mbale District, Southeastern Uganda
(Goldman, Abe and Kathleen Heldenbrand. African Studies Quarterly 6, no. 1&2.)

 This paper explores gender-related aspects of agriculture and agricultural change in a densely populated, high potential area in eastern Uganda, particularly in relation to declining productivity in the region. Much recent literature has investigated the impacts of specific agricultural policies and projects on women farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. In many cases, these policies and projects have resulted in unexpectedly negative consequences for women - and often failed in other objectives as well - to a large extent because they did not adequately consider the critical and complex roles that women play in most African agricultural systems.
Citation: Goldman, Abe and Kathleen Heldenbrand. "Gender and Soil Fertility Management in Mbale District, Southeastern Uganda." African Studies Quarterly 6, no. 1&2: [online] URL: http://web.africa.ufl.edu/asq/v6/v6i1a3.htm

Gender implications for opening up political parties in Uganda
(Sylvia Tamale, Faculty of Law, Makerere University)

 Political indicators in our country today point to an impending opening up of political parties that will allow for the uninhibited operation of parties that are free to compete for state power. The question that I address myself to is whether this is good or bad news for Ugandan women. Will pluralism translate into better governance or into more democratic institutions? Will it help in closing the gap of gender inequalities that presently exist in all spheres of our society?
Click here for the full article. Queries and comments related to the article should be addressed to Uganda Women's Network (UWONET) at uwonet@starcom.co.ug.

The Implementation of Quotas: African Experiences
(International IDEA, Editor: Julie Ballington)

 This report examines women’s political representation on the African continent, and shows how quotas have contributed to increasing women’s access to political power. Gender quotas are now increasingly viewed as an important policy measure for boosting women’s access to decision-making bodies throughout the world. Experience from Africa is very encouraging: over 20 countries on the continent either have legislated quotas or political parties that have adopted them voluntarily. This report illustrates the different quota types that are being implemented in different political contexts.
The report includes 17 regional and country case studies. The country case studies include Egypt, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Uganda.
The report is available online at http://www.quotaproject.org/publications/Quotas_Africa.pdf. For more information about IDEA, visit http://www.idea.int.

In the Stars - Women's Voices in War Zones
(Monica Arac de Nyeko, June 11, 2003)

 "My mother used to talk about him; my Uncle Oryema. How she begged him not to become a solider. "He didn't listen," she always said and swallowed hard like she never forgave him for disappearing from our grasp like raa smoke. He was so far away from home, somewhere in the jungles, holding his rifle when death beckoned. A man brought the news to my grandma. Said the gunfire had been heavy. Her son had been shot in the stomach. That he had tied an old green army uniform to hold his bowels together and fled for his life. The man offered to go back to search for our Uncle Oryema with another uncle who later joined the army, to fight the demons of his brother's death that haunted him. They combed Kituba trees where they say spirits live, the long grasses of the blazing Kitgum wilderness with scorpions and snakes. Uncle Oryema would now remain a memory in our hearts. On his 'grave' grandma laid four large stones to show where we should have laid his body.
Of the many things I remember of him, it's the toffee sweets he brought me when he returned from college, and told Ma he was going to fight. That day he took me to thecinema. My first time ever to see motion picture with images the size of our city council house." Click here for the rest of the story.
Monica Arac de Nyeko comes from the Kitgum district of northern Uganda, which has been affected by war since 1986. She is a member of Transcend Art and Peace network (TAP). Women's World's contest, "Women's Voices in War Zones," co-sponsored by the Nation Institute with support from the Puffin Foundation, received 290 entries from 45 countries in answer to such questions as "Do you live in a war zone or state of terror? Is it personal or public?" Prizes were given in three categories: citizens/residents of the United States; citizens/residents of other countries; and immigrants or refugees.

Maternal Health Care in Rural Uganda: Leveraging Traditional and Modern Knowledge Systems
(Dr. Maria Musoke, Makerere University, January 2002)

 This article discusses the Rural Extended Services and Care for Ultimate Emergency Relief (RESCUER) project which was launched in March 1996, as a pilot project in Iganga District, Eastern Uganda, to address the high maternal mortality problem. The project was initiated by the Uganda Ministry of Health, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Uganda Population Secretariat. The RESCUER project has three components: communication, transport and quality health care services delivery. For communication, solar-powered VHF radio walkie-talkies were selected as the appropriate communication technology given the lack of electricity and telephones in many rural areas, the need for 24-hour contact and the need for mobility.
This article was published by the IK Notes series. IK Notes reports periodically on Indigenous Knowledge (IK) initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Review of affirmative action in Uganda
(Elizabeth Kharono, July 2003, Commissioned by Uganda Women's Network (UWONET))

 Implementation of affirmative action in political decision making in its present form in Uganda is closely associated with the coming to power of the NRM government in 1986. From the initial steps taken to have special district seats for women in the NRC and mandatory positions for women at the different levels of the 9-member RCs, these provisions were consolidated in the 1995 Constitution. The Local Government Act (1997) has operationalised aspects of the provisions for affirmative action dealing with representation of marginalised groups in local government structures. Implementation of affirmative action has resulted in a marked increase in the number of marginalised groups (women, people with disabilities, youth, and workers) in politics and decision making thereby changing the landscape of politics and decision making in Uganda.
Although affirmative action has resulted in increased numbers of all marginalised groups in decision-making processes and politics, women are the most visible beneficiaries of the policy. Increased visibility and effectiveness of women in politics and decision making have challenged widespread patriarchal beliefs and practices, which have in the past excluded women from such positions. It is for this reason that affirmative action, in general, and women's representation in political decision making in particular, have attracted the greatest controversy and even resistance.
Recent submissions to the CRC recommending that affirmative action for women in politics and decision making be scrapped as it has served its purpose demonstrate this resistance and backlash. Openly expressed views against affirmative action have prompted fears that the gains women made in the 1995 constitution might be lost in the on-going constitutional review process. "Losses" of cabinet positions held by women as a result of the recent cabinet reshuffle have done little to allay these fears. It was in an effort to address these fears and to articulate a clearer basis for affirmative action that UWONET commissioned this review.
Click here for the full review (WORD format). Queries and comments related to the review should be addressed to Uganda Women's Network (UWONET) at uwonet@starcom.co.ug.

Sisterhood? The Casual Link Between Gender-Focused NGOs and the Grassroots Women of Uganda
(Mary Ssonko Nabacwa, 2001)

 This is an exploratory study that sought to analyse the causes of the gaps between the policy advocacy work of gender focussed NGOs at the national level and the realities of the grassroots women in Uganda. The study was designed to identify the factors that affect the effectiveness of policy advocacy work aimed at empowering grassroots women, its linkages with the issues of women at the grassroots level and make recommendations for improvement.
The study was based on qualitative methods of data collection and analysis. Data was collected from six key informants from National Association of women organisations in Uganda (NAWOU), Uganda Women's Network (UWONET), OXFAM, Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE), Federation of Uganda Women Lawyers (FIDA) and ActionAid Uganda (AAU). It is also based on secondary data from past literature on the subject and from the above NGOs. Thirdly the study is based on the active participation of the writer in the advocacy by gender focussed NGOs at the national level for the past three and half years and having worked in Rakai World Vision Uganda Project from 1994 to 1997. The findings are presented under the following themes: The major findings of the study are that while Uganda presents a very good opportunity to ensure that grassroots women actively participate and benefit from advocacy processes, this opportunity has not been fully utilised. Download a copy of the study (WORD format).
Mary Ssonko Nabacwa is currently a PhD student at University of Wales Swansea. She may be contacted at 151840@swansea.ac.uk. This study was conducted when as Gender Coordinator ActionAid Uganda, Mary Nabacwa was an Associate of the African Gender Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa, May to August 2001.

Tears of Hope
(Edited by Ayeta Anne Wangusa and Violet Barungi, Femrite Publications Limited, Kampala, Uganda, 2003)

Tears of Hope is a collection of short stories by Ugandan Rural Women. It records the experiences that reflect the pain and courage of Ugandan Rural Women. They talk about domestic violence, disinheritance and deprivation of widows and orphans, child custody, rape and defilement. These stories reflect the predicament of the African rural woman in a male dominated society. Some women have suffered silently, while others have tried by all means to find justice, even when the legal framework in place is not favourable to them.
The book can be purchased from Femrite Publications Limited, Kampala.
Telephone: +256-(0)41-543943 or +256-(0)77-743943
Email: femrite@infocom.co.ug

Towards a Gender-Aware Energy Policy: A Case Study from South Africa and Uganda
(Mariëlle Feenstra, University of Twente, December 2002)

Despite the efforts of South Africa and Uganda to genderize their energy policy, a clear idea of what engendering energy policy is about is still lacking. The study addresses the question: what are the characteristics of a gender-aware energy policy and what conditions, based on the experience of South Africa and the developments in Uganda, enable the integration of gender in a national energy policy?
Download a copy of the case study in WORD or PDF format. Queries and comments related to the study should be addressed to Mariëlle Feenstra at: mhfeenstra@hotmail.com

Ugandan Feminism: Political Rhetoric or Reality?
(Barbara Mbire-Barungi, Economics Department, Makerere University)

 Ugandan Feminism: Political Rhetoric or Reality? discusses the issues involved in constructing feminisms in a global context, while recognising women's diverse cultural backgrounds and local priorities. The issues raised here include whether there exists something which can be identified as "African feminism''; whether such a concept could be said to span all African countries; whether there is truly "African feminism'' as distinct from "western feminism"; and what lessons might be learnt from each other. Focusing on the Ugandan context, the relationships between feminisms at local, national, and international levels are explored. Although feminist concerns cannot be generalised, looking beyond political rhetoric and focusing on the reality of women's lived experiences can find fundamental commonalities. It is concluded that international feminist links need to be built in order to influence public policy makers internationally, nationally, and locally to embrace the principle of "women's right as human rights".
This article is published in Women's Studies International Forum, Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 435-439, 1999: Elsevier Science Ltd. USA.
Click here to download the full article (RTF format). Queries and comments related to the article should be addressed to Ms. Barbara Barungi at bbarungi@yahoo.com.

Women in African Economies: from Burning Sun to Boardroom.
Business Ventures and Investment Patterns of 74 Ugandan Women. (Margaret Snyder, June 2000).

 Women in African Economies cuts across the many sectors of Uganda's economy, reaching from a woman who sells her surplus beans and maize in the village market to one who creates an international air freight business. A broad review of the role of the informal sector and women's participation in Africa's and Uganda's economic life is followed by a history of the surge of women's entrepreneurship during the Amin and Obote years, and women's political activism after 1986. The central thesis of the study is that as women create wealth and invest it in human well-being - their own and others' children - they broaden (democratize) their country's economic base; in so doing, they offer a new, non-western model of development.
What do these business women say about the purpose of economic growth? What are their priorities for investing their income? How do they advise young women with the urge to start a business? Among the 74 Ugandan women farmers, merchants and entrepreneurs in Women in African Economies: from Burning Sun to Boardroom who respond to those questions are Lilian Kahenano, who started with 20 loaves of bread, turned them into a super market and now sells real estate. Daisy Kayizzi, a single mother who sells cooking bananas (matoke) and Irish potatoes, invested in a small plot of land, a house, and schooling for her 5 children. Alice Wacha who says "God made me a builder", built two retail stores and several houses to rent in addition to those her family and her mother live in. Regina Nalongo Kabanda used her own small savings to start raising vanilla for export. Wamage's cash crop - rice - was less helpful: her husband built a new house and installed a new wife in it.
Many of these women are contending with globalization's competitive effects and with the structural adjustment programs urged on their governments by donors, that among other effects, make health care inaccessible.
The author, a long-time development professional who worked in Eastern Africa for 15 years and founding Director of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), argues that women's rising entrepreneurial spirit makes it essential to a country's self-interest and development to recognize, measure, give a monetary value to, celebrate and support their economic productivity. By boosting women's entrepreneurship with positive policies and actions, policy makers and international investors can counter poverty while giving the world an economic justice and growth model. The author may be contacted at Pegsnyder@aol.com.
The book is available at:
(1) Fountain Publishers, Uganda. Email: info@fountainpublishers.com
(2) African Books Collective, England. Email: abc@dial.pipex.com
(3) The United Nations Bookstore, United Nations, New York, USA. Email: bookshop@un.org
(4) WomenInk, International Women's Tribune Centre (IWTC), New York, USA. Email: wink@womenink.org

Women & Politics in Uganda
(Aili Mari Tripp, 2000)

 Women & Politics in Uganda, which won a 2001 Choice Outstanding Academic Title Award, explains why the women's movement in Uganda has made its presence felt so forcefully and quickly in this country since 1986. Unlike women's movements in other African countries, the Ugandan women's movement has distinguished itself by establishing greater autonomy from the state, suggesting that societal autonomy is critical to its efficacy, although other key factors are also discussed. The study is based on a series of case studies involving conflicts between women's associations and local level authorities; hundreds of in-depth interviews with politicians as well as leaders and members of women's associations at the local and national levels; and a survey of associational life in four parts of the country.
Aili Mari Tripp is the author of Women & Politics in Uganda. Tripp is an associate professor in political science and women's studies and the Director of the Women's Studies Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in the United States. She may be contacted at tripp@polisci.wisc.edu.
The book is available at:
(1) Fountain Publishers, Uganda. Email: info@fountainpublishers.com
(2) University of Wisconsin Press, USA.
(3) Amazon.com, USA.
(4) James Currey Publishers, UK.

Working in Gender and Development in the Ugandan Context
(Mary Ssonko Nabacwa, 2004)

 This paper presents gender in the Uganda context. It presents the efforts by government and NGOs together with the challenges and contradictions of work on gender issues in Uganda. The paper provides thoughts on work towards gender equity and equality and it raises questions on what this means for a developing country like Uganda. It presents the political context of Uganda, the efforts that have been undertaken by government and NGOs to work towards gender equality, and concludes with the reflections of the writer on her own experiences on working on gender issues in Uganda. Download a copy of the paper (WORD format).
Mary Ssonko Nabacwa is a PhD student at University of Wales Swansea. This paper was delivered to the students of Gender and Development Policy, University of Wales Swansea, School of Social Sciences and International Development. Mary Nabacwa may be contacted at 151840@swansea.ac.uk.


Last update: July-12, 2006