Women’s participation in political leadership in Uganda: a case study of luwero triangle 1981-2006

Abstract

This dissertation sets out to investigate and assess Women’s Participation in Political Leadership in Uganda: A case study of Luwero Triangle in the period between1981 and 2006. Key objectives of this study were to establish gender inequalities in political participation before 1981, examine how the National Resistance Movement/ National Resistance Army (NRM/ NRA) influenced women’s participation in political leadership and discuss the continued hindrances to women’s participation in political leadership. To achieve these objectives, the study adopted a qualitative approach using a case study design. The key findings show that there were several constraints which hindered women’s ability to access opportunity outside the household and excluded them from many decision-making processes especially politics in pre-colonial and colonial Uganda. These were mainly hinged on the traditional values in Buganda and patriarchal culture that was promoted by colonialism and missionary activities in Uganda. Therefore, the increased presence of women in political participation is attributed to the broader process of the Luwero guerilla struggle during which they played different roles in bush war struggle. The main argument here is that during this war, through affirmative action, women were actively involved in all structures of the Resistance Councils (RCs) that exposed them to the political and administrative activities that made them politically active and leaders in different respects. This later enabled them to actively participate in political activities and governance of the state after the war. This study thus contributes to the scholarship of women’s participation in political leadership in Africa by specifically analysing how the “bush war” in Luwero Triangle has influenced women’s participation in leadership in Uganda.