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This paper studies the birth and development of women's and gender studies in Uganda. i conducted this research as part of a doctoral thesis on the history of women's and gender studies in the Global South. Using feminist and standpoint theories, much of the research includes oral histories gathered over the course of three years of field work in Uganda. From the moment i heard my professor say, 'i learned to be a feminist from Ugandan women,' i knew that i wanted to understand the history of women's and gender studies in the country. in sub-Saharan Africa, the discipline of women's and gender studies has made dramatic inroads into the academy through the development of degree-granting undergraduate and graduate programs, the creation of research centers and institutes, and the growth of African feminist theory. Using Uganda as a case study, we can look to the oldest program of its kind in Africa to trace the birth of the discipline on the continent. The history of women's and gender studies in Uganda speaks to ways in which the discipline in the Global South has, since its inception, been entrenched in transnational feminism and an intersectional curriculum rooted in indigenous feminisms. Keywords: Women's Studies, Gender Studies, Global South Feminism, African Feminism, women in Uganda, Uganda, introduction Within two hours of my arrival in Kampala, Uganda i became keenly aware of three quintessential elements of the city: red clay, pineapple, and gender studies. What do dirt, [...]

Abstract In Uganda, various stake holders including the government, NGOs, and women activists have undeniably played important roles in the combat for gender equality in primary education. However, there is [...]

This article reports findings from a study conducted among 212 private motorbike-taxi riders, locally called bodabodamen, from two study sites--a slum area and the urban center of Masaka town. Qualitative and quantitative methods were triangulated; a questionnaire, focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, case studies, and interactive workshops were all used. There were high levels of awareness of HIV, much more than sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), because many participants had closely experienced HIV/AIDS. Knowledge about sexual health contained several misconceptions, misinformation, and myths rooted in both the historical and contemporary social cultural context. Due to high illiteracy levels, bodabodamen cannot access many standard health education materials issued by government and private health organizations through the print and electronic media, as well as those published in languages other than the local vernacular. These (and possibly other) disadvantaged groups remain at risk of HIV and STDs. Especial efforts need to be made to provide appropriate health education. KEY WORDS: sexuality information; risk perceptions; masculinity.

There is a dialectic relationship between baakisimba and gender constructions among the Baganda people of Uganda. (1) On the one hand, baakisimba--the term denotes a drum, a music genre, and [...]

It is questioned whether there is a difference between African feminism and western feminism, and whether that silent African feminism is particular to all African nations. In 1986, the government of Uganda promised to support the women's rights issue and take gender inequality by the horns, resulting in the October 1995 New National Constitution. However, the empowerment of women in Uganda is restricted by traditional customs that support male domination.

This article describes the transformation of the agricultural economy that took place as a result of the disintegration of the state provision of marketing in Uganda in the 1970s and 1980s. In this context, the article examines how the commercialization of food crops is constructing new relations of gender within agricultural production. In the transformation caused by the commercialization of food crops, men appeared to have gained total control over food production, causing the gender relations to move from a complementary to a patriarchal system. Closer examination, however, reveals an increased significance of marital bargaining and a movement from established gender roles to more negotiable relationships. The evidence underscores the continued significance of differentiated socioeconomic status to women's bargaining potential in gender relations.

Women's studies in Uganda developed due to the Ugandan women's movements and the efforts of NGOs. The women's studies department at Makerere University, which was inaugurated in 1991, has revitalized university education by sensitizing it to gender issues. However, women's studies can make a greater impact on Ugandan society only if it is integrated into the curricula of schools and institutions of higher learning apart from Makerere University. Further, gender studies should be made available to all those concerned with policy-making and social development.

An African American woman narrates her experiences in Rwanda and Uganda, which she visited as part of a USAID project on library automation in 1991. Rwanda has many brave people committed to the preservation of their culture, but also presents contrasts between poverty and wealth. The abundance of natural resources enables the people of Uganda to maintain a higher level of living. The devastation of Uganda began with the war that was started by Idi Amin during the 1960s and the 1970s. In both countries, war, poverty and political problems have caused books to become endangered species.

In April, the Uganda Association of Women Lawyers (FIDA-U) achieved its most significant legal success to date when the nation's Constitutional Court overturned key parts of the adultery law--which allowed [...]

Miriam Tabingwa, founding member of Uganda's Action for Economic Development, discusses women's emancipation. She recounts her experiences with rural women and the transformation of their initial apathy towards the issue into participation. Rural women used to think that the issue was only relevant to their educated and urbanized sisters and considered it quite foreign to their experience. Only after the explanation of the concept as the facilitation of equal rights for both women and men did it become acceptable and pertinent., Uganda (From 'Emancipation and Rural Women in Uganda,' in Women in Action, a publication of ISIS International, The Philippines, Number 2/1991.) Miriam Tabingwa is a founder/member of Action for Economic [...]

Deborah Awori could not stop her husband from selling their 14-year-old daughter in marriage, using the time-honoured tradition of asking for a "bride price". However, Awori recently testified at the [...]