Paper short abstract:

In the months following the fall of Idi Amin, Ugandans sought to rebuild the state. This paper explains how women in Tooro, in western Uganda, took part in debates over this effort: asking which women were involved, the positions they held and whether women had a significant role in government.

Paper long abstract:

By the 1950s women in Tooro - especially educated women – were an active presence in public life in Tooro. But surprisingly, there is little evidence of women in public life in the period 1979-1980 - especially those outside the monarchy grouping. This could be as a result of the violent politics at the time or dynamics of exile politics that pushed women from leadership.

The voices of women are not always easy to find in the record of the period, but this paper uses interviews and newspaper archives to explore the role of women in politics in Tooro in the period 1979-80 – looking particularly at women, authority and education. I explain their opportunities in power (if any) and how these were often linked to their experience and role in the education system, as well as challenges in quest for women empowerment, independence amidst struggles of insecurity and societal contradictions on women leadership.

Some scholars have argued that power in most forms has been dominated by men in Uganda, causing women to sink out of public life; but this paper argues that despite this, some women were engaged in politics from the bottom-up. Formal education enabled some, and domestic and household debates provided a forum for others. Women tried to swim amidst the political and marginalizing storm to position themselves for better representation in different spheres of government.