A Meeting at Parliament

On the 11^th of July the GSSAP students were fortunate enough to meet with the Honorable Betty Amongi-Ongom. One of the most prominent topics focused on the governments Peace, Recovery and Development Plan (PRDP). This plan rises out of the recognition that the conflict has left the North politically and economically underdeveloped; and thus directs efforts toward institution reconstruction, education, peace building, and of course economic recovery. These overarching areas are themselves composed of myriad aspects. As part of the implementation at the local level, the government is working to support cultural and religious leaders to ensure that they have the capacity to mediate conflicts that may arise in their community, such as land disputes (which is currently one of the major issues affecting communities). With this information in mind, I inquired about the possibilities of women becoming cultural leaders and having a voice in the outcome of the dispute resolution, especially in what has historically been a rigid patriarchal system. This question itself requires a little extra information about the evolving negotiation of gender roles in Northern Uganda.

During the conflict with the LRA, portions of the population spent roughly ten years in camps as internally displaced persons (IDPs). During this time, gender roles were reversed as women became the breadwinners of the households. This renegotiation occurred because food distribution targeted women rather than men, as men could potentially have several wives (thus needing more food). This essentially equated to women gaining power that they had not been afforded in the past. Now, after the conflict is over and people have returned home, the women are understandably unwilling to relinquish it and revert back to more traditional systems; hence, my question about the prevalence of women becoming cultural and/or religious leaders.

The response we received was slightly surprising (at least to me). The answer was none, that only men are allowed into these positions. I immediately found myself questioning how effective this approach would be at social renegotiation if recently empowered women were not allowed increased capacity. However, it was then revealed to us that part of many donor contributions included an aspect of sensitizing cultural leaders to both the needs of women and the social benefits of including their opinions, especially concerning economic issues.

As we left parliament, I reflected on not only how informative the presentation had been but also on how naïve my expectations were; I was projecting my goals from my culture onto that of another. My perception had been that somehow a cultural system that had been in place for centuries had suddenly taken a sharp turn in another direction in a matter of a few years. Betty Amongi-Ongom’s discussion with us painted a realistic illustration of what the early appearance of change can look like, and she allowed me to gain a more reasonable understanding of the current situation, as it pertains to gender roles in Northern Uganda.