Gender and fragile citizenship in Uganda: the case of Acholi women

Abstract

The present article discusses how perceptions and practices of citizenship are experienced in the post-conflict situation of the Acholi region in northern Uganda. Here, the population lived through protracted conflict and long-term displacement into camps, caused by the Lord's Resistance Army. The article elaborates the lived experiences of Acholi women during and after the conflict and how their experiences shape their understanding and practices of citizenship at present. It thus attempts to discuss the intersection between gender, conflict and citizenship.

Keywords:

• citizenship
• participation
• post-conflict recovery
• displacement
• gender
• Uganda

Notes

1. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) are:  … persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalised violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognised State border. (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2004, 1) IDPs thus remain under the sovereignty of their home state, and it is therefore their national government that is responsible for their well-being and security. This is in contrast with refugees who leave their country of origin and are displaced into a different state, and can appeal to international refugee law regimes. See also the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) www.internal-displacement.org

2. The idea of fragile citizenship is based on work coming out of the Development Research Centre on Citizenship, Participation and Accountability (2000–2010), hosted at the Institute of Development Studies: www.drc-citizenship.org. The summary document Blurring the Boundaries. Citizen Action Across States and Societies (Citizenship DRC 2011) pays special attention to citizenship in fragile settings.

3. The life history interview proved very useful to interview women. Life history interviews can provide information about what happens in society through the accounts of individuals. This technique is thus useful to study historical developments and changes in society. It captures how an individual responded to change, and what were its underlying strategies and motivations. Women felt more comfortable talking about their personal histories and relate from there to other issues, rather than jumping to a variety of topics directly.