How formerly abducted women in post-conflict situations are reasserting their humanity in a hostile environment: photovoice evidence from northern Uganda

ABSTRACT

Northern Uganda received significant international attention during and immediately after the conflict between the Government of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army, in which over 20,000 women and children were abducted and trafficked. However, globally there has been little investigation into the long-term impacts on formerly abducted women in post-conflict reconstruction, or on their own efforts to improve their conditions. This article presents original photovoice evidence from 13 co-researchers; all members of the Women’s Advocacy Network, a grassroots organisation seeking to improve life in northern Uganda for women. All the co-researchers are from the Acholi ethnic group and were formerly abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army. They are all engaged in rebuilding their lives in Gulu, northern Uganda. The article seeks to present the work of the co-researchers and explores the long-term needs they identify for formerly abducted women in conflict zones. It also explores how their own experiences with abduction continues to erode the recognition of their humanity, both in terms of how they are perceived by their communities and how they view themselves, and how they are individually and collectively working to reassert their place in the moral universe.

Le nord de l’Ouganda a fait l’objet d’une attention internationale considérable durant et juste après le conflit entre le gouvernement de l’Ouganda et l’Armée de résistance du Seigneur, conflit durant lequel plus de 20 000 femmes et enfants ont été enlevés et ont été victimes de traite. Cependant, à l’échelle mondiale, il n’y a guère eu d’études sur les impacts à long terme sur les femmes rescapées dans les contextes de reconstruction post-conflit, ou sur leurs propres efforts en vue d’améliorer leurs conditions de vie. Cet article présente des données originales recueillies grâce à la méthode Photovoice par 13 co-chercheuses, toutes membres du Women’s Advocacy Network, une organisation de la base populaire qui cherche à améliorer la vie des femmes dans le nord de l’Ouganda. Toutes les co-chercheuses sont issues du groupe ethnique des Acholis et sont des rescapées de l’Armée de résistance du Seigneur. Elles tentent toutes de reconstruire leur vie à Gulu, dans le nord de l’Ouganda. Cet article entend présenter le travail des co-chercheuses et examine les besoins à long terme qu’elles identifient pour les femmes rescapées dans les zones en conflit. Il examine par ailleurs la manière dont leurs propres expériences de l’enlèvement continuent d’éroder la reconnaissance de leur humanité, tant sur le plan de la manière dont elles sont perçues par leurs communautés respectives que sur celui de la manière dont elles se voient elles-mêmes, et comment elles s’efforcent, individuellement et collectivement, de réaffirmer leur place dans l’univers moral.

El norte de Uganda fue objeto de una importante atención internacional durante e inmediatamente después del conflicto entre el gobierno de Uganda y el Ejército de Resistencia del Señor, en el que más de 20 000 mujeres y niños fueron secuestrados y traficados. A pesar de ello, en la reconstrucción posterior al conflicto las investigaciones sobre los impactos experimentados a largo plazo por mujeres que fueron secuestradas o sobre los esfuerzos que realizan para mejorar sus condiciones son escasas a nivel mundial. El presente artículo aporta evidencia inédita, obtenida mediante la aplicación de la metodología de fotovoz; la misma es proporcionada por 13 coinvestigadoras, todas ellas miembros de la Women’s Advocacy Network [Red de Incidencia de las Mujeres], una organización de base cuyo objetivo es mejorar la vida de las mujeres en el norte de Uganda. Todas las coinvestigadoras pertenecen al grupo étnico acholi y fueron secuestradas por el Ejército de Resistencia del Señor. Asimismo, todas están implicadas en la reconstrucción de sus vidas en Gulu, al norte de Uganda. El artículo expone el trabajo que efectúan y examina las necesidades a largo plazo identificadas por ellas como mujeres anteriormente secuestradas en zonas de conflicto. Además, analiza cómo sus vivencias durante el secuestro siguen erosionando el reconocimiento de su humanidad, en términos de cómo son percibidas por sus comunidades, cómo se ven a sí mismas, y cómo están trabajando individual y colectivamente para reafirmar su lugar en un universo moral.

KEYWORDS:

• Post-conflict
• human trafficking
• Photovoice
• Uganda
• Lord's Resistance Army
• women's groups

Acknowledgements

We want to thank and acknowledge all the co-researchers who created the Women’s Advocacy Network Photovoice Project. They, and countless others like them, transform the world through their everyday actions and their commitment to asserting human dignity in challenging times. We would also like to thank St. Monica’s Vocational School and the funders that made this work possible. This work was supported by the University of Oklahoma's Gibbs College of Architecture, College of Arts and Sciences, and Boren College of International Studies; and Pros for Africa.

Notes on contributors

Grace Acan is the Women’s Advocacy Network Program Officer. She is based in Gulu, Uganda. Email: [email protected]

Evelyn Amony is the Women’s Advocacy Network Chairperson. She is based in Gulu, Uganda. Email: [email protected]

John Harris is President’s Associates Presidential Professor and Assistant Professor of Regional and City Planning at the University of Oklahoma. Postal address: Gould Hall, 830 Van Vleet Oval, Norman, OK 73019, USA. Email: [email protected]

Maria del Guadalupe Davidson is Woodburn Professor and Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of West Virginia. She is also Director and Academic Collaborator for Social Justice Affairs in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at the University of West Virginia. Email: [email protected]

Notes

1. Social contract theory has a long and influential history in Western thought. For more information, see D’Agostino et al. (2017).

2. For more information on WAN, see https://blogs.ubc.ca/wanuganda/ or www.justiceandreconciliation.org/initiatives/womens-advocacy-network/ (last checked 27 April 2019).

3. The text of the petition can be found at www.justiceandreconciliation.org/uncategorized/2014/womens-advocacy-network-petition/ (last checked 27 April 2019).