2 - What Has Worked or Failed with Feminist Scholarship in Academic Spaces in Africa? The Case of the School of Women & Gender Studies, Makerere University
Corresponding Author(s) : Jackline Kirungi
Journal of Higher Education in Africa,
Vol. 20 No. 1 (2022): Journal of Higher Education in Africa
Abstract
Gender inequality remains pervasive in Africa, despite the proliferation of scholarship on feminism on the continent. Yet over the last two decades, progressive intellectual arguments for feminism in Africa have contended that addressing patriarchal practices that underlie gender inequality was paramount to productivity and efficiency emphasised in development projects. In this light, this study explored the transformative potential of feminist scholarship at the School of Women & Gender Studies at Makerere University. It illuminates the politicisation of gender and sexual relations through thought-provoking forums and the pro-women principles contributing to aspirations of feminism scholarship in Uganda. Nonetheless, ongoing scholarship needs to ensure that feminist scholarship philosophies adjust to represent the experiences and struggles of women and their communities in Uganda. The research was qualitative in approach. It employed purposive sampling, participant observation, and consequently interpretive analysis. Data from eight key informative interviews with founders of the school, senior teaching and administrative staff, a d PhD graduate students, as well as document review, informed the study.
Keywords
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- African Union Commission, 2014, Agenda 2063. The Africa We Want, Popular Version, Second Edition, African Union Commission.
- Ahikire, J., 2007, Localized or Localizing Democracy: Gender and the Politics of De- centralization in Contemporary Uganda, Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
- Ahikire, J., 2014a, ‘African feminism in context: reflections on the legitimation of battles, victories and reversals’, Feminist Africa 19: 7–23.
- Ahikire, J., 2014b, ‘Cutting the Coat According to the Cloth: Examining Women’s Agency on Land Rights in Rural Uganda’, in G. B. Kyomuhendo, S. Gerrand, J. Ahikire et al., eds, Gender, Poverty and Social Transformation: Reflections on Fractures and Continuities in Contemporary Uganda, Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
- Ankrah, E.M., 2018, A Life Without Baggage: An Autobiography, Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
- Bozalek, V., and Zembylas, M., 2017, ‘Towards a response-able pedagogy across higher education institutions in post-apartheid South Africa: an ethico-political analysis’, Education as Change 21 (2): 62–85.
- Carr, R.P., and These, G., 2012, ‘Discursive epistemologies by, for and about the decolonizing project,’, in A. E. Abdi, ed., Decolonizing Philosophies of Education, Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
- Collins, P.H., 2000, Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Poli- tics of Empowerment, Second Edition, New York, NY and London: Routledge.
- Cornwall, A., and Rivas, A., 2015, ‘From “gender equality and women’s empowerment” to global justice: reclaiming a transformative agenda for gender and development’, Third World Quarterly 36 (2): 396–415.
- Cornwall, A., Harrison, E. and Whitehead A., 2004, ‘Introduction: repositioning feminisms in gender and development’, IDS Bulletin: Repositioning Feminisms in Development 34 (4): 1–10.
- Diaw, A., 2007, ‘Sewing machines and computers? Seeing gender in institutional and intellectual cultures at the Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, Sen- egal’, Feminist Africa 9 (2): 5–21.
- Hawkins, M., Ronald, A., Lance, W., et al., 2020, ‘Women’s health in Uganda: a reviewing of the landscape influencing reproductive health in Uganda’, Journal of Global Postcolonial Studies.
- Hingston A.C., 2016, ‘Towards Gender Equality in Africa’, Journal of African Union Studies 5 (2/3): 39–49.
- Hordge-Freeman, E., 2018, ‘“Bringing your whole self to research”: the power of the researcher’s body, emotions, and identities in ethnography’, International Journal of Qualitative Methods 17: 1–9.
- Jayaratne, T. E., & Stewart, J. A., 1991, ‘Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in the Social Sciences : Current Feminist Issues & Practical Strategies’, in M. Fonow & J. Cook eds, Beyond Methodology, Bloomington : Indiana University Press.
- Kasente, H.D., 1996, ‘Gender studies and gender training in Africa’, Development in Practice 6 (1): 50–1.
- Kawamara-Mishambi, S., and Ovonji-Odida, I., 2003, ‘“The Lost Clause”: The Campaign to Advance Women’s Property Rights in the Uganda 1998 Land Act’, in A.M. Goetz and S. Hassim, No Shortcuts to Power: African Women in Politics and Policy Making, London and New York, NY: Zed Books.
- Kyomuhendo, G.B., 2014, ‘A Woman Does Not Fall Sick: Negotiating the Care Economy and Maternal Health in Hoima District’, in G.B. Kyomuhendo, S. Gerrand, J. Ahikire et al., eds, Gender, Poverty and Social Transformation: Reflections on Fractures and Continuities in Contemporary Uganda, Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
- Kyomuhendo, G.B., Gerrand, S., Ahikire, J., et al., eds, 2014, Gender, Poverty and Social Transformation: Reflections on Fractures and Continuities in Contemporary Uganda, Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
- Madanda, A., 2014, ‘Mobile phone and computer adaptation in Uganda: patriarchal resilience and fracturing of gender structures’, in G.B. Kyomuhendo, S. Gerrand, J. Ahikire et al., eds, Gender, Poverty and Social Transformation: Reflections on Fractures and Continuities in Contemporary Uganda, Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
- Mama, A., 2004, ‘Demythologizing gender in development: feminist studies in African contexts’, IDS Bulletin 35 (4): 121–4.
- Mama, A., 2005, ‘Gender Studies for Africa’s Transformation’, in T. Mkandawire, ed., African Intellectuals: Rethinking Politics, Language, Gender and Development, Dakar and London: CODESRIA and Zed Books.
- Muhanguzi, K.F., Ahikire, J., Gerrard, S., et al., 2014, ‘Introduction: Partnerships and Social Justice: Research and Academic Collaboration between North and South on Gender, Poverty and Social Transformation’, in G.B. Kyomuhendo, S. Gerrand, J. Ahikire et al., eds, Gender, Poverty and Social Transformation: Reflections on Fractures and Continuities in Contemporary Uganda, Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
- Mulindwa, R., 2011, Politics, Religion and Power in the Great Lakes Region, Dakar: CODESRIA.
- Munah, T., 2007, ‘Doing Gender Work in Ghana’, in C.O. Cole, M. Takyiwa and S.F. Miescher, eds, Africa after Gender?, Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
- Musiimenta, P., 2014, ‘Negotiating Redefined Subordination: Educated Women’s Agency in Marital Relations’, in G.B. Kyomuhendo, S. Gerrand, J. Ahikire et al., eds, Gender, Poverty and Social Transformation: Reflections on Fractures and Continuities in Contemporary Uganda, Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
- Ninsiima, A., 2014, ‘Interrogating Microfinance as an Instrument of Women’s Empowerment in Uganda’, in G.B. Kyomuhendo, S. Gerrand, J. Ahikire et al., eds, Gender, Poverty and Social Transformation: Reflections on Fractures and Con- tinuities in Contemporary Uganda, Kampala: Fountain Publishers."
- Nsibirano, R., and Kabonesa, C., 2014, ‘Internet Use and the Reconstruction of Gender Identity among University Students in Uganda’, in G. B. Kyomuhendo, S. Ger- rand, J. Ahikire et al., eds, Gender, Poverty and Social Transformation: Reflections on Fractures and Continuities in Contemporary Uganda, Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
- Ossome, L., 2015, ‘In search of the state? Neoliberalism and the labor question for pan-African feminism’, Feminist Africa 20: 6–22.
- Pulkkinen, T., 2016, ‘Feelings of injustice: the institutionalization of gender and the pluralization of feminism’, Differences: A Journal of Feminist Cultural Studies 27 (2): 103–24.
- Rathgeber, M.E., 1989, WID, WAD, GAD: Trends in Research and Practice, Ottawa: International Development Research Centre.
- Shackleton, L., 2007, ‘Lost in liberalism: a case study of the disappearance of the gender agenda at a South Africa university’, Feminist Africa 9 (2): 23–41.
- Steady, F.C., 2005, ‘An Investigative Framework for Gender Research in Africa in the New Millennium’, in O. Oyeronke, ed., Africa Gender Studies: A Reader, New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Tamale, S., 2006, ‘African feminism: how should we change?’, Development 49 (1): 38–41.
- Tamale, S., 2007, ‘Out of the Closet: Unveiling Sexuality Discourses in Uganda’, in C.O. Cole, M. Takyiwa and S.F. Miescher, eds, Africa after Gender?, Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
- The Gender and Task Force, School of Women and Gender Studies (SW&GS), 2016, ‘An Assessment of Course Relevance, Participants’ Contributions and Challenges’, Kampala: Makerere University.
- URN, 2020, January 23, Mak Student doubt success of zero tolerance policy on sexual harassment, The Independent. https://www.independent.co.ug/mak-students-not-trusting-zero-tolerance-policy-on-sexual-harassment/
- URN, 2021, December 12, Makerere student want say on sexual harassment policy,
- The Independent. https://www.independent.co.ug/makerere-students-want-say-on-sexual-harassment-policy/
References
Abdullah, J.H., 2007, ‘Women as Emergent Actors: A Survey of New Women’s Organizations in Nigeria Since the 1990s’, in C. O. Cole, M. Takyiwa and S. F. Miescher, eds, Africa after Gender?, Bloomington : Indiana University Press.
African Union Commission, 2014, Agenda 2063. The Africa We Want, Popular Version, Second Edition, African Union Commission.
Ahikire, J., 2007, Localized or Localizing Democracy: Gender and the Politics of De- centralization in Contemporary Uganda, Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
Ahikire, J., 2014a, ‘African feminism in context: reflections on the legitimation of battles, victories and reversals’, Feminist Africa 19: 7–23.
Ahikire, J., 2014b, ‘Cutting the Coat According to the Cloth: Examining Women’s Agency on Land Rights in Rural Uganda’, in G. B. Kyomuhendo, S. Gerrand, J. Ahikire et al., eds, Gender, Poverty and Social Transformation: Reflections on Fractures and Continuities in Contemporary Uganda, Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
Ankrah, E.M., 2018, A Life Without Baggage: An Autobiography, Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
Bozalek, V., and Zembylas, M., 2017, ‘Towards a response-able pedagogy across higher education institutions in post-apartheid South Africa: an ethico-political analysis’, Education as Change 21 (2): 62–85.
Carr, R.P., and These, G., 2012, ‘Discursive epistemologies by, for and about the decolonizing project,’, in A. E. Abdi, ed., Decolonizing Philosophies of Education, Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
Collins, P.H., 2000, Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Poli- tics of Empowerment, Second Edition, New York, NY and London: Routledge.
Cornwall, A., and Rivas, A., 2015, ‘From “gender equality and women’s empowerment” to global justice: reclaiming a transformative agenda for gender and development’, Third World Quarterly 36 (2): 396–415.
Cornwall, A., Harrison, E. and Whitehead A., 2004, ‘Introduction: repositioning feminisms in gender and development’, IDS Bulletin: Repositioning Feminisms in Development 34 (4): 1–10.
Diaw, A., 2007, ‘Sewing machines and computers? Seeing gender in institutional and intellectual cultures at the Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, Sen- egal’, Feminist Africa 9 (2): 5–21.
Hawkins, M., Ronald, A., Lance, W., et al., 2020, ‘Women’s health in Uganda: a reviewing of the landscape influencing reproductive health in Uganda’, Journal of Global Postcolonial Studies.
Hingston A.C., 2016, ‘Towards Gender Equality in Africa’, Journal of African Union Studies 5 (2/3): 39–49.
Hordge-Freeman, E., 2018, ‘“Bringing your whole self to research”: the power of the researcher’s body, emotions, and identities in ethnography’, International Journal of Qualitative Methods 17: 1–9.
Jayaratne, T. E., & Stewart, J. A., 1991, ‘Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in the Social Sciences : Current Feminist Issues & Practical Strategies’, in M. Fonow & J. Cook eds, Beyond Methodology, Bloomington : Indiana University Press.
Kasente, H.D., 1996, ‘Gender studies and gender training in Africa’, Development in Practice 6 (1): 50–1.
Kawamara-Mishambi, S., and Ovonji-Odida, I., 2003, ‘“The Lost Clause”: The Campaign to Advance Women’s Property Rights in the Uganda 1998 Land Act’, in A.M. Goetz and S. Hassim, No Shortcuts to Power: African Women in Politics and Policy Making, London and New York, NY: Zed Books.
Kyomuhendo, G.B., 2014, ‘A Woman Does Not Fall Sick: Negotiating the Care Economy and Maternal Health in Hoima District’, in G.B. Kyomuhendo, S. Gerrand, J. Ahikire et al., eds, Gender, Poverty and Social Transformation: Reflections on Fractures and Continuities in Contemporary Uganda, Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
Kyomuhendo, G.B., Gerrand, S., Ahikire, J., et al., eds, 2014, Gender, Poverty and Social Transformation: Reflections on Fractures and Continuities in Contemporary Uganda, Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
Madanda, A., 2014, ‘Mobile phone and computer adaptation in Uganda: patriarchal resilience and fracturing of gender structures’, in G.B. Kyomuhendo, S. Gerrand, J. Ahikire et al., eds, Gender, Poverty and Social Transformation: Reflections on Fractures and Continuities in Contemporary Uganda, Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
Mama, A., 2004, ‘Demythologizing gender in development: feminist studies in African contexts’, IDS Bulletin 35 (4): 121–4.
Mama, A., 2005, ‘Gender Studies for Africa’s Transformation’, in T. Mkandawire, ed., African Intellectuals: Rethinking Politics, Language, Gender and Development, Dakar and London: CODESRIA and Zed Books.
Muhanguzi, K.F., Ahikire, J., Gerrard, S., et al., 2014, ‘Introduction: Partnerships and Social Justice: Research and Academic Collaboration between North and South on Gender, Poverty and Social Transformation’, in G.B. Kyomuhendo, S. Gerrand, J. Ahikire et al., eds, Gender, Poverty and Social Transformation: Reflections on Fractures and Continuities in Contemporary Uganda, Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
Mulindwa, R., 2011, Politics, Religion and Power in the Great Lakes Region, Dakar: CODESRIA.
Munah, T., 2007, ‘Doing Gender Work in Ghana’, in C.O. Cole, M. Takyiwa and S.F. Miescher, eds, Africa after Gender?, Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
Musiimenta, P., 2014, ‘Negotiating Redefined Subordination: Educated Women’s Agency in Marital Relations’, in G.B. Kyomuhendo, S. Gerrand, J. Ahikire et al., eds, Gender, Poverty and Social Transformation: Reflections on Fractures and Continuities in Contemporary Uganda, Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
Ninsiima, A., 2014, ‘Interrogating Microfinance as an Instrument of Women’s Empowerment in Uganda’, in G.B. Kyomuhendo, S. Gerrand, J. Ahikire et al., eds, Gender, Poverty and Social Transformation: Reflections on Fractures and Con- tinuities in Contemporary Uganda, Kampala: Fountain Publishers."
Nsibirano, R., and Kabonesa, C., 2014, ‘Internet Use and the Reconstruction of Gender Identity among University Students in Uganda’, in G. B. Kyomuhendo, S. Ger- rand, J. Ahikire et al., eds, Gender, Poverty and Social Transformation: Reflections on Fractures and Continuities in Contemporary Uganda, Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
Ossome, L., 2015, ‘In search of the state? Neoliberalism and the labor question for pan-African feminism’, Feminist Africa 20: 6–22.
Pulkkinen, T., 2016, ‘Feelings of injustice: the institutionalization of gender and the pluralization of feminism’, Differences: A Journal of Feminist Cultural Studies 27 (2): 103–24.
Rathgeber, M.E., 1989, WID, WAD, GAD: Trends in Research and Practice, Ottawa: International Development Research Centre.
Shackleton, L., 2007, ‘Lost in liberalism: a case study of the disappearance of the gender agenda at a South Africa university’, Feminist Africa 9 (2): 23–41.
Steady, F.C., 2005, ‘An Investigative Framework for Gender Research in Africa in the New Millennium’, in O. Oyeronke, ed., Africa Gender Studies: A Reader, New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
Tamale, S., 2006, ‘African feminism: how should we change?’, Development 49 (1): 38–41.
Tamale, S., 2007, ‘Out of the Closet: Unveiling Sexuality Discourses in Uganda’, in C.O. Cole, M. Takyiwa and S.F. Miescher, eds, Africa after Gender?, Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
The Gender and Task Force, School of Women and Gender Studies (SW&GS), 2016, ‘An Assessment of Course Relevance, Participants’ Contributions and Challenges’, Kampala: Makerere University.
URN, 2020, January 23, Mak Student doubt success of zero tolerance policy on sexual harassment, The Independent. https://www.independent.co.ug/mak-students-not-trusting-zero-tolerance-policy-on-sexual-harassment/
URN, 2021, December 12, Makerere student want say on sexual harassment policy,
The Independent. https://www.independent.co.ug/makerere-students-want-say-on-sexual-harassment-policy/