What is the connection between Ugandan feminist social movements and other international women’s activist organizations and how does this relation influence the local women’s movements with the country’s political system on human rights issues?
During this presentation, I will focus on the relationship between the local Ugandan female NGOs and international organizations and then examine the role they play in influencing the country’s political and cultural structures. I am interested in exploring international and local women’s social movements in Uganda by looking at their promoted practices and ideas of universal human and women’s rights. I will analyze what 'feminism' means to Ugandan women's rights activists and organizations, and how these framings shape their priorities and agenda. I will also explore how the Ugandan understanding of feminisms differs from Western Feminist priorities, strategies and tactics and how the local movements receive these ideas.
Before one can attempt to understand the complex political implications of the Ugandan feminist social movements, it is crucial to draw a distinction between the Ugandan Feminism and International Feminism to acknowledge the fundamental differences between the two. Scholar Gwendolyn Mikell defines African Feminism as radically different from Western forms of feminism due to the fact that women’s experiences in these two parts of the world have been different; therefore, their culture, their demands, and what they desire to establish with social movements differ as well. Ugandan women still fight for their worth and rights to be acknowledged as full members of society, whereas women from the West also demand acknowledgement from the state but focus on issues more relevant to their culture and experiences.
As Leila Rupp defines International Feminism, which comes from the West, as a movement that was established to help create a feminist collective identity between country borders as a support system for women. Therefore, African feminists, including Ugandans, have contributed to and co-created International Feminism through working with international organizations (UN Women, UNIFEM). African women's organizations have not only been ‘receivers’ of international diffusion of human rights norms around women's rights, but have also been some of the agents actively shaping these norms.
International & Global Studies , Women's & Gender Studies
