East Africa

Citation:

Busingye, Godard. 2020. “African Feminism, Land Tenure and Soil Rights in Africa: A Case of Uganda.” In Legal Instruments for Sustainable Soil Management in Africa, edited by Hadijah Yahyah, Harald Ginzky, Emmanuel Kasimbazi, Robert Kibugi, and Oliver C. Ruppel, 133–55. International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy. Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Author: Busingye, Godard

Abstract:

This chapter discusses the relationship between African feminism, land tenure and soil rights in Africa. It uses the lenses of African feminism, particularly the motherism brand, to provide a medium through which Africans can assert their rights to land and soil. It bases on a case of Uganda to critique the ideology of patriarchy which denies Africans automatic rights to land and soil or jus soli, through policy and the law. Automatic rights to land and soil would ensure that everyone in Africa is bonded to the land and soil as a mother is bonded to her child. Land and soil rights, which mean the same thing to an African, are contemporaneously acquired and are linked to citizenship rights, largely based on the principle of jus sanguinius. A general conclusion drawn is that in order to rectify the situation discussed African governments should use the lenses of African feminism to reconstruct policies and re-enact laws related to land ownership, soil and sustainable development. It recommends that African governments should review their land policies and laws, including constitutions, in order to grant land and soil rights to all Africans based on the principle of jus soli, while that of jus sanguinius should only be adopted in circumstances where it does not disadvantage any person. Future researchers should build on the analysis made herein and step up their advocacy drives to persuade African governments to undertake the necessary reforms in their land regulatory policies and laws. (Abstract from Springer Link)

Topics: Citizenship, Development, Feminisms, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Governance, Land Tenure, Rights, Land Rights Regions: Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa Countries: Uganda

Year: 2020

Citation:

Kaara, Wahu. 2010. “Reclaiming Peoples’ Power in Copenhagen 2009: A Victory for Ecosocialist Ecofeminism.” Capitalism Nature Socialism 21 (2): 107–11.

Author: Wahu Kaara

Abstract:

The article describes the contribution of African women to ecosocialism. The authors argue that the 2009 Copenhagen Conference represents the recognition that the collapsing patriarchal market economy owes humanity an economic debt, and owes the planet an ecological and climate debt. The author compares the status of the police forces in Kenya and Denmark, since both uphold the bankrupt system of neoliberalism.

Keywords: females, socialism, human ecology, protest movements

Topics: Economies, Environment, Feminisms, Ecofeminism, Gender, Women Regions: Africa, East Africa, Europe, Nordic states, Northern Europe Countries: Denmark, Kenya

Year: 2010

Citation:

Tacoli, Cecilia, and Richard Mabala. 2010. “Exploring Mobility and Migration in the Context of Rural—Urban Linkages: Why Gender and Generation Matter.” Environment and Urbanization 22 (2): 389–95.

Authors: Cecilia Tacoli, Richard Mabala

Abstract:

This paper draws on case studies in Mali, Nigeria, Tanzania and Vietnam to explore the different ways in which migration intersects with the changing relations between rural and urban areas and activities, and in the process transforms livelihoods and the relations between young and older men and women. Livelihood strategies are becoming increasingly diverse, and during interviews people were asked to describe their first, second and third occupations, the time allocated to each and the income that each produced. In all study regions, the number of young people migrating is increasing. This is influenced not only by expanding employment opportunities in destination areas but also by power inequalities within households, which means limited opportunities at home. It is increasingly common for young women to migrate, in part because they have no land rights and few prospects at home, in part because of more employment opportunities elsewhere. Young women also tend to move further than young men and for longer, and also remit a higher proportion of their income. Older men expect young men to migrate but often criticize young women for doing so, although women’s migration is more accepted as their remittances contribute more to household income. However, if young women had better prospects at home, it would limit their need to move to what is often exploitative and insecure work.

Keywords: gender, generation, livelihoods, migration, rural-urban linkages

Topics: Age, Displacement & Migration, Migration, Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Households, Livelihoods Regions: Africa, East Africa, West Africa, Asia, Southeast Asia Countries: Mali, Nigeria, Tanzania, Vietnam

Year: 2010

Citation:

Grace, Joshua. 2013. “Heroes of the Road: Race, Gender and the Politics of Mobility in Twentieth Century Tanzania.” Africa 83 (3): 403–25. 

Author: Joshua Grace

Abstract:

Topics: Coloniality/Post-Coloniality, Gender, Race Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Tanzania

Year: 2013

Citation:

Rao, Sheila, and Rebecca Tiessen. 2020. “Whose Feminism(s)? Overseas Partner Organizations’ Perceptions of Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy.” International Journal 75 (3): 349–66.

Authors: Sheila Rao, Rebecca Tiessen

Abstract:

Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy, introduced in 2017, is an ambitious and forward-thinking policy focussed on gender equality and women’s empowerment. The emphasis on a feminist vision, however, raises questions about how feminism is defined and interpreted by Canada’s partners in the Global South. In this article, we examine the interpretations of feminism(s) and a feminist foreign policy from the perspective of NGO staff members in East and Southern Africa. The research involved interviews with 45 Global South partner country NGO staff members in three countries (Kenya, Uganda, and Malawi). We consider the partner organization reflections on Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy using a transnational feminist lens. Our findings provide insights into future considerations for Canada’s feminist foreign policy priorities, consultations, and programme design. 

Keywords: feminist foreign assistance policy, partnerships, gender equality, Canadian Aid

Topics: Feminisms, Feminist Foreign Policy, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality Regions: Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, Americas, North America Countries: Canada, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda

Year: 2020

Citation:

Yolanda Br. Ginting Manik, Junita, and Satwika Paramasatya. 2020. "Diplomasi Digital Midwives4all Sebagai Kebijakan Luar Negeri Feminis Swedia di Uganda." Journal of International Relations 6 (4): 498-509.

Authors: Junita Yolanda Br. Ginting Manik, Satwika Paramasatya

Abstract:

ENGLISH ABSTRACT:

The existence of digitalization has influenced all aspects of life, including international relations, the internet revolution requires a country to race against the times by working actively outside the field of traditional diplomacy. The increasing use of online platforms as well as the wider, fast and efficient reach generated by the transformation of the internet has produced new concepts in the field of diplomacy, namely digital diplomacy.  In connection with the feminist foreign policy ideas adopted by Sweden, the Midwives4all Campaign launched in 2015 is one of the initiatives taken by Sweden to mobilize support for gender equality and fulfillment of women’s human rights in Uganda.  This digital campaign enables the Swedish government to project Swedish values and reach various communities in Uganda through various media both online and offline as well as through champions embraced by the Swedish government to build awareness of the important role of midwives in increasing fulfillment of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) which is one of the six external objectives of Swedish feminist foreign policy.  This study intends to explain how the Midwives4all Campaign influences efforts to fulfill women's rights in Uganda. This study will be using qualitative research methods with process-tracing data analysis methods and uses the concept of feminist foreign policy and liberal feminism as the basis for analysis in this paper. 

Keywords: feminist foreign policy, Midwives4all Campaign, digital diplomacy, public diplomacy, sweden, Uganda

Topics: Feminisms, Feminist Foreign Policy, Gender, Women, Health, Reproductive Health, Rights, Reproductive Rights, Women's Rights Regions: Africa, East Africa, Europe, Northern Europe Countries: Sweden, Uganda

Year: 2020

Citation:

Schofield, Daniela, and Femke Gubbels. 2019. “Informing Notions of Climate Change Adaptation: A Case Study of Everyday Gendered Realities of Climate Change Adaptation in an Informal Settlement in Dar es Salaam.” Environment & Urbanization 31 (1): 93-114.

Authors: Daniela Schofield, Femke Gubbels

Abstract:

This paper examines the gendered dynamics of climate change adaptation in a rapidly urbanizing area of the global South. As climate change adaptation gains increasing prominence in global environmental policies and development strategies, there is a tendency to conceptualize adaptation as a technical process, disconnected from the everyday reality of how adaptation is practised by people facing negative climate change impacts. We present evidence from a small-scale case study of a flood-prone informal settlement in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to provide a contextually grounded contribution to a growing body of literature on gender, climate change and cities. We argue that the way climate change impacts are perceived, experienced and adapted to on an everyday level is characterized by gendered differences (among others). We demonstrate that a greater understanding of these gendered nuances highlights the disconnect between everyday gendered realities and a high-level technical notion of adaptation deployed at strategic and policy levels.

Keywords: climate change adaptation, Dar es Salaam, flooding, gender, Tanzania, urban informal settlements

Topics: Development, Environment, Climate Change, Gender, Infrastructure, Urban Planning Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Tanzania

Year: 2019

Citation:

Amanor-Wilks, Dede-Esi. 2009. “Land, Labour and Gendered Livelihoods in a 'Peasant' and a 'Settler' Economy”. Feminist Africa 12: 31-50.

Author: Dede-Esi Amanor-Wilks

Annotation:

“Africa historically has been land-abundant and labour-scarce. The situation in Africa contrasts with that in Asia, which has historically been labour-abundant and land-scarce. And it means that until relatively recently, land scarcity was not a major problem for African producers. In spite of this, we can surmise that access to land for women, or more crucially control over land, has been an issue for as long as patriarchy has existed. This is because labour applied to land creates capital; therefore land is a crucial source of power, whereas patriarchy is essentially the monopolisation of power by men. Yet there exists a perception that women in West Africa have more secure land rights than do women in East and Southern Africa. This article seeks explanations for this perception, from a framework of the peasant-settler dichotomy in Africa. While there is a growing literature on women’s land rights in Africa that makes no distinction between the former “peasant” and “settler” colonies, in African historiography generally, a major distinction has been drawn between them. We thus have separate literatures on “peasant” and “settler” economies of Africa that rarely speak to each other, and comparative African studies rarely cross the peasant-settler divide (Amanor-Wilks, 2006 and forthcoming). The main difference between “peasant” (or “peasant export”) and “settler” colonies is that in the former, land remained in the hands of African producers, who dominated local and export agricultural production. In the settler colonies by contrast, prime lands were expropriated to European settlers, who competed directly with Africans in both food and export production. Alongside the question of differential gender access to land across the peasant-settler divide, this article considers two sets of questions on which there is division in the literature on land tenure and gender justice. Is customary law harmful to women’s land rights or should it be codified to protect women’s land rights? Is access to land for women “negotiated”, or are access and control products more of social conflict? The hypothesis of this article is that the assumption that access is negotiated works best in conditions of relative land abundance and that in conditions of scarcity, it is social conflict that produces change.” (Amanor-Wilks 2009, 31-2).

Topics: Coloniality/Post-Coloniality, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Land Tenure, Rights, Land Rights, Women's Rights Regions: Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa

Year: 2009

Citation:

Danielsen, Katrine, and Jennifer Hinton. 2020. “A Social Relations of Gender Analysis of Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining in Africa’s Great Lakes Region.” Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue Canadienne Des Études Africaines 54 (1): 17–36.

Authors: Katrine Danielsen, Jennifer Hinton

Abstract:

Keywords: gender, social relations, women, artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), Great Lakes Region

Topics: Extractive Industries, Gender, Gender Roles, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality Regions: Africa, Central Africa, East Africa

Year: 2020

Citation:

Alda-Vidal, Cecilia, Maria Rusca, Margreet Zwarteveen, Klaas Schwartz, and Nicky Pouw. 2017. “Occupational Genders and Gendered Occupations: The Case of Water Provisioning in Maputo, Mozambique.” Gender, Place & Culture 24 (7): 974–90.

Authors: Cecilia Alda-Vidal, Maria Rusca, Margreet Zwarteveen, Klaas Schwartz, Nicky Pouw

Abstract:

Taking issue with how associations between technical prowess or entrepreneurship and masculinity tend to be taken for granted or are seen as stemming from natural or intrinsic gender differences, over the last two decades feminist scholars have developed theoretical approaches to understand the gendering of professions and abilities as the performative outcome of particular cultures and histories. We build on these insights to explore how associations between masculinities, technology and entrepreneurship shape ideas and practices of small-scale water provision in Maputo. Our findings show how activities (i.e. technical craftsmanship, hard physical work) or abilities (i.e. risktaking, innovativeness) regarded as masculine tend to be considered the defining features of the profession. This shapes how men and women make sense of and talk about their work, each of them tactically emphasizing and performing those aspects best fitting their gender. Our detailed documentation of men’s and women’s everyday involvements in water provisioning challenges the existence of sharp boundaries and distinctions between genders and professional responsibilities. It shows that water provisioning requires many other types of work and skills and male and female household members collaborate and share their work. The strong normative-cultural associations between gender and water provisioning lead to a distinct underrecognition of women’s importance as water providers. We conclude that strategies to effectively support small-scale water businesses while creating more space and power for women involved in the business require the explicit recognition and re-conceptualization of water provisioning as a household business.

Keywords: technology, entrepreneurship, small scale water providers (SSIP), urban water supply, Maputo, occupational masculinities and femininities

Topics: Feminisms, Gender, Gender Roles, Gendered Discourses, Households, Infrastructure, Water & Sanitation Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Mozambique

Year: 2017