Women and War in Northern Uganda: A Reflection on the Respect for the Dignity of Women in War Time

Abstract

This article discusses the challenges of women in the conflict and post-conflict stages of the Northern Uganda Insurgence 1986-2006. During this war, some women lost their lives while others faced physical atrocities like rape, torture and disfigurement. Others suffered severe psychological torture involving watching their children being mutilated or killed. Those found in reasonable physical conditions were forcefully recruited into the rebel forces, but after the war, were stigmatized because in Acholi culture women are not supposed to participate in wars. In sum, the war involved great abuse of the woman’s dignity. As a result, the woman in the affected areas lost even the little respect accorded to her culturally as evident in the fact that even those engaged the peace building and reintegration process were not recognized. This paper describes the abuse women suffered and its effects on their image in the community and discusses the effectiveness of the measures used in the rehabilitation and reintegration process. The methodology used in this research is qualitative, and the instruments used to collect data are in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and document review.