Fragile Citizenship

Gender and fragile citizenship in Uganda: The case of Acholi women

In this article, Marjoke Oosterom, PhD candidate at the Institute of Development Studies, Sussex, discusses how perceptions and practices of citizenship are experienced in the post-conflict situation of the Acholi region in Northern Uganda. 

Here, the population lived through protracted conflict and long-term displacement into camps, caused by the Lord's Resistance Army, a militant group formed in 1987 and until about 2007 engaged in an armed rebellion against the Ugandan government. The article elaborates the lived experiences of Acholi women during and after the conflict and how their experiences shape their understanding and practices of citizenship at present. It thus attempts to discuss the intersection between gender, conflict and citizenship.