African Women 
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| Title: | The Politics of Autonomy and Cooptation in Africa: The Case of the Ugandan Women's Movement |
| Author: | Tripp, Aili M. |
| Year: | 2001 |
| Periodical: | Journal of Modern African Studies |
| Volume: | 39 |
| Issue: | 1 |
| Period: | March |
| Pages: | 101-128 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic term: | Uganda |
| Subjects: | political systems feminism Women's Issues Politics and Government Equality and Liberation organizations |
| External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/3557292 |
| Abstract: | This article draws on the example of the women's movement in Uganda to illustrate how important associational autonomy is in creating more productive State-society linkages, even within the context of a semi-authoritarian State like Uganda. The NRM (National Resistance Movement) leadership is intent on staying in power and depends heavily on the women's vote to maintain legitimacy. The NRM agenda regarding women's rights is limited, but it is more advanced than it would be were it not for an active independent women's movement. The article examines various critical moments of State cooptation, including the appointment of women to top government positions, the reservation of seats for women in parliament and local government, and the creation of women's councils. In all these cases, the autonomy of the women's movement limited the effects of cooptation, with the result that the women's movement today enjoys greater room to manoeuvre than most sectors of civil society in pushing a relatively far-reaching agenda. The study is based on in-depth interviews with Ugandan politicians and NGO members and leaders between 1992 and 1999, a survey of major Ugandan newspapers since 1986, and a survey of 1,142 randomly selected citizens in four urban centres. Bibliogr., sum. |
