ABSTRACT
The people of East Africa often identify with particular cultural groups which reflect gender ideologies and rules that have great bearing on their lives. Cultural rules are not set in stone, and the difference between articulated ideals and actual practice provides people with some leverage for negotiation and maneuver. Gender struggle is mediated through both customary and statutory law, and cultural groups enforce many more laws than national polities. The propensity of women to organize collectively vanes, a result in part of surrounding cultural values. Young women frequently have difficulty negotiating involvement in cultural groups which legitimize strict male control. On the surface, macro-level indicators, including those on women, suggest national similarities between Kenya and Uganda. State control over the education system and over sub-national levels of government, where cultural groups hold greater sway, makes state accountability an important focus of attention for women now and in the future.
