ABSTRACT

This chapter sets the stage for an examination of women's participation in Uganda's national politics. It investigates both macro and micro aspects of gender in the construction and reconstruction of Ugandan formal politics. Using women legislators as a case study, the chapter demonstrates how gender and social reproduction both shape political institutions and are shaped by them. In many African cultures a crowing hen is considered an omen of bad tidings that must be expiated through the immediate slaughter of the offending bird. Uganda is one example of an African country engaged in the process of democratization. The wheels of this process shifted into gear way back on January 26, 1986, when a bleak chapter in Ugandan politics ended with the National Resistance Movement taking over power after almost five years of guerrilla war. The chapter also presents an overview of the book.