The women of Acholiland

Where have all the men gone?

Before coming to Uganda, I did not have any idea of what gender inequality was in this day and age.  In the Philippines, women are generally empowered both at home and at work.  It is even said that

Chivalry?

Filipino men have asthma, because for any domestic decisions to be made, their favorite reply is "Ask my wife".  In Uganda, particularly the Acholi sub-region of the north, most women have accepted the fact that since time immemorial they have been considered and treated as properties.  Although some women's groups have emerged to advocate for gender equality, this is still a long work-in-progress for their laws to be changed and for their society to adopt the change.  One day, I asked a companion why in the vast tract of farmland, I see only women and children toiling - where are the men?  Oh, they are somewhere, drinking.  Women do the housework, bear children, work in the farm or quarry.  Even children do not belong to the wife; they belong to the husband.  Take land ownership.  Most of the land in Acholi is customary land; it belongs to the clan.  There is no need for a title because the land is not supposed to be sold.  But the tragedy is that wives have no claim to it for fear that when she re-marries, the land will pass on to the new husband who does not even belong to the clan. When the wife loses her husband and children, she has no right to stay in that land.

Homeless widows?

When women wonder, the answer they get is:  How can a property own a property?