Feminist Knowledge | Politics

Review of The Rising Tide: Uganda's Women's Struggles for a Public Voice, 1940-2002, Kampala: FOWODE, 2002.

by Sylvia Tamale

I believe that the context in which you read a book has great influence on how you appreciate it. I read The Rising Tide in the charming town of Stellenbosch, in the heart of the beautiful wine lands of the Western Cape, South Africa. Surrounded by vast acres of vineyards and against the majestic backdrop of steep mountains; I felt nothing but tranquillity, peace and relaxation. There could not have been a better place to read this collection of Ugandan women's intergenerational narratives.

The Rising Tide is extremely inspiring and a wonderful source of optimism for the new generation of Ugandan feminists. The book title, as well as the section headings, is highly evocative and the clever use of the "water metaphor" resonates very well with the actual 'drift' of Ugandan women's lives. In varied ways, all the stories in this book challenge malestream politics by going against the tide. After closing the last page of this book, the reader is left with no doubt whatsoever that the tide is indeed rising and moving in the right direction for Ugandan women.

This book is a must-read for all young African women. Between its covers they will find at least one role model to look up to. Unfortunately, today there are increasing arguments, even within the African feminist movement, against the "role model" concept. There is a rolling back of accountability from potential female role models, who challenge what they perceive as its 'matronizing' effects. At a time like this when most of our countries are in transition, facing crucial national, regional and global crises, I think it is extremely important that younger people have positive role models, templates and symbols, for inspiration and to nurture their various potentialities.

The book is a central resource for scholars of Feminist Studies, Sociology, Political Science and History, to build theory organically from the ground up. It is an invaluable teaching resource and great tool for analysing differences and multiplicities according to gender, class and ethnicity. The stories of all the women in this book are about politics - formal politics, informal politics and gender politics. But whether it is politics with a big 'P' or that with a small 'p', the women's experiences described in this book will compel any reader to re-frame their knowledge and to re-assess the dominant paradigms in democratic theory, governance and citizenship. The collection of rich stories, mostly from the margins, is in line with the Afrocentric and feminist pedagogies that place high value on collective knowledge and experiential learning.

It is amazing how the life stories of the women in this book talk to each other. As a sociologist, I picked up common threads and patterns that run through most of the stories in the book. This type of analysis lends to our deeper understanding of the contradictions and complexities of gender politics in this country. For example, the stories clearly illuminated how women's sexuality is used to keep them in a subordinate position:

A neighbour's daughter who was in school got pregnant and that caused problems for many girls. News spread and people thought that all girls who went to school would get pregnant - Lucy Langa (p. 15)

People said that I had Museveni's child. Then I went to visit [Olive] Zizinga, it was the same story! - Gertrude Njuba (p. 110)

Once they realise that you are tough and capable, they look for opportunities to put you down. One major weapon that men would use was to create scandalous [sex] stories to break you down - Bernadette Bigirwa (p. 153-4)

Another article appeared in the Monitor gossip about a woman CA delegate from the North who was caught sleeping with a minister in Crested Towers - Beatrice Lagada (p. 164)

They called me a prostitute and said, 'You can see her, she has been moving all over the place with the President and the ministers. Do you think she can represent us in Parliament effectively?' - Tezira Jamwa (p. 168)

Someone would wake up and say, 'Oh! This girl works in Red Cross, in the AIDS department. You know she has got AIDS. If you elect her, she might die tomorrow and you will have wasted your time.' - Salaamu Musumba (p. 216)

Many times the link between women's oppression and their sexuality is not clear. These testimonies make the link absolutely specific and crystal clear for us: society using women's sexuality not only to silence and decapitate them, but also to stifle social transformation.

If you plotted the different ways that women in this book entered into politics - whether it is politics with a big 'P' or a small 'p' - on a pie chart, you would find many interesting overlaps and links. Collectively, they epitomise the fundamental barriers to women's participation in decision-making, which, fortunately, most of these women were able to overcome. But the entry story that beat all stories for me, was how Beatrice Lagada rose to the post of guild president at the Institute of Teacher Education Kyambogo (ITEK) in 1989. She narrates:

I was rehearsing in the college theatre and the late Hope Keshubi P'chong ran up to me with a piece of paper saying, 'Beatrice, Beatrice! Sign this, sign this.'
What am I signing for? I asked.
She said, 'Sign first, quickly!' So I signed and asked her, '…but what is it?'
She replied, 'I have just nominated you for guild president! Can you imagine, the nominations are closing at midnight and we only have five men and none of them can competently lead this institution!
All that happened... ten minutes to midnight. She ran off, leaving me thoroughly shocked, right there on stage…
I did my best, I tried to lobby [the male contenders] to stand down for me, but they refused… [W]hen the results were out I had beaten them all and I was the first woman Guild President of ITEK (Pp. 160-161).

Indeed, The Rising Tide is a documentation of many "firsts" in Uganda's history. And thanks to their pioneering work and great commitment, the way was paved for thousands of other African women to participate in the public arena. This book ensures that future generations do not take for granted the rights that they enjoy today. They come to us on the extraordinary backs of women who sacrificed, challenged, struggled, persisted, juggled, loved, and risked their lives by giving their all for the women's cause.

The stories of these women are told with such exuberance and are so well-crafted that many times the conveyed feelings and memories come to life for the reader. The book retells Uganda's history through the narratives of 34 women - the history of colonial unrest, of political upheavals, of armed wars, of HIV/AIDS, of political intrigue and machinations. It demonstrates how difficult it is for women to succeed in malestream politics without compromising their femininity. At the same time, they are sometimes forced to pragmatically 'accentuate' their femininity in order to win over the electorate.

We have often heard and read about the heroic stories of the NRA guerrilla war that raged between 1981 and 1986. However, the glimpses that we receive from Gertrude Njuba and Olive Zizinga's accounts shed new light on the struggle. It is a classic tale of the past cut down to size, from history to herstory! Tears rolled down uncontrollably as I read the sad stories of these two women, how they were so obviously short-changed after the struggle - for no other reason than their gender. Gertrude and Olive, it is imperative that you tell your stories in full biographies.

The personal narratives were not balanced. Some had more details than others and for many of the shorter ones one was left with the feeling of "Is that it?" I certainly felt that the life stories of some women like Yedida Pade, Joy Kwesiga and Maria Mutagamba ended prematurely.

The book's most shocking revelation for me was the influence that religion had in shaping the political lives of many of the women. Here, I am not talking about the historical affiliations of certain religions to particular political parties. Although those dynamics were also at play with some women, what surprised me were the ways that religious teachings activated and shaped the feminist conceptualisation of issues for many women. An unexpected source of tutelage and inspiration for feminist politics were the rural Catholic Convents! It seems like a contradiction in terms to talk about feminist Catholic nuns espousing feminist ideas. Yet feminists in the book such as Frances Akello, Winnie Byanyima, Rose Mwebaza and Margaret Kasaija openly acknowledge the great influence that nuns had on their politics and worldview. Winnie writes of the Daughters of Mary and Joseph, the Sisters of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Mbarara and the Fransiscan Sisters at Namagunga:

These women were the earliest group of feminists I came across. They created a secure and private women and girls' environment where we explored our potential. They made us confident while insisting on modesty. We had to be strong but also kind and considerate, articulate but never verbose or repetitive. They brought out the best in each one of us and taught us to value each human being (p. 179).

Thus, we can use this book to embrace the contradictions, tease out the complexities and understand the ambiguities of women's participation in colonial and postcolonial politics, as well as that of African feminist theory and practice.

The Rising Tide is written in a sober and clear style that leaves the reader with a lasting impression and much to ponder after turning the final page. The following are some of the quotes that will live with me for a long time:

I discovered early in life the power of collective action and I have always worked in close cooperation with others - Joyce Mpanga (p. 30)

They would present the bitter pill of discrimination with a lot of sugar coating around it, respectability and all that kind of talk - Sarah Ntiro (p. 48)

As the senior women in the bush, we had to fight for recognition. There were wars within a war - Olive Zizinga (p. 116)

I believe my story is testimony to how a woman can combine academic work with activism - Joy Kwesiga (p. 141)

If you went and peeled matooke, how would that take away your manhood? - Miria Matembe (p. 148)

Being single gave me the impetus to make something out of my life. I know that women can be successful, even when they are not married - Esther Opoti (p.159)

The seed of my politics was planted in me as I sat by my kitchen stove… - Solome Mukisa (p. 169)

A women's movement which is pre-occupied with middle class interests is a betrayal to the majority of women who are poor peasants - Winnie Byanyima (p. 185)

The way forward is for women to compete for leadership positions without fear - Kabakumba Abwooli (p. 206)

A woman has many challenges… She has to work extra hard to prove her worth. When it comes to a Muslim woman it's twice as much as other women need to do - Janat Kayondo (p. 229).

I think that the women's movement in this country has a lot to carry from the incredible wisdom found in such words.

I am not saying that The Rising Tide is perfect. It is not, but it has a liberatory freshness and elegance that more than makes up for the imperfections. Despite the fact that this is FOWODE's first major book, there are many editorial and typographical errors that could have been tidied up before publication. But apart from these few distractions, one truly wonders why it took so long for a book like this to come out. I imagine that there are several logistical and practical reasons why the stories of many great Ugandan women were left out of The Rising Tide. The experience of former Vice-President Specioza Kazibwe, for example, was conspicuously missing. But now that our appetites have been whetted with this sampling of the lives of 34 extraordinary women, we must move on to the next project of writing women's full memoirs and (auto)biographies…