Anthropological Critique and the Karamoja Question: Reflections on the Post Disarmament Livelihood Sources and Gender Disparities in the North East Region of Uganda

Abstract

It is presumed that the Karamoja question is due to an anthropological lack of post-disarmament development strategies. This specifically applies to the mismanagement of gender relations. The paper concludes that the Karamoja Question persists because the post-disarmament development organisations prioritise women as change agents. This approach created gender disparities that resulted in a masculinities crisis. Consequently, gender as a social structure became dysfunctional and women have ended up being overwhelmed with both productive and reproductive roles while men are grappling with alcohol, violence, and social lethargy. These conditions cannot enable sustainable development. Anthropologically, gender is a vibrant social structure that determines the system of community governance and management of resources. Therefore, development interventions ought to analyse and incorporate accepted gender relations if they are to succeed in their programs. To resolve the Karamoja question, it is recommended that development agencies integrate social norms to enable hybrid approaches that are socially acceptable. This is because all matters of the Karamojong lifestyle revolve around participation and respect through dialogue and consensus