Armed Conflict and Violence against Women in Northern Uganda, 1986 to 2014

Abstract

The eruption of armed violence in northern Uganda in 1986 was the greatest catastrophic event of the region. Social services like education, medical care and telecommunication were disrupted for two decades during which the entire population was forced to live in squalid conditions of the internally displaced persons’ camps. Women became entangled in the war both as combatants and victims of the combatants’ mode of operation. This research addresses the grim effects of the war on the women folk. I employed the narrative and feminist approach during which women voluntarily offered to tell stories about their conditions before, during and after the war. The study reveals that although women were the least involved in the battle fronts, they were the worst affected. The changed economic conditions, the trauma generated and the lawlessness created meant that society could no longer protect women from physical, sexual and psychological abuse.