Condemned to the periphery: The lived experiences of women in artisanal gold mining activities in Karamoja sub-region, Uganda

Abstract

This paper explores the lived experiences of women in artisanal gold mining activities at Lolung and Chepkararat mines in Karamoja, north-eastern Uganda. It reports on the results of a study based on a qualitative research design, with data collected through key informant interviews, site observations, and focus group discussions. Although artisanal gold mining provides women with diverse opportunities, including employment and possibilities to earn an income, our results suggest that most of the lucrative mining opportunities are not available to them. Rather, the majority of women are engaged in undervalued, less-lucrative, and less-remunerated but labour-intensive support work that mirrors their domestic household routines. This contributes to their marginalization in society. Moreover, socio-cultural and customary moralities and practices are continually manipulated thereby legitimizing the exclusion of women from specific mining activities. We suggest that broadening the everyday resistance mechanisms of women miners, alongside the formalization of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) activities, reinforced with affirmative action and education, could gradually reverse the marginalization of women in gold mines and contribute to their meaningful engagement in mining.