UGANDA

THEMATIC ISSUES
during the war were particularly vulnerable to having their legal rights to their deceased
husbands’ land denied by his (male) relatives. Traditional understandings that women
cannot inherit their deceased husband’s land are causing conflict between men and the
women who have started to reject this practice. In short, land conflicts embody both
gender conflicts and conflicts between tradition and modernity.
CONFLICTED RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN
Participants in every district highlighted and stressed the conflicted relationship
between men and women. This conflict, according to them, plays out primarily within
the household. It was noted that in locations where violent and publicly visible political
conflict, such as insurgencies, have ended, domestic conflict in the privacy of the home
has continued or even increased. 49
Causes of conflict between men and women
Direct triggers of arguments and domestic abuse between men and women that
were mentioned included alcohol abuse, infidelity or polygamy, and men and women
disagreeing over their traditional family responsibilities (such as provision of school fees
for the children, or preparation of food). The deeper causes of the conflicted relationship
between men and women are, according to participants, to be found in changes in society
49 For more information, see conflict numbers 70 and 123 in this Compendium.
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