Abstract
This chapter examines the life and peacebuilding work of Juliana Denise, a teacher, politician, and “pusher for women’s issues” from southwestern Uganda. She has bucked tradition in a number of ways. When her husband died, she refused to marry her husband’s brother as tradition dictated. She also plants trees on her land, traditionally a male activity. Her projects that benefit women include providing seeds so women can grow food, and paying school fees for girls. As a politician, she advocated for women’s rights, particularly in the areas of land use and ownership. Juliana Denise is a proponent of local culture and language, and has written a number of books in Rufumbira. In addition, she works at preserving the medicinal and cultural lore of local women.
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Notes
- 1.
Bazungu is the Ugandan Kiswahili word for white people, in the plural. This and the singular form, muzungu, are commonly used throughout East Africa, even though every language has its own specific word.
- 2.
USh30,000 equates to about US$18, but keep in mind that these women, as day labourers, only make about US$1/day, which isn’t even enough to feed their families on.
- 3.
In Primary 7, students in Uganda sit highly competitive national exams and must pass to be able to continue their education.
- 4.
The Batwa are the indigenous peoples of the region, commonly referred to as the pygmies, who live in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Congo.
- 5.
About US$1 per day.
- 6.
This discussion, due to its private nature, was not intended for inclusion in this text. However, when reviewing the transcript, Juliana gave serious thought to this and felt it to be relevant to the topic of peacebuilding. She thus decided to keep it as part of her story once she had made the relevant edits.
References
Okech, A. (2005). Uganda case study of literacy in education for all 2005: A review of policies, strategies and practices. Paper commissioned for the EFA global monitoring report 2006, literacy for life. Geneva: UNESCO.
Ssewaya, A. (2003). Dynamics of chronic poverty in remote rural Uganda. Paper presented at the staying poor: Chronic poverty and development policy from http://www.chronicpoverty.org/pdfs/2003conferencepapers/Ssewaya.pdf.
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Ball, J. (2019). Juliana Munderi Denise. In: Women, Development and Peacebuilding in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97949-6_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97949-6_5
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