The purpose of this research was to analyse the impact of forced migration on women and
development in northern Uganda. The armed conflict in northern Uganda, which started in 1986,
led to gross violations of human rights against women forcing them to flee their homes and ftnd
refuge in overcrowded resettlement camps. The main objective of the study was to critically
analyse the causes of displacement and the experiences of internally displaced women so as to
contribute to available knowledge on women and development Qualitative and feminist research
techniques were carried out in Erute Camp located in Lira Municipality among intemally
displaced women, using observation and interviews. The findings reveal that forced migration
was caused by the armed conflict between the LRA rebels and the government solders. The
conflict destroyed in:frastructw·e and socio-economic service delivery systems. This consequently
par·alysed the northern Uganda's development as many civilians were forced to abandon their
homesteads due to traumatic experiences of killings, torture and abductions. This resulted in
human disintegration and the collapse of economic and social development in the region that was
based on agriculture. The prolonged insecurity disrupted education, health, communication and
commercial activities resulting in absolute poverty and underdevelopment Despite effo11s by
government and some humanitarian agencies to provide the needs of the affected civilians, peace
and reconciliation seems to be hard to achieve. Insecurity continues to spread making normal life,
relief and economic activities impossible. Due to lack of effective implementation, coordination
and monitoring of programmes, the situation poses great challenges to government and
international h\Unanitarian agencies present such as: WFP, UNHCR, WHO, World Bank and
others. Therefore, forced migration has a significant impact on women's social, economic,
cultural and environmental development. However, a positive impact regar·ding women's
empowe1ment and gender equality due to changed roles was eminent. I conclude by
recommending that the stakeholders need to increase the capacity to restore peace. There is need
to coordinate the development projects and programmes through increased flexibility and
transparency. However, the need to involve women in the reconciliation and reconstruction
processes to restore peace in northern Uganda is vital / Development Studies / D. Litt. et Phil.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/1947 |
| Date | 31 December 2007 |
| Creators | Kemirere, Babugura Fidelis |
| Contributors | Cornwell, L. (Prof.), djagegjj@unisa.ac.za |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (viii, 240 leaves) |
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