Localised or Localising Democracy. Gender and the Politics of Decentralisation in Contemporary Uganda

The central concern of this study is the politics of inclusion of women in Uganda¿s local government. The legally prescribed numerical representation of women in local government decision-making structures has led to changes, increasing significantly women¿s public presence in community politics. Together with the decentralisation process, this has created a new political landscape which calls for a gendered understanding of local-level politics and the inclusive potential for local democracy in Uganda. The author explores local democracy as a process within which gender power relations are a constitutive rather than a contingent part. She sets out the complex and dynamic problems, and finds, contrary to public perception, that decentralisation does not necessary enable more participation by the unprivileged, including women. Josephine Ahikire is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Social Science, Department of Women and Gender Studies at Makerere University; a senior research fellow tih the Centre for Basic Research in Kampala; and a visiting scholar at the University of Oldenburg in Germany. She is widely published on gendered constructions of public politics, labour and popular culture.