CONTRIBUTION OF WOMEN IN CONFLICT MANAGEMENT A CASE STUDY OF GULU DISTIRCT

Abstract

The study examined the extent to which women contributed to conflict management and peace building process in Gulu district in the period of 1999-2006. The government of the Republic of Uganda in the period of 1986-1999 used force of arms to end the violence in the region caused by the IRA invasion. However, in the period since 1999, the government of Uganda chose to negotiate with ERA as the means of ending the violence in the region. Gulu district was chosen as the area of study due to the willingness and cooperation of the stakeholders to participate in the research. Besides it is geographically accessible and there prevails relative peace and security. The research uncovered the statement of the problem of the traditional thinking and practices of society which assumes that women are unimportant and insignificant when it comes to solving problems in society. This undervalued the role of women in contributing to conflict management and peace building processes. In pursuing this theme, the researcher used a descriptive cross-sectional study and qualitative methods of data collection (in-depth interviews). This method enabled the researcher to provide an in-depth description, exploration and analysis of the views on different respondents regarding the contributions of women in conflict management and peace building in Gulu district. A total of 55 respondents were purposively selected and interviewed due to their understanding of the relationship between the role of women and their contribution to conflict management. Findings of the research indicated that women highly contributed to peace building in Gulu district as peace negotiators, counselors, combatants, legislators, lobbyists, activists’ advocators, decision maker and social workers. The research recommends that the government of Uganda implement the UN resolution 1325 on the involvement of women in peace building process and security.