“This woman is a traitor": Miria Kalule Obote and the Pain of Presidential Politics in Post-Colonial Uganda

More than twenty-five years ago, Amina Mama coined the term “femocracy” to describe “an anti-democratic female power structure” that enriches certain women at the expense of others, often in the name of “women’s empowerment” or “feminism” (1995, 41). Scholars have since used this important framework, along with several related others, to analyze the political roles of African first ladies (Husseina 1995; Ibrahim 2004). While this work has shed light on the ways in which some women have benefited from these high-profile marriages, much less is known about those who have suffered because of their husband’s political careers. In this essay, which is based on oral interviews and archival material, I examine the lived experiences of Miria Kalule Obote, whose husband was President of Uganda from 1966-1971 and again from 1980-1985. I suggest that although she enjoyed some level of prominence as “mother of the nation,” her life did not resemble that of the “femocrats” described by Mama and others. Instead, she experienced tremendous pain and hardship as a direct result of her husband’s political career. This essay unpacks the complexities of her life as Uganda’s first lady, but also argues for a more nuanced conceptual framework that would allow historians to make better sense of the lives of Africa’s first ladies.

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Work Title “This woman is a traitor": Miria Kalule Obote and the Pain of Presidential Politics in Post-Colonial Uganda
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Creators
  1. Alicia Decker
License In Copyright (Rights Reserved)
Work Type Article
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  1. The International Journal of African Historical Studies
Publication Date December 1, 2024
Deposited February 05, 2025

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