GENDERED CONTRIBUTIONS TO MILITARY AND STATE RECONSTRUCTION EFFORTS IN POST-INDEPENDENCE AFRICA: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF UGANDA, KENYA, TANZANIA, AND RWANDA
Abstract
Review paper
DOI: https://doi.org/10.37458/ssj.6.2.11
This article examines the gendered dimensions of military and state reconstruction processes in post-independence East Africa, focusing on Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda. While postcolonial scholarship has extensively analysed state formation and security governance in Africa, limited attention has been given to the historical and contemporary roles of women in shaping the security architectures of newly independent states. Drawing on a mixed methodological approach that combines historical–analytical and empirical inquiry, this study traces women’s contributions from the liberation movements and early postcolonial armies to their participation in contemporary peacebuilding and post-conflict recovery frameworks. Archival sources, oral histories, and secondary data are integrated with field-based interviews and policy analysis to interrogate how gendered participation reconfigures notions of citizenship, authority, and legitimacy within evolving state and military institutions. The findings reveal that women’s involvement has been simultaneously transformative and constrained expanding the moral and organisational basis of state reconstruction, while remaining circumscribed by patriarchal political orders and securitized governance structures. Comparative insights from the four countries demonstrate divergent pathways of institutionalisation, policy inclusion, and symbolic recognition. By bridging feminist security studies and state capacity theory, the article advances a gendered reinterpretation of post-independence military and governance trajectories in East Africa. It concludes by proposing policy directions for inclusive security sector reform and gender-responsive state-building as integral to sustainable peace and regional stability.
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