Dancing to Change: Gender in the Popular Music of Kampala, Uganda

This article, published in the Glocal Times, the newsletter of Malmo University's Communication for Development programme, looks at the lyrics of popular songs from the capital city of Kampala, Uganda, produced between 2003 and 2006 and investigates their contribution to the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of gender equity.

The article discusses the connections between Ugandan popular music, gender relations, levels of productivity for both men and women, and socio-economic development for the individual, family, and wider community. The author states that some theories argue that gender disparities in Kiganda music originate from the Kiganda creation myth that silences women's contribution to socio-economic development and in some cases altogether deletes women's presence in history. She cites academic studies that argue that Ugandan popular music presents a view of women as domesticated and underutilised, and subservient to the male figures in the their lives.

In her own sampling, the author discusses three general forms of gender positioning within the music: marginalised, partially empowered, and liberated women. Through the analysis of a number of popular songs, the article argues for the need for more choices for women in order to realise gender equity.

The author concludes by stating that music has illuminated and sometimes influenced Ugandan women's journey from extreme control to partial empowerment, and in some cases liberation. Ugandan songs have the potential to encourage positive gender relations, she claims. According to the author, this report should encourage development planners to also gear their efforts to informal communicators, like musicians, and to sensitise them on "ideal" gender relations. Gender sensitive-musicians are likely to produce gender-sensitive music, thus contributing to gender equity.