Crossroads Women Coming of Age in Today Uganda edition by Christopher Conte Literature Fiction eBooks
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They are rooted in their culture’s rich traditions, yet they stand at the cutting edge of change. This is the crossroads where many Ugandan women find themselves today. With dignity and grace, they play a complex social role, balancing worldly sophistication with reverence for the values of their upbringing.
In Crossroads, a group of these women explore the past that shaped them and the future they hope to build, telling varied stories about a rapidly changing society where they serve both as guardians of culture and harbingers of reform.
While one woman examines the cultural implications of Ugandan names, another describes being tortured in a secret prison, and a third traces the mix of African and imported religions that shaped her. One mocks girls’ traditional sex education, while another voices her love of sports and a third reflects on her struggle to overcome a legacy of growing up in a war zone. All challenge social expectations, yet many view "modernization" with ambivalence.
Covering topics from sex roles to western ideas of "development," this compelling picture of the lives of women in today’s Uganda, sometimes funny and sometimes tragic, provides powerful testimony to the strength of the human spirit.
Crossroads Women Coming of Age in Today Uganda edition by Christopher Conte Literature Fiction eBooks
Personal essays by a number of Ugandan women telling about their life and expectations in a culture that is foreign to anything we in the West can imagine. Many cultures are, by our standards, mysoginistic and backward. Despite all the UN has supposedly spent over the past few decades to promote women's rights and to instill western values into the Third World it can be seen that in Uganda, at least, the effort has failed.This book is a great read and brings forth a lot of light on a very neglected aspect of the Third World, particularly in Uganda. A must read for anyone with an interest in the region. Parts of these women's stories make one wonder just what the British overlords did when running the country as a colony because they certainly failed to improve conditions for the citizens. Many of the cultural practices practiced throughout the country today reek of the Middle Ages in Europe or even parts of Victorian Britain. It makes you want to wish you could perform a mass emigration of Ugandan women to the West.
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Crossroads Women Coming of Age in Today Uganda edition by Christopher Conte Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews
Being a woman myself, it was easy for me to empathize with all the authors. Hats off to the Christopher for putting forth this awesome collection.
This anthology comprises of fifteen essays written by fifteen women from Uganda. Each essay is a reflection of the social fabric of the country and brings out its different facets. A real treat when it comes to understanding a new culture. The best part of these reflections are that they are not isolated, as in, many of the thoughts have a universal appeal. The social surroundings separate the gravity of various issues discussed.
Its not easy to compile an anthology with stories that have a strong emotional content attached to them. Hats off Chris for putting together these beautiful masterpieces. Each story is like a jigsaw puzzle piece and together they make a lovely picture.
The writings are simple. However, there are issues like sexual abuse, violence, child abuse, and the like, thereby making this book out of reach for children. Yet, ask any woman who reads this and she will be able to truly empathise with the writings. The narration tugs your heart and I had a lump up my throat while I was reading a few pieces. The stories bring out issues that every woman, irrespective of gender, society or country, would have faced at some point of her life.
I cannot pick up favourites because each one evoked an emotion I cannot explain. There was pain, there was dejection, sense of loss, despair. How a simple name can lead to an identity crisis.Yet there was a feel of hope glimmering in the end. Hope for a better life, hope for the future. And, nothing in this world can be lost if hope acts as a guiding light. You would feel like sending only good wishes and pleasant thoughts to all the fifteen women who have shared their stories.
To sum up, this anthology is one collection that I as a reader would love to read again, especially when I am down in the dumps and at crossroads in my life. The stories help in not just bringing out realities of a woman's life, they exude hope for a brighter future.
P.S- Chris, loved this anthology. You helped give me stories to reach out to when I end up reaching the crossroads of my life.
*I was gifted a copy of this book by the editor*
Crossroads is a fascinating anthology comprising autobiographical essays by several Ugandan women. I loved the opportunity to learn more about the Ugandan culture and the upbringing of African women and how it is different from the upbringing of Black women here in America. Rarely do we hear of what these women endure so it was refreshing to read about it. All of the stories have a common Coming-of-Age theme where the women discuss their experiences coming into womanhood among the customs and traditions of their country. We learn about their childhoods, sex, marriage, career, and livelihood.
All of the stories were compelling but there were a few that really stuck out for me more than the others. I enjoyed the opening story, for instance, about the meaning of names and the cashier treating the woman unfairly because of her name. Personally, I can relate to having a unique name myself and I am often asked the same questions that Nakisanze Segawa was asked.
There were two stories that had the biggest impact on me above all the others. The young women taken from their school without a word and abused the way they were was heartbreaking. I also found the customs surrounding the Ssengas fascinating. By custom Ssenga’s are paternal aunts who assume special responsibilities and help to guide the women, their “nieces” in the ways of society. They teach the women how to behave, submit to a man, how to display class and grace, they monitor their manners and their ways around the house.
Ssengas teach young women about their bodies, about hygiene and sex and ultimately prepare them to be good wives. I love the concept of having someone there to mentor young women and to ensure they grow to be respectable wives and mothers. The fact that the Ssengas take over this role and not the mother is interesting to me. I found myself wondering if it would help for young women in the States, especially young Black women without mothers, to have this kind of guidance and support instead of having to figure things out on their own or in the street.
What I enjoyed least about the role of the Ssengas is that their teachings go too far, at least based on the testimonies of the women. It’s one thing to teach young women about their bodies, about sex, how to be respectable and how to be wives but the extent to which these women are obligated to serve their husbands is, in my opinion, oppressive. Some of the acts, in fact, were downright disgusting and unnecessary. I should be clear that I am all for submission. I believe that women are to submit to their husbands like the bible instructs and that the man is the spiritually ordained head of the household.
The problem I have is ways in which Submission has been portrayed, defined, twisted, and distorted all over the world. Not only do women in America have a concept of submission that is not, in my opinion, accurate but so do women in other countries. Submission is not slavery and a man’s authority over his wife does not exempt him from certain duties and responsibilities or give him the permission to be abusive.
I believe that if done properly, submission and authority can work well but if not done correctly, the combination can easily look like slavery as it (sadly) often does.
There are some great qualities that are promoted in Uganda that many women across the globe can benefit from but then there are some things that we may find strange if we didn’t grow up that way.
In what way does earning degrees and having an education balance with being good wives? Do the women defy tradition or follow it?
These women's stories are shocking, joyful, and profoundly courageous. Their writing style invites the reader into their worlds and guides one through the beauty and hideousness of humanity.
Recommend this book to everyone! Very interesting snapshots (essays) of Ugandan women's lives.
Exceptionally well chosen set of essays by Ugandan women. They represent a spectrum of experiences, some disturbing even as they're hopeful.
Personal essays by a number of Ugandan women telling about their life and expectations in a culture that is foreign to anything we in the West can imagine. Many cultures are, by our standards, mysoginistic and backward. Despite all the UN has supposedly spent over the past few decades to promote women's rights and to instill western values into the Third World it can be seen that in Uganda, at least, the effort has failed.
This book is a great read and brings forth a lot of light on a very neglected aspect of the Third World, particularly in Uganda. A must read for anyone with an interest in the region. Parts of these women's stories make one wonder just what the British overlords did when running the country as a colony because they certainly failed to improve conditions for the citizens. Many of the cultural practices practiced throughout the country today reek of the Middle Ages in Europe or even parts of Victorian Britain. It makes you want to wish you could perform a mass emigration of Ugandan women to the West.
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