Social Exclusion of Unmarried Women in Kampala, Uganda : A Case Study of Five Pentecostal Women

Abstract

In Uganda, actions to promote gender equality have been taken since the 1980s. Affirmative action programs in favour of women and other “marginalized” groups were established, and since the appointment of the first female vice president in 1994, several women have continued to be appointed to higher political positions, pointing towards gender sensitivity. However, despite a positive image regarding gender equity in politics, women in Uganda continue to experience marginalization due to culturally, socially, and religiously constructed beliefs that regard women as less valuable than men. While women, in general, face challenges due to their gender, this study specifically focuses on unmarried women within the Pentecostal churches in Uganda. I argue that the marginalization of unmarried Pentecostal women intersects at the societal and family levels and is reinforced within the Pentecostal churches. Unmarried women are often silenced, and when they attempt to speak about their experiences of marginalization, they are not heard or understood. I decided to study this phenomenon using the multidimensional approach to social exclusion theories as a theoretical framework. The daily lived experiences of marginalization, which engender the rupture of social bonds and lead to the ostracization of unmarried women, put them in a vulnerable position in their daily relations. The challenges that women, especially unmarried women, encounter within the Pentecostal churches tend to be silenced; hence, there is a need for further research into this topic.