Abstract
Studies on the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic have not only exposed the vulnerabilities of society in all spheres of life, they have brought out bare the victors and victims of the pandemic. Very often these studies have identified women as simply victims of the pandemic, who have suffered immensely from domestic gender-based violence and economic distress. On the other hand, there has been unprecedented hype of the centrality of religion and religious leaders to the fight against COVID-19, although, reference to such religion and religious leaders turns out to be the Abrahamic religions and male religious leaders, due to their followers’ numerical strength and ascribed social status respectively. There has been silent scholarly skepticism about women in indigenous religious belief systems, yet for the majority of Ugandans treatment of COVID-19 was at the micro family where women influenced by religio-cultural beliefs are in charge of well-being of household members. The religio-cultural construction of women makes them integral in the well-being and maintenance of health of household members. Using the ‘religio-cultural ideology framework’, this paper analyses the contributions of women in indigenous religious beliefs to responding to COVID-19 based on their socially determined status, roles, responsibilities and expectations in society. Drawing on personal experiences of women from Ugandan indigenous religio-cultural diversities, this paper tells an alternative story of women’s agency and leadership in responding to COVID-19 and its attendant challenges.
Presenters
Alexander Paul IsikoSenior Lecturer, Religious Studies and Philosophy, Kyambogo University, Uganda
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
COVID-19, WOMEN, INDIGENOUS RELIGIONS, PANDEMIC, RELIGIO-CULTURAL
