Article Outline
Support for the extended family is among the most important values held by Ugandans. Polygyny (the practice of having more than one wife) is accepted and very common. Women are traditionally considered inferior to men and their independent social initiatives tend to be discouraged. However, some members of the government and women’s rights activists have begun the task of removing legal discrimination against women. The constitution adopted in 1995 guarantees women equal opportunities in political, social, and economic areas. It also reserves seats in the legislature and in local councils for female candidates. The accumulation and display of wealth, such as throwing a lavish wedding, are signs of success that win respect in Uganda. Western attire is worn throughout the country. Traditional clothing, which varies among ethnic groups, is often worn at local ceremonies and dances. Traditional Ganda and Soga men often wear a long white robe called a kanzu under a sport coat, while women wear a busuti, a distinctive floor-length dress introduced by 19th-century missionaries.
Poverty and disease are linked problems in Uganda that are compounded by poor sanitation, unclean water, and inadequate housing. Only 60 percent of the population has access to clean water. Although food is easily grown in Uganda, sporadic droughts cause severe famines. Uganda suffers from a very high infection rate of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) estimated 900,000 Ugandans were infected with AIDS in 2005. The other most common ailments include prenatal and maternal conditions, malaria, and pneumonia.
Uganda’s medical service is badly overburdened and largely financed by international support. Mulago in Kampala is the national hospital. There are also excellent missionary hospitals, although the emphasis in medical service providers is shifting from hospitals toward rural health clinics. The World Health Organization estimates 71 percent of the population live within walking distance of a health facility. In general, social welfare, including old-age support, is a matter of self-reliance, not government services.
Ugandan artistic expression draws on various traditional oral cultures interwoven with Western cultural influences. Modern Ugandan artists in all fields have tried to bring these strands together to build a Ugandan identity or to use Western art as a lens to understand traditional life more clearly.
Ugandan author Okot p’Bitek, whose long poetic lament, Song of Lawino (1966), is Uganda’s best known literary work, criticizes the supposed benefits of Western education and values for Acholi traditional life. Sir Apolo Kagwa, the first prime minister of Buganda under British rule, wrote The Kings of Buganda (translated 1971), the first locally written Ugandan history.
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