Dr. Sylvia Tamale - Dean of Law

LL.B (Hons)(Makerere); LL.M (Harvard), Ph.D (Minnesota); Dip.L.P (LDC, Kampala).

Associate Professor Faculty of Law, Makerere University and Advocate of the Courts of Judicature in Uganda. Currently teaching "Gender & the Law" and "Social Research Methods". Other subjects taught in the past include Law of Contracts, Bankruptcy, Insurance and Banking. Dr. Tamale's research interests include Third World women and the law; Feminist legal theory and method; Gender and Sexuality; Law and the ideology of race and class; and social movements. She has been a visiting professor at the University of Cape Town and a visiting scholar at the University of Wisconsin.

Books

When Hens Begin to Crow: Gender and Parliamentary Politics in Uganda (Westview Press, 1999)

Selected Research, Publications and Reports

"African Feminism: How Should We Change?" Development Vol. 49(1) (2006)

"Eroticism, Sensuality and "Women's Secrets" among the Baganda: A Critical Analysis" Feminist Africa Issue No. 5 (2005).

"Out of the Closet: Unveiling Sexuality Discourses in Uganda," Feminist Africa, Issue No. 2 (2003)

“Think Globally, Act Locally: Using International Treaties for Women’s Empowerment in East Africa,” Agenda No. 50 (2001)

“Gender and Affirmative Action in Post-1995 Uganda: A New Dispensation or Business as Usual?” in Constitutionalism in Africa, edited by J. Oloka-Onyango, Fountain Publishers, 2001.

“Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Women’s Self-Mobilization to Overcome Poverty in Uganda,” in Sheila Rowbotham and Stephanie Linkogle (eds.) Women Resist Globalization : Mobilizing for Livelihood and Rights, Zed Books, 2001.

“The State, Gender Policy and Globalization in Contemporary Uganda,” in Transformations in Uganda, Cole Dodge and Nakanyike Musisi (Eds.), Makerere University Press, 2001.

“How Old is Old Enough?: Defilement Law and the Age of Consent in Uganda,” East African Journal of Peace and Human Rights, Vol. 7 No. 1 2001.

“Point of Order, Mr. Speaker: African Women Claiming Their Space in Parliament,” Gender and Development Vol.8 No.3 (November 2000). “Cults and Sects in Uganda: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly,” in S. Kisirinya, D. Nkurunziza and G. Banura (Eds.), The Kanungu Cult-Saga: Suicide, Murder or Salvation? Kampala: Department of Religious Studies, Makerere University.

“Towards Legitimate Governance in Africa: The Case of Affirmative Action and Parliamentary Politics in Uganda,” in Legitimate Governance in Africa: International and Domestic Legal Perspectives, edited by Kofi Quashigah and Obiora Okafor, The Hague: Kluwer Law International (1999).

“Refugee Aid, Development and Life in a Camp: The Case of Kiryandongo,” in East African Journal of Peace and Human Rights, Vol. 3 No. 2, (1997)

(With J. Oloka-Onyango) “Bitches at the Academy: Gender and Academic Freedom at the African University,” Africa Development Vol. 22 No. 1, (1997).

“The Outsider Looks in: Constructing Knowledge About American Collegiate Racism,” in Qualitative Sociology, Vol. 19 No. 4, (1996)

“Taking the Beast by its Horns: Formal Resistance to Women’s Oppression in Africa,” Africa Development, Vol. 21 No. 4, (1996)

(With J. Oloka-Onyango) “‘The Personal is Political’ or Why Women’s Rights are Indeed Human Rights: An African Perspective on International Feminism Human Rights Quarterly Vol. 17 No. 4, (1995)

“Law Reform and the Rights of Women in Uganda,” in East African Journal of Peace & Human Rights, Vol.1 No. 2, (1993)

“Rape Law and the Violation of Women in Uganda: A Critical Perspective,” Uganda Law Society Review, Vol.1 No.2, (1992)

Professional Membership

Member, International Council on Human Rights Policy.

Editorial Board, Women and Leadership Journal

Editorial Committee, East African Journal of Peace and Human Rights

Advisory Board, Centre for Constitutional Governance (Lagos, Nigeria)

Board of Directors, Makerere Institute of Social Research (MISR)

The Pacific Sociological Association

Prizes/Awards

University of Minnesota Distinguished Leadership Award for Internationals, 2003.

African Studies Association International Visitors Award, 1999

Fulbright-MacArthur Scholarship, 1993-1997.

The Uganda Law Society Prize for the best performance in the Examination for the Bar course of the Law Development Centre, 1990.

Ford Foundation Fellowship, 1987-1988.

Uganda Association of University Women’s Annual Prize, Awarded to the best female student in the Makerere University Degree Examinations in each Faculty, 1986.