An accidental liberation: Ugandan women on the front lines of idi amin's economic war

This article considers one of the most curious outcomes of Idi Amin's military dictatorship-the accidental liberation of Ugandan women. By expelling the Asian population in late 1972, Amin inadvertently opened up a new economic space for urban women. Whether they were forced to engage in petty trade out of necessity or because they received a shop abandoned by the departing Asians, numerous women fondly remembered Amin as the one who taught us how to work. For the first time, they gained access to financial resources and decision-making power. Despite the economic windfall, many women continued to suffer the brutal realities of a harsh military dictatorship. Thus, for most women in Uganda, liberation was partial at best.