Browsing by Author "Okumu, Charles Nelson"

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    Depictions of Human Trafficking and Exploitation in Contemporary Africa Using Akachi Adimora Ezeigbo’s Trafficked and Apio Eunice Otuku’s Zura Maids
    (East African Journal of Arts and Social Sciences, 2022) Ocan, Johnson; Okumu, Charles Nelson; Sekiwu, Denis
    In 2020, the government of Uganda reported investigating 214 incidents of human trafficking involving 154 suspects; of these incidents, 118 were internal, 93 transnationals, and three unknowns. This was a decrease compared with investigating 252 incidents (19 internal and 222 transnational) in 2019. This article examines how human trafficking and exploitation impacts on young girls from developing countries using Akachi Dimora Ezeig’s novel; ‘Trafficked’ and Apio Eunice Otuku’s ‘Zura Maids’. Using content analysis, the study engages critical discourse of postcolonial tenets understand the creation of inferiority complex, identity crisis, and cultural erosion among the colonized. As a result of social justice principle of “otherness”, which is a binary opposition between “I/We” and “Them”, the study packages the problem neatly, but offers few solutions for Africa, whilst condemning human trafficking and exploitation as a heinous act on humanity.
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    Experiences with Green Charcoal: A Gender Consideration of Rural and Urban Households in Gulu District
    (East African Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 2024) Okello, Simon; Agatha, Alidri; Mbazalire, Ezekiel; Aoyo, Christine; Atube, Francis; Okello, Collins; Okumu, Charles Nelson
    The study focused on the use of green charcoal, a sustainable cooking fuel made from agricultural residues, in Gulu District, to highlight the experiences households have encountered, from a gender perspective. The study followed a cross-sectional design using qualitative approach which included the use of one-on-one interviews, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and ethnographic observations for data collection. The findings show that households in Gulu District use a combination of cooking fuels such as firewood, wood charcoal, green charcoal, or gas. Furthermore, the study established that there were cases where both men and women had shared experiences in cooking, for example, knowledge of the faster cooking rate, cleanliness, and much ash content involved while using green charcoal. However, to a larger extent, there were gendered differences in cooking activities: while women predominantly handle cooking, men often influence decisions about what and how to cook, revealing underlying gender and power dynamics within households. Key findings indicate that green charcoal is favored for its affordability relative to traditional black charcoal, prolonged burn time, and higher heat output, though it is also harder to light and produces more ash. It is particularly popular in rural Owoo Sub-County, where residents are more involved in its production compared to their urban counterparts in Gulu City. The study concluded that positive experiences with green charcoal have facilitated its adoption and recommends further actions to promote its use. These include increasing awareness of its environmental, health, and financial benefits, improving product quality, and involving women and girls as advocates to expand its utilization
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    Gender Stereotype in Tess of The D’urbervilles by Thomas Hardy and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
    (East African Journal of Education Studies, 2024) Auma, Ketty; Okumu, Charles Nelson
    This study focused on gender stereotypes in Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles (1891) and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1925). The objectives of the study were to: examine the portrayal of masculinity-femininity stereotype; examine the language used in gender stereotype and analyse the impact of traditional gender stereotype on the female characters. The study used the feminist theory to examine gender stereotype in the two male–authored novels to show how they have positioned and portrayed women in their literature in the Victorian period both in England and America The literary analysis was to ascertain whether or not the gender stereotype was a global notion in literature or a misrepresentation of the women not as persons but as sexualized figures. Gender stereotype in these novels was examined using the descriptive research design and data was collected using literary analysis. The findings indicated that both novels portrayed the female gender with discrimination, injustice, dishonesty and exploitatively. This was done with the use of symbolism, imagery, similes and metaphor. The conclusion drawn points to the fact that the quest for a masculine identity is a common theme as male characters are seen struggling to become real men with traits such as: power, strength and robustness whereas female characters were portrayed as sexualized figure used for social status in the male dominated societies. With regard to language stereotype, the male characters employed language to paint negative image in line with the accepted image in the male dominated society. The researchers recommend that detailed and comprehensive studies be conducted in the area of gender and culture and gender and literature in the novel as a genre generally