Finding Her Voice in Acholi Cultural Leadership

At just 23 years old, Angee Immaculate Laker walked into a world where few women and almost no young people had a voice.

When she joined Ker Kwaro Acholi, the cultural institution for the Acholi people in Northern Uganda, in 2020 as Assistant Coordinator at the Kitgum coordination office, she entered a space traditionally dominated by older male elders, many over 50 years old, who were respected custodians of Acholi culture and customary law. With little prior experience but a strong willingness to learn, she quickly realized the challenges ahead of her.

“I had no experience,” she recalls. “You walk into a room and find only elders and only men. I admired my culture, but I was also wondering, as a young woman, how would I challenge them?”

Initially, hesitant to speak among respected male elders, Laker chose first to listen and learn from them. She wanted to understand not only the cultural practices themselves, but also why communities valued and preserved them. Over time, she began recognizing that while some traditions helped strengthen communities, others negatively affected women, widows, and young people.

Her turning point came through the Spotlight Initiative 2.0 Joint Programme implemented through the cultural institution. Through trainings, facilitation opportunities, and community engagement, she gained exposure to community dialogues that gradually strengthened her confidence and leadership skills.

“As a facilitator, I gained confidence from learning directly from communities,” she says. “I started understanding the positive and negative effects of some practices, and I learned how to discuss them respectfully.”

Rather than confronting elders aggressively, Laker chose dialogue and respectful engagement. In meetings, she encouraged leaders to reflect on how certain practices affected women, youth, widows, and vulnerable families.

One issue she frequently raised was forceful widow inheritance a harmful practice that places pressure on widows after the death of their husbands.

“I would ask them to look at these practices from the perspective of the women and girls affected,” she explains. “When they understood the implications, they slowly started listening.”

Over time, attitudes began to shift. Elders who once overlooked her contributions began actively inviting her views during meetings a significant change in a space where young women traditionally remained silent.“Now they ask me if I have something to say,” she says with pride.

Today, Laker is one of only four women within the institution and the only woman in the secretariat department in Kitgum. Over time, she has seen more women gradually begin participating in clan leadership and cultural discussions across Acholi chiefdoms something that was rarely seen before.

“For four years after I joined, more women slowly started coming on board,” she explains. “We are encouraging other women and young people to join the institution because change happens better when you are inside the system.”

Her advocacy has also contributed to broader inclusion efforts across Acholi chiefdoms. The secretariat now encourages every chiefdom structure to include women leaders, youth representatives, and persons with disabilities in leadership and decision-making spaces.

Increasingly, women are speaking up during clan meetings something she says was rarely seen before. Laker believes meaningful cultural transformation requires understanding culture before attempting to reform it.

“You cannot challenge something when you do not understand why it exists,” she says. “Young people and women need to learn the cultural systems so they can engage elders from an informed point of view.”

Beyond representation, her influence has also contributed to discussions on restorative justice practices within Acholi mediation systems. She recalls cases where bereaved families demanded excessively high compensation payments after accidents, creating additional hardship for already struggling clans and vulnerable households.

She contributed to discussions within mediation committees on the financial burden caused by excessive compensation demands in accident-related deaths, encouraging leaders to consider the wider impact such decisions have on families and clans.

“I discussed with mediation committees the impact these high charges have on families,” she explains. “Sometimes the whole clan struggles to raise money. We need justice systems that restore relationships without creating more suffering.”

Today, Laker continues working from within the institution to promote dialogue, inclusion, and positive cultural change. She believes lasting cultural transformation requires women and young people to participate directly in cultural institutions rather than remaining outside them.

Her message to women and youth is that: “Speak up. You are Acholi, you know the language, you know the culture. People will listen to you more when you are inside the system. That is how I have been able to influence change from within.”