The First Woman: Winner of the Jhalak Prize, 2021

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I recall that in Kintu Makumbi set part of her story in the pre-colonial 1700’s and other parts in modern times; colonial interlopers had left their imprint, however it was not their story nor a story of their influence, except to note the impact on the kingdom and so too is The First Woman that belongs to its people, whose existence grows and evolves from its own origins, belief systems and traditions and is challenged from within.

The First Woman is, unusually, both a character driven novel and equally a book that has important themes. Miiro was a man after my own heart . I liked how he stood up for the women in his life in his own way. The First Woman is a feast of Ugandan history, language, culture, mythology but above all mwenkanonkano—a Luganda word that loosely translates as feminism, but this concept is older, local, not something imported from the west.If you are looking for a book set in Uganda during the 1970s with a strong female protagonist, this book is it! In A Girl Is A Body Of Water we meet young Kirabo who is being raised by her Grandparents in a small village called Nattetta. The story Kirabo was told is that her father, Tom, showed up with her 12 years ago because her mother did not want her. Since then Kirabo have been wondering, who is this woman do left me? She asks questions but no one will give her a straight answer not even Nsuuta, who the villagers call a witch. we are our circumstances. And until we have experienced all the circumstances the world can throw at us, seen all the versions we can be, we cannot claim to know ourselves. How, then, do we start to know someone else?” As a girl, Kirabo's grandmother impulsively ran naked into a rain shower one day. As much older women, her grandmother and Nsuuta do it again, together. Kirabo’s family cannot understand why is not able to move pass being abandoned by her mother. In their mind, she is greatly provided for and taken care of, why does she need to know more about the woman who did not stay around? Kirabo is at that stage where she feels a dual force inside of her, one that is obedient and the other that wants to wreak havoc. Kirabo is growing up, and fast, her world keeps changing, secrets are being revealed that forces Kirabo to question her reality. Growing up in a small Ugandan village, Kirabo is surrounded by powerful women. Her grandmother, her aunts, her friends and cousins are all desperate for her to conform, but Kirabo is inquisitive, headstrong and determined. Up until now, she has been perfectly content with her life at the heart of this prosperous extended family, but as she enters her teenage years, she begins to feel the absence of the mother she has never known. The First Woman follows Kirabo on her journey to becoming a young woman and finding her place in the world, as her country is transformed by the bloody dictatorship of Idi Amin.

Maybe we will learn a lesson and never promote or elect turds for elected office? Maybe we should investigate and have future candidates properly scrutinized and tested? If we learn one thing it is that it is far easier to elect an idiot than a saint in this land. In what I found the strongest part of the book – it then takes what I found an impressively mythical turn, as Nsutta explains her theory that (see the opening quote to my review) Kirabo’s flights are proof that she retains a tie to the First Woman/the original free state of women. She then explains that the myth making of men in all societies (including the story of Kintu – the inspiration for the author’s debut novel) first of all acted to justify the subjugation of the earth to humans and then, crucially, was developed to justify the subjugation of women to men – something which was wider than Africa

Watt also argues that an anonymous eighth-century Life of Gregory the Great could have been produced by one of the nuns in Whitby’s double monastery, not necessarily by a monk. “The emphasis on women within the text would seem to reflect the interests of women, which would seem to suggest female authorship,” she said. Kirabo's grandmother and Nsuuta were best friends as girls. When they played with dolls together, grandmother loved to take care of them. Nsuuta practiced being a nurse with them, using thorns as shots. Grandmother became a nurturing, caring mother to many children. Nsuuta became a nurse.

Rites of passage: interesting amongst these was the topic of Labia stretching (it was really new to me) The third section has village girl Kirabo attend a prestigious English language boarding school – her time there taking place against the increasing violence and disappearances (including Sio – now her boyfriend’s – father) and then civil war of Amin-era Uganda. The author has named Tsitsi Dangarembga’s “Nervous Conditions” as one of her key literary inspirations – but this reader was inevitably strongly reminded of “The Book of Not”.This is a coming of age story set in Uganda, Africa (circa 1970's -1980's), featuring a young girl (Kirabo) who is 12 years old when the book begins. She lives with her grandparents (Miiro and Alikisia) who have been raising her, along with assorted cousins and aunts. Their home is hospitable to their neighbors' children as well. The reader will come to know that the family is large with complex relationships amongst kin. Kirabo is being raised with love, yet feels hurt that her father (Tom) only sees her at his convenience. Kirabo also wants to meet her own mother, whom she does not know.

It’s very easy to let political ideology cloud one’s perspective and honestly there were portions of this book that I did not particularly enjoy because of that, both on my part and the authors’. But at the same time, it was an interesting insight into the women who supported their husbands through the best and the worst and how they each individually coped with the responsibilities and burdens of being First Lady. It was also a fascinating look at how each First Lady interacted and engaged with each other. At any one time there are only a handful of people that can relate to what such a position entails, and you’d think that would make each member of such an exclusive club be supportive of the others. But in true female form, such is not the case. Nancy Reagan was portrayed as elitist and snobby; Michelle Obama was shown as uninterested in fulfilling the position of First Lady; Hillary Clinton came across as power hungry and greedy …. From Mamie Eisenhower onward, there were so many details and insights it became difficult to recall which fact belonged to which woman. In the beginning women were bold, independent, and strong, “but it was too much for the world”. This folklore tale about the first women who walked the Earth is told in a small Ugandan village during the regime of one of history’s cruelest dictators – Idi Amin. The First Woman by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi is a vivid, powerful coming-of-age story, which is driven by indigenous feminism: while her characters are trying to preserve their identity in a patriarchal society, their sense of self-worth is reinforced by ancient myths passed down from generation to generation. this is something a bit special. Part family saga, part coming-of-age story, covering topics as wide-ranging as class, ethnicity, wealth, identity, feminism/ mwenkanonkano, culture, love, property, politics and origin, Makumbi's book was an entertaining and enlightening fictional introduction to modern Uganda.

The contrast of a rural upbringing versus an urban existence, the striving for and effect of education on girls and the natural way that local Ugandan folklore and ancestral stories are part of a way of living and developing and coming of age, in helping young people travel through their concerns and sorrows and strange feelings and unanswered questions.