Decent exposure: Young women mixing schooling and sharpness in Lira city

We examine ‘exposure’ as a new subjectivity among young women in Lira City in northern Uganda. Socialising with men in bars, ‘managing’ boyfriends, being a good Christian wife, are all ways of mixing experiences of formal education with the challenges of navigating a way forward in the complex and evolving context of Lira City. Young women strive to acquire skills of hustling, networking and navigating social situations, which they begin to develop during their time in school and university. They continue to cultivate these skills as they move into early adulthood. Lira City is a landscape where new government legislation, the advocacy work of NGOs, the mass expansion of Uganda’s education system, and unstable marriages, create new opportunities as well as challenges for young women. Young women think through these opportunities and challenges by thinking about what it means to be ‘exposed’ and acting in relation to these thoughts.