Sustaining Indigenous Governance: The Role of Gujii Women in the Continuity of the Gujii Gadaa System

Abstract

Indigenous governance systems in Africa have historically provided comprehensive frameworks for social organization, leadership, conflict resolution, and cultural continuity. Among these systems, the Gadaa system of the Oromo people represents a highly developed socio-political institution grounded in democratic principles, grade governance, accountability, and collective responsibility. Despite its significance and global recognition, scholarly attention has largely emphasized male leadership roles, resulting in the marginalization and under representation of women’s contributions to the continuity and functioning of the system. This study addresses this gap by examining the roles of women in sustaining the Gadaa system and the indigenous legal and institutional mechanisms that protect and empower them. Among the Guji Oromo who are one of the major Oromo moieties where the Gadaa system is a living institution. The main objective of the study is to analyze women’s roles in governance, ritual practice, generational continuity, and social regulation within the Gadaa system. Specifically, the study investigates women’s shared responsibility in leadership, their participation across Gadaa grades, their exclusive roles through indigenous institutions such as Haadha Bantooyyee, and the legal protections accorded to them from birth to death. The study employs a qualitative research approach using ethnographic methods. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with elders, women leaders, and key informants, participant observation of rituals and social practices, and analysis of oral traditions and customary laws. The data were thematically analyzed to capture indigenous meanings and institutional structures. The findings reveal that women are indispensable to the continuity of the Gujii Gadaa system. Leadership is exercised through marital partnership, ritual legitimacy depends on women’s participation, and women’s institutions play critical roles in public health, moral regulation, and cultural transmission. The study concludes that the Gujii Gadaa system embodies a complementary model of gender relations rooted in balance, mutual responsibility, and collective well-being. The study recommends greater scholarly recognition of women’s indigenous governance roles, legal protection and documentation of women’s institutions, and the integration of indigenous gender-balanced governance principles into contemporary policy and cultural preservation initiatives.