Barrett dived into the conversation, asking interesting questions, raising interesting issues, rousing some dust. How should writing--if it does--address women's issues? How does her work Tropical Fish achieve this? For Baingana, "writing should first of all, it's about entertainment, enjoying words, and language. Also, the story is about the exploration of being human, of a young girl transforming into a woman. For her, it's all a game of adolescence. It helps us understand what makes us men, what makes us women and it helps us address these issues."
The African publishing sector is undergoing changes. However, Barrett wanted to know if female writers face any particular challenges that their male counterparts do not experience when it comes to publishing? Baingana thinks the challenges that face African publishing are not gender selective however "there are challenges that we face as female writers. The challenge for me now is that I have a four-year-old child. Writing is something that takes a lot of time, mental space but raising a family also takes a lot of time." She equally considers being a writer, being a female writer in Africa a privilege "Just to become a writer is a privilege; it has to do with the kind of education that you got, that you had access to proper health care. You don't become a writer out of the blues but it is because of how you were brought up, a sum of your experiences. There are challenges that women face when it comes to education." (Find out stats about female education in Africa). Doreen Baingana studied Law at the Makerere University, Kampala and has an MFA from the University of Maryland, after which she returned to Uganda, where she still lives.
Baingana also talked about women writers and self-censorship. The society does not think that women writers should be sexually explicit, not in reality, definitely not in writing. She says "You may not realise how much you are self-censored. There are some of my stories that are sexually explicit however there are women who do not write such because they self-censor."
Barrett also wanted to know if there are any such things as women issues. If there are, how does Baingana's writing address them as a female writer? In response, Baingana delves into the world of publishing and its tags for female writing "I think that publishers take female writers as writing about women issues but they take male writers as writing about human issues. So many men get published because of that and there are many women who could have gotten big but are not."
Baingana accepted that she addresses issues pertaining to women in her writing. She made a case for her choice "I think it is about being marginalised, silenced, then you have to make a bigger push to be seen. We have to portray reality. Women are a complexity of characterisations and fiction should show that. Right now, I prefer seeing through female characters. We should be free to write whatever we want."
Baingana is known for her fiction for which she has won awards. However, Barrett made the audience know that she once tried her hands on poetry. She had this to say about her poetry which she called "unpublishable" "I used to write poetry, I still do; for me, poetry is just an emotional outlet. I am still very interested in poetry, and in language though I am better with fiction. So, I sneak poetry into my fiction sometimes."
What role does art play in the society, if it plays any? Baingana made a case for arts. "My initial belief is that art can be valued even as a beautiful thing. However art can help in social development. As writers, we learn to express ourselves about how to be in this world. Art helps us reflect on the realities in the society; look at what art did with apartheid in South Africa. Art can also help with female emancipation. There is also the catharsis too that you feel when art makes you feel better."
Baingana was asked to describe Nigeria, to a Ugandan friend; she had this to say "I fear generalisations. If you write about it, then you can be specific. The diversities her are remarkable. When you go to a different place, you see things starkly: how do you eat hot suya in really hot weather? There is a lot of energy here, a country full of energetic people. I think Nigeria should work more on its public relations because we hear more of the negativity."
The floor was opened to the audience who asked a variety of questions: what should be the impact of writing? What advice do you have for budding writers on publishing? How should women writers deal with motherhood, housework and writing? To the last question, she responded in a funny way "then they have to stop doing housework." Then more seriously, she continued "Most women do not have a sense of self. It is very important for women to create time for themselves. There is the whole issue of work-life balance and it's in finding what's comfortable. It's about the choices that you make in your life. It's unfortunate that people think that you are a "good woman" yet you do not have time to write. What does it mean to be a writer to you? What does it mean being a woman? If you need to write and deal with the household, then hire a maid." She concluded, the audience laughed as they clapped and proceeded to the back of the hall for Baingana's autograph.
