A Gendered Critique of Women in Peace and Conflict Situations in Africa

Abstract

Many African nations have faced conflicts that have caused many deaths, loss of property and the displacement of the populations. Women always represent the majority of the refugees and internally displaced people after the occurrence of a conflict in Africa. In order to build peace in Africa, women must have an active role prior to and after conflicts just like men. In many peace-building processes, women have taken a back seat even though they are the most affected by conflicts. There are many challenges that prevent African women from participating in peace building processes including domestic roles of women, lack of resources, stereotypes against women, low levels of education, lack of empowerment among other challenges. Women in countries such as Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and many other African countries managed to organize themselves into groups in order to agitate for the peace of their countries. Many reforms in African countries are attributed to women; women’s groups ensured that there were constitutional changes that could recognize the rights of women. Women have been very successful in ensuring there is peace because they often taken moderate positions and ensure that the welfare of every citizen is protected. African women such as Liberian President have been recognized for their efforts in peace building. However, despite the efforts of many women in mediation, some women took up arms and joined men to go and fight against enemies. Some of the women willingly joined armed groups, but others were compelled to join these groups or face death. The paper looks at different conflicts that have occurred in Africa and the role of women in peace in such conflicts. In a detailed manner, the paper discusses challenges women face in the process of agitating for peace and proposes how these challenges can be overcome.

Keywords: Women, Peace and Conflict, Africa