Gender Analysis

Citation:

Eichler, Maya. 2006. "Russia's Post-Communist Transformation: A Gendered Analysis of the Chechen Wars." International Feminist Journal of Politics 8 (4): 486-511.

Author: Maya Eichler

Abstract:

This article develops a gendered analysis of the Chechen wars (1994-6, 1999-present) in the context of Russia's post-communist transformation. I argue that the leadership used the first war to associate itself with a notion of militarized, ordered, patriotic Russian masculinity in juxtaposition to a notion of destabilizing, aggressive, criminal Chechen masculinity. Justification for the second war additionally relied on constructed differences between civilized, modern Russian masculinity and terrorist, fundamentalist Chechen masculinity. However, men's evasion of conscription as well as women's anti-conscription and anti-war organizing as soldiers' mothers have undermined the Russian state's ability to wage war and use it as a strategy of legitimation. While the second war initially had considerably more popular support than the first, the crisis in militarized masculinity has not been resolved and soldiers' mothers continue to challenge notions of patriotic motherhood. The article demonstrates that a gendered analysis improves our understanding of the state's decision to go to war, its justifications for war and citizens' responses to war.

Keywords: conscription, militarization, militarized masculinity, patriotic motherhood, russia, soldiers' mothers

Annotation:

Topics: Armed Conflict, Secessionist Wars, Combatants, Gender, Masculinity/ies, Gender Analysis Regions: Asia, Europe Countries: Russian Federation

Year: 2006

Citation:

Greener, B.K., W.J. Fish, and K. Tekulu. 2011. “Peacebuilding, Gender and Policing in Solomon Islands.” Asia Pacific Viewpoint 52 (1): 17–28. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8373.2011.01439.x.

Authors: B.K. Greener, W.J. Fish, K. Tekulu

Abstract:

UN Security Council Resolution 1325 calls for a gender perspective to be integrated into the resolution of conflicts. This responsibility manifests itself in a number of more specific proposals, some easily assessable, others less so. In this paper, we begin by considering the success of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) – the poster child for peacebuilding efforts – at meeting these specific proposals. In light of this, we then go on to suggest ways in which RAMSI might meet greater success in fully integrating gender considerations in Solomon Islands by blending sensitivity to gender-based considerations together with a deeper sensitivity to cultural considerations, including cultural understandings of core notions such as ‘policing’ and ‘justice’.

Keywords: Gender, international policing, peacebuilding, RAMSI, Solomon Islands, UNSCR 1325

Topics: Gender, Gender Analysis, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Gender Equity, Justice, Peacebuilding, Peacekeeping, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325 Regions: Oceania Countries: Solomon Islands

Year: 2011

Citation:

El-Bushra, Judy, and Ibrahim M.G. Sahl. 2005. Cycles of Violence: Gender Relations and Armed Conflict. Nairobi: ACORD - Agency for Co-Operation and Research in Development.

Authors: Judy El-Bushra, Ibrahim M.G. Sahl

Abstract:

This book describes ACORD's research 'Gender-sensitive Design and Planning in Conflict-Affected Situations', carried out during 2000 and 2001 in five communities living in the shadow of violent conflict in Juba (Sudan), Gulu (Uganda), Luanda (Angola), Timbuktu (Mali) and the Lower Shabelle region (Somalia). It also includes analysis of data collected earlier in Eritrea and Rwanda. Two main questions are examined in this book: What is the impact of war on gender relations? And can gender relations contribute to conflict?

The analysis in this book explores the term 'gender relations' and unravels it into gender 'roles', 'identities', 'ideologies' and 'institutions/power structures', examining how each of these changes as a result of war. It finds that, while gender is a factor in perpetuating violence, it is also a factor in rebuilding social relations and peace.

This book also addresses the challenges in methodologies and tools for research in turbulence. The aim is to develop flexible and sensitive research methods that go beyond information collection into engaging in joint reflection with communities about issues confronting them. Agencies should no longer continue to work only 'in' conflict rendering practical services, but also jointly work 'on' it with communities to analyse and address the factors which perpetuate it.

Keywords: gender relations, armed conflict, violence, oral testimony, Uganda, Sudan, Mali, Angola, Somalia

Annotation:

Table of Contents:

Working 'in' and working 'on' violent conflict
The evolution of gender policy
Development research and its place in operational development practice
Aims and structure of the present volume

Section 1: EXPERIENCES OF WAR IN FIVE COMMUNITIES

UGANDA
The historical background to the war in Uganda
Gender and ethnic identity in Acholiland
The impact of the war on the Acholi community
Ethnic and gender norms as contributory factors in the dynamics of conflict
Conclusions

SUDAN
The historical background to the war in the Sudan
Impact of conflict on Juba and the surrounding area
Impacts on individual men and women
Impact of the war on gender relations
Gender identity and its contribution to conflict
Conclusions

SOMALIA
The historical background to the conflict in Somalia
The impact of the war on the Lower Shabelle region
The impact on individual men and women
Impact on different clan groups
Impact on gender relations
Conclusions

ANGOLA
Historical background to the conflict in Angola
A sketch of the research area
The impact of the war on Km 9
The impact of the conflict on gender relations in Km 9
Gender identity and its contributions to the conflict situation
Conclusions

MALI
Historical background to the rebellion in northern Mali
Impact of conflict on the Timbuktu area
The impact of the rebellion on gender relations
Conclusions

Postscript

Section 2: THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF WAR ON POOR COMMUNITIES: A GENDERED VIEW

Economic impacts: livelihoods and the division of labour
The personal dimensions of social change in war: marriage and sexuality
Discussion on war and the nature of social change: Do gender relations change?
Gender roles
Gender identities
Gender institutions/power structures
Gender ideologies
Analysing gender relations: a framework
Lessons and challenges
Livelihoods, vulnerability and autonomy
Gender and social justice
Rebuilding institutions
Conclusions

Section 3: MEN AND WOMEN, WAR AND PEACE - DO CITIZENS HOLD THE BALANCE?

Power and patriarchy: conceptual resources for conflict analysis
Complexity and conflict
Gender, power, identity and violence
Patriarchy and the structures of oppressive power
Evidence from the case studies
Patriarchy and violent struggles for identity and control
Gender identity and its impact on cycles of violence
Gender impact flowchart: 'how gender identity can contribute to cycles of violence'
The complexity of conflict causes and impacts
Ways out: strategies for conflict transformation
Conclusions

Section 4: METHODS AND TOOLS FOR RESEARCH IN TURBULENT CONTEXTS

The research process
The strengths and weaknesses of oral testimony as a research method
Open-ended and participatory research as a tool for development

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ANNEXES
Annex 1: Social exclusion analysis
Annex 2: Summary of conflict impacts in northern Mali
Annex 3: Timbuktu Guidelines on Oral Testimony

Full Report: http://www.acordinternational.org/silo/files/cycles-of-violence-gender-relationa-and-armed-conflict.pdf

Book Reviews of Cycles of Violence:

By Susan McKay: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20461148

Topics: Armed Conflict, Economies, Gender, Gender Roles, Gender Analysis, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Livelihoods Regions: Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa Countries: Angola, Mali, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda

Year: 2005

Citation:

Jacobsen, Ruth. 1999. "Complicating ‘Complexity’: Integrating Gender into the Analysis of the Mozambican Conflict.” Third World Quarterly 20 (1): 175–87.

Author: Ruth Jacobsen

Abstract:

A case study of the Mozambican conflict is used to illustrate the need to integrate a gender perspective which is historically grounded and which encompasses social relationships between women and men rather than the existing 'impact of conflict on women' approach. This is demonstrated first by examining ways in which postcolonial states have continued constructions of gender which assign women to the private/ domestic sphere and then by establishing how security in Southern Africa has been mediated by gendered constraints, whether in peace or war. The specific character of the Mozambican conflict is summarised, as are its outcomes in terms of gender relations which have intensified women's vulnerability. This is then related to an examination of the nature of some of the major humanitarian responses to the Mozambican emergency, where there was a wide divergence between stated policies on gender and practice. It is argued that this 'gender gap' is being perpetuated in some aspects of the reconstruction phase, despite women's enormous contribution to the task of rebuilding Mozambican society.

Topics: Armed Conflict, National Liberation Wars, Gender, Women, Men, Gender Roles, Gender Analysis, Gender-Based Violence, Gender Mainstreaming, Humanitarian Assistance, Livelihoods, NGOs, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: Mozambique

Year: 1999

Citation:

Corrin, Chris. 2003. “Developing Policy on Integration and Re/Construction in Kosova.” Development in Practice 13 (2/3): 189–207.

Author: Chris Corrin

Abstract:

The Gender Audit (GA) and associated reports and reviews drawn upon in this article enable an evaluation of how far the intervention processes at work in Kosova since 1999 have been inclusive of gender analysis and supportive of women's and girls' needs and interests. This assessment considers the strengths and drawbacks of various attempts to use and implement gender-sensitive projects. The GA was designed to support the emerging feminist reconstructive politics in Kosova. Its findings and recommendations tackle aspects of empowerment, equity, and opportunities, outlining some developments from community activism as well as outcomes of the international administration. By considering developments over a two-year period, it is possible to place issues of equity and opportunities in the context of change over time, with change at local and national levels linked with developing international dialogues. The article analyses local work undertaken by the Kosova Women's Network to overcome violence against women in war and domestic peace, and reviews international work engaged in by the Kosovo [sic] Women's Initiative (KWI). Many Kosovar women (of all ethnicities) do fully acknowledge their community membership, and recognise the risks involved in talking across their differences to achieve everyday security and reconciliation. International reports and reviews such as those produced in 2002 by the UN Secretary-General and UNIFEM on women, war, peace, and security, as well as the review of the KWI, allow an assessment of how dialogues are changing and what the potential impact of such change might be on policy development and implementation.

Topics: Gender, Women, Gender Analysis, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equity, International Organizations, Peacebuilding, Post-Conflict, Security, Violence Regions: Europe, Balkans, Eastern Europe Countries: Kosovo

Year: 2003

Citation:

Sasson-Levy, Orna, Yagil Levy, and Edna Lomsky-Feder. 2011. "Women Breaking the Silence: Military Service, Gender, and Antiwar Protest." Gender & Society 25 (6): 740-63.

Authors: Orna Sasson-Levy, Yagil Levy, Edna Lomsky-Feder

Abstract:

This paper analyzes how military service can be a source of women’s antiwar voices, using the Israeli case of “Women Breaking the Silence” (WBS). WBS is a collection of testimonies from Israeli women ex-soldiers who have served in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The WBS testimonies change the nature of women’s antiwar protest by offering a new, paradoxical source of symbolic legitimacy for women’s antiwar discourse from the gendered marginalized position of “outsiders within” the military. From this contradictory standpoint, the women soldiers offer a critical gendered voice, which focuses on criticism of the combat masculinity and gendered identification with the Palestinian “other.” While they reaffirm the republican ethos that grants political dominance to male soldiers, they also deconstruct the image of hegemonic masculinity as the emblem of the nation and undermine gendered militarized norms.

Keywords: military, state, nationalism, politics, collective behavior, social movements

Topics: Combatants, Female Combatants, Gender, Masculinity/ies, Gender Analysis, Gendered Discourses, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Hierarchies, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Militaries Regions: MENA, Asia, Middle East Countries: Israel, Palestine / Occupied Palestinian Territories

Year: 2011

Citation:

Gaidzanwa, Rudo. 1995. “Land and the Economic Empowerment of Women: A Gendered Analysis.” Southern African Feminist Review 1 (1): 1–12.

Author: Rudo Gaidzanwa

Abstract:

This paper focuses on the gender dimension of the land and indigenization debate in order to illustrate the problems relating to aggregated claims to land rights, as well as the potential and actual threats to sustainability, efficiency, and productivity which such analyses pose for the livelihood of poor rural and urban women in Zimbabwe. After a review of the literature on land issues the paper proceeds to differentiate types of land - urban residential land, commercial and industrial land, and resettlement land - and the related politics in order to understand better what the debates on land reform mean for men and women of different races and classes in Zimbabwe. Given that Zimbabwe's economy is not likely to divert dramatically from its dependence on manufacturing and agriculture as major contributors to the gross domestic product, it is imperative that policymakers address the question of black peoples', and in particular, women's relationships to all types of land. This would move the land debate forward from its present fixation on the ownership of arable land to issues of access to and control of such land in the short and medium term. (Abstract from AfricaBib.org)

Topics: Class, Economies, Gender, Gender Analysis, Women, Governance, Indigenous, Livelihoods, Race, Rights, Land Rights, Women's Rights Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: Zimbabwe

Year: 1995

Citation:

Fabusoro, E., G. O. Sokoya, O. S. Ayorinde, C. I. Alarima, and O. O. Oduguwa. 2012. “Gender Analysis of Production System and Decision Making in Fulani Agro-Pastoral Households in Southwestern Nigeria.” Gender and Behaviour 10 (2): 4687–711.

Authors: E. Fabusoro, O. S. Ayorinde, G. O. Sokoya, C. I. Alarima, O. O. Oduguwa

Abstract:

The paper examines gender division of production system of Fulani Agro-pastoralists in three settlements in Ogun State, southwest Nigeria, based on gender distribution of activities, roles and resource ownership and acquisition. Data were collected from 29 households comprising 165 respondents. Thirty activities and roles were identified; older men (>50years) performed 34.2percent of entire activities; men (<50years), 66.8percent; women, 48.6percent; boys (<18years), 45.7percent; and girls, 42.9percent. Women spent 14.1hrs on agro-pastoral livelihoods compared to men‘s 13.2hrs. As the role of men is crucial in regulating agro- pastoral activities and gaining access to livelihood resources, the over-bearing of men‘s role in Fulani livelihoods system overshadowed women‘s potentials. Efforts at improving gender division of labour in agro- pastoral system will improve social relationship, remove any form of inequality, reduce workload for women, improve living condition and create more time for educational opportunities for children.

Topics: Gender, Gender Roles, Gender Analysis, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Gender Equality/Inequality, Households, Livelihoods, Rights, Property Rights Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Nigeria

Year: 2012

Citation:

Zil-e-huma. 2010. “Post-Conflict Challenges and Opportunities for Gender Equality in Pakistan Internally Displaced Persons' Crises.” Pakistan Journal of Women’s Studies 17 (2): 97–109.

Author: Zil-e-huma

Abstract:

This paper highlights some post conflict challenges that women and young girls of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa faced during the fastest conflict-induced internal displacement in the world in 2009. The paper seeks to analyse how women who are already vulnerable to all forms of violence, in particular sexual violence and exploitation, including torture, rape, forced pregnancy, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, and trafficking, cope with the impact of armed conflict on their physical and mental health. Some of the post conflict challenges that women faced in the wake of their forced displacement is increase in violence against them, exclusion from the framing of the country's future governance, fragmentation of women's groups and activists. This paper also presents some recommendations for all the stakeholders involved in the loop of development, including the Government, towards achieving the 3rd Millennium Development Goals, i.e. Gender Equality and Women Empowerment.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Development, Displacement & Migration, IDPs, Gender, Women, Gender Analysis, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Governance, Health, Mental Health, Post-Conflict, Sexual Violence, Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Pakistan

Year: 2010

Citation:

Doss, Cheryl, Gale Summerfield, and Dzodzi Tsikata. 2014. “Land, Gender, and Food Security.” Feminist Economics 20 (1): 1–23. 

Authors: Cheryl Doss, Gale Summerfield, Dzodzi Tsikata

Abstract:

Since 2008, a surge in large-scale land acquisitions, or land grabs, has been taking place in low- and middle-income countries around the globe. This contribution examines the gendered effects of and responses to these deals, drawing on nine studies, which include conceptual framing essays that bring in debates about human rights, studies that draw on previous waves of land acquisitions globally, and case studies that examine the gendered dimensions of land dispossession and loss of common property. Three key insights emerge: the evolving gender and land tenure literature provides valuable information for understanding the likely effects of land deals; some of the land deal issues transcend gender-equity concerns and relate to broader problems of dispossession and loss of livelihoods; and huge gaps remain in our knowledge of gender and land rights that require urgent attention and systematic integration of gender analysis into mainstream research.

Keywords: Gender, land rights, land acquisition, food security, land grabs

Topics: Economies, Gender, Gender Analysis, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equity, Land Tenure, Land Grabbing, Livelihoods, Rights, Human Rights, Land Rights, Security, Food Security

Year: 2014