Gender

Citation:

Bubar, Roe. 2013. “Decolonizing Sexual Violence.” International Review of Qualitive Research 6 (4): 526–43.

Author: Roe Bubar

Abstract:

This study explores how professional Indigenous women respond to the presentation of survey data on sexual assault in a conference setting. Sexual assault survey data presented within the context of colonization can provide a platform for Indigenous women to speak out. This study centers the voices of Indigenous women as central for understanding issues of prevalence. Indigenous women are situated in difficult intersections because solidarity to stand united against ongoing colonial influences with fellow community members and engage decolonization efforts often come at a high cost of keeping silent about their victimization. Understanding the unique position Indigenous women occupy is critical to understanding the dynamics surrounding speaking out and seeking justice for survivors after sexual assault.

Topics: Coloniality/Post-Coloniality, Gender, Women, Indigenous, Sexual Violence

Year: 2013

Citation:

Caraway, Teri L. 2009. “Comparative Political Economy, Gender, and Labor Markets.” Politics & Gender 5 (4): 568-575. doi:10.1017/S1743923X09990389.

Author: Teri L. Caraway

Abstract:

The publication in 2008 of Michael Ross’s “Oil, Islam, and Women” by the discipline’s flagship journal, the American Political Science Review, is a welcome development. It is the first empirical work with a primary focus on gender and political economy ever published in the journal and portends well for the development of research that focuses on such questions. My essay has two foci. The first is a critical engagement with Ross’s analysis of why oil production negatively affects women’s employment prospects. The second is how to further develop the study of gender in the comparative political economy of labor markets.

Annotation:

Quotes:

“Ross’s definition of the workforce excludes the informal sector and agricultural jobs. This analytic move is unfortunately not justified. Since his analysis excludes parts of the economy that employ a significant proportion of women, the full extent of oil’s impact on women’s employment prospects is unclear. For example, one implication of his argument about the contraction of formal-sector employment opportunities for women in oil economies is that women may be forced into the informal sector; their opportunities in agriculture might also shrink, since it is a tradable sector.” (569)

“The way that gender shapes the demand side of employment is undertheorized in his account. Although Dutch disease discourages investment in manufacturing, some oil producers do develop a manufacturing base. Investments are overwhelmingly in inward- oriented and capital-intensive industries, however, which generate little employment and overwhelmingly hire male labor. Yet when inward- oriented labor-intensive industries expand in this context, they can generate substantial female employment.” (569-70)

“Since oil-intensive growth is capital-intensive and creates few jobs, a minority of male workers actually secure the well-paid jobs connected to it, resulting in high levels of income inequality and, often, high levels of male unemployment. Under such conditions, women do not need to be offered very high wages to entice them into the workforce. In other words, the main constraint on women’s employment in oil economies is not that employers do not offer wages high enough to entice women into the workforce but that employers usually do not want to hire women in the first place.” (570)

“The low demand for women’s labor is unlikely to change in oil-based economies until they diversify in ways that develop labor-intensive industries, and this usually only happens once oil revenues fall into secular decline.” (570)

“Economists and sociologists have offered a variety of explanations for women’s concentration in labor-intensive sectors of manufacturing. The three most common are strength, wages, and skill, and they often appear together… If this story is correct, women’s employment in manufacturing should show little variation across time and space because women everywhere are assumed to be the same: cheap, weaker than men, and less committed to work.2 Yet the contours of segregation between men and women in manufacturing change across time, both within and across industries.” (571-2)

Topics: Economies, Extractive Industries, Gender, Women, Gender Roles, Livelihoods, Political Economies Regions: Africa, MENA, North Africa, Asia, Middle East

Year: 2009

Citation:

Bolaane, Maitseo M.M. 2013. “Cross-Border Lives, Warfare and Rape in Independence-Era Botswana.” Journal of Southern African Studies 39 (3): 557–76. doi:10.1080/03057070.2013.823319.

Author: Maitseo Bolaane

Abstract:

During the 1970s, the violence in neighbouring states spilled over into Botswana, making untenable its previous policy of having no army. This article examines the experiences of women in the north-east border regions who suffered violence from South African and Rhodesian soldiers crossing illegally and yet routinely into Botswana. As these incidents show, rape as a weapon of war has a long history in the region, although world attention is more recent. I suggest that a key underlying factor in the cross-border violence was the difficult and incomplete transition from permeable boundaries within a wider colonial space to hard international borders between fully independent and hostile states. As a result, the role of Botswana in the liberation struggle of southern Africa served as the main reason for the regular violations of its sovereignty during that period. The lives of ordinary people straddled the border, and so did the violence of armies, making it crucial to consider the reactions of the people of Botswana to cross-border warfare. I will also use comparisons with other notable contemporary incidents of cross-border violence and cross-border ambiguity, including one incident that took place, paradoxically, in the middle of the country, involving travel on the Rhodesian-owned railway.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Gender, Women, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Militaries, Post-Conflict, Sexual Violence, Rape, Violence Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: Botswana

Year: 2013

Citation:

Tankink, Marian. 2013. “The Silence of South Sudanese Women: Social Risks in Talking about Experiences of Sexual Violence.” Culture, Health & Sexuality 15 (3/4): 391–403.

Author: Marian Tankink

Abstract:

In South Sudan, it is rare for someone to speak about sexual violence. According to the South Sudanese, it can be dangerous to talk — there will be social consequences and talking can destroy you. In this paper, I describe some of the impediments women from South Sudan experience when they try to share their experienced sexual violence with significant others by describing a specific case. The main coping strategy for most South Sudanese women is to keep their experiences secret to protect themselves. The health and health-seeking behaviour of South Sudanese women are influenced by cultural notions of coping with a taboo as strong as sexual violence. I will show that the women's silence is the result of a complex and dynamic reality in the women's everyday lives. The women often experience considerable tension between the dominant public cultural ideas and their private experiences and personal notions. I conclude with a discussion about how women's silence should be respected and the trauma addressed metaphorically to avoid unwanted or uncontrolled social consequences. What is most at stake for the South Sudanese women is the prevention of further humiliation or social exclusion in their everyday lives as a result of sexual violence.

Topics: Gender, Women, Sexual Violence, SV against Women Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: South Sudan

Year: 2013

Citation:

Bryceson, D.F., J.B. Jønsson, and H. Verbrugge. 2013. “Prostitution or Partnership? Wifestyles in Tanzanian Artisanal Gold-Mining Settlements.” Journal of Modern African Studies 51 (1): 33–56.

Authors: D. F. Bryceson, J. B. Jønsson, H. Verbrugge

Abstract:

Tanzania, along with several other African countries, is experiencing a national mining boom, which has prompted hundreds of thousands of men and women to migrate to mineral-rich sites. At these sites, relationships between the sexes defy the sexual norms of the surrounding countryside to embrace new relational amalgams of polygamy, monogamy and promiscuity. This article challenges the assumption that female prostitution is widespread. Using interview data with women migrants, we delineate six ‘wifestyles’, namely sexual-cum-conjugal relationships between men and women that vary in their degree of sexual and material commitment. In contrast to bridewealth payments, which involved elders formalizing marriages through negotiations over reproductive access to women, sexual negotiations and relations in mining settlements involves men and women making liaisons and co-habitation arrangements directly between each other without third party intervention. Economic interdependence may evolve thereafter, with the possibility of women as well as men, offering material support to their sex partners.

Topics: Economies, Extractive Industries, Gender, Women, Gender Roles, Gendered Power Relations, Livelihoods, Sexual Livelihoods, Sexuality Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Tanzania

Year: 2013

Citation:

Boohene, Rosemond, and James Atta Peprah. 2011. “Women, Livelihood and Oil and Gas Discovery in Ghana: An Exploratory Study of Cape Three Points and Surrounding Communities.” Journal of Sustainable Development 4 (3): 185-195. doi:10.5539/jsd.v4n3p185.

Authors: Rosemond Boohene, James Atta Peprah

Abstract:

The role of oil and gas exploration and other natural resources in the economic development of a country cannot be over emphasized. Unfortunately, in most oil producing countries women have not benefited from oil and gas exploration. This study therefore seeks to explore the effects of the oil find in Ghana on the livelihood of women in the catchment area of Cape Three Points. Purposive sampling was used to select two hundred and forty respondents who were interviewed in two communities at Cape Three Points about their anticipated challenges and prospects in the wake of the oil find. Results indicate that more than half of the respondents perceive a decrease in fish catch, loss of jobs for husbands and reduction in income levels. It is recommended that in order for women to take advantage of the oil find, there is the need to create alternative livelihoods such as access to finance; capacity building; training and development; and technical services for women in the catchment area.

Keywords: oil and gas, women, livelihoods

Annotation:

Quotes:

"[Most Ghanaian] women are engaged in microenterprises basically petty trading [sic], craft work, menial jobs and farming with unsecured sources of income. The inadequacy of effective policy guidelines to protect citizens from oil and gas exploitation, in various parts of the continent, have resulted in social conflicts and deep-rooted poverty in oil producing areas and widened gaps between the rich and the poor and also deepened inequalities between various social groups including women.” (186)

“Women in the area believe that oil discovery will offer them some indirect opportunities. For example they are of the view that the activity will boost sales, create job opportunities for their husbands, and increase their children’s school enrolment as they expect financial assistance for their children. It is not doubtful to hope that sales will be boosted. Economic signals in Sekondi-Takoradi Township show that prices of goods and services have started escalating. This gives greater opportunity for women in trading. What women need is financial assistance to expand their trading activities. Economically, one can argue that loss of income from fish activities would be compensated by increase in income from trading activities, all other things being equal.” (190)

“Women will require financial resources in order to fill this employment gap. This is the time existing women entrepreneurs in rural areas can generate new business ideas, expand their businesses, and benefit from the wages and salaries received by men working in the oil and gas industry.” (191)

Topics: Development, Economies, Extractive Industries, Gender, Women, Livelihoods Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Ghana

Year: 2011

Citation:

Bocoum, Brigitte. 2008. "African Women in Mining Partnerships." In Commodity Modeling and Pricing: Methods for Analyzing Resource Market Behavior, edited by Peter V. Schaeffer, 267-77. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Finance.

Author: Brigitte Bocoum

Topics: Economies, Extractive Industries, Gender, Women Regions: Africa

Year: 2008

Citation:

Sone, Patience Munge. 2013. “Approaches to Gender Conflicts on Land Ownership in the Courts of Anglophone Cameroon: Human Rights Implications.” The International Journal of Human Rights 17 (4): 567–83. doi:10.1080/13642987.2013.793084.

Author: Patience Munge Sone

Abstract:

This article examines the Cameroonian legal system on land ownership. It discusses the general underlying principles of the right to land ownership, highlighting land registration as the main determinant. It seeks to find out why there are recurrent gender land-related conflicts and evaluates court approaches in curbing gender conflict over land ownership. The study analyses the existing legislations and case laws relating to land ownership and gender conflict, and a descriptive analysis of findings on the existing registered land is employed to determine whether equal land ownership, which is an inherent right, is respected and protected in the courts of Anglophone Cameroon. Based on the findings, the article argues that the recurrent gender land-related conflicts have their roots in the customary practices influenced by patriarchy. Also, the discriminatory application of the statutory land laws by the common law judges has played a major role in the unequal land ownership in Anglophone Cameroon. The article argues for the institution of comprehensive and harmonized land reform and other machineries that may guide judges in addressing these incessant land-related gender conflicts.

Topics: Conflict Prevention, Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Gender Equality/Inequality, Governance, Justice, Rights, Human Rights, Land Rights Regions: Africa, Central Africa Countries: Cameroon

Year: 2013

Citation:

Bashwira, Marie-Rose, Jeroen Cuvelier, Dorothea Hilhorst, and Gemma van der Haar. 2014. “Not Only a Man’s World: Women’s Involvement in Artisanal Mining in Eastern DRC.” Resources Policy 40 (June): 109–16. doi:10.1016/j.resourpol.2013.11.002.

Authors: Marie-Rose Bashwira, Jeroen Cuvelier, Dorothea Hilhorst, Gemma van der Haar

Abstract:

Artisanal mining is a key source of livelihood in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, an area mostly known for its chronic instability and violent conflict. Although men make up the majority of the artisanal mining population, mining is also central in the livelihoods of many girls and women. In this paper, we take issue with the fact that the current emphasis on conflict-related sexual violence to women has obscured the role of women in artisanal mining. Furthermore, we criticize the tendency to promote women's departure from the mining sector, which has been presented as the best strategy to protect them against the threats of sexual violence, exploitation and oppression. We argue that, given the lack of viable alternative livelihoods in eastern DRC, policymakers should invest more time, energy and resources in trying to understand and to strengthen women's positions in the mining sector itself.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Economies, Extractive Industries, Gender, Women, Girls, Livelihoods, Sexual Violence, Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, SV against Women Regions: Africa, Central Africa Countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo

Year: 2014

Citation:

Cohen, Dara Kay. 2013. “Female Combatants and the Perpetration of Violence: War Time Rape in the Sierra Leone Civil War.” World Politics 65 (3): 383–415.

Author: Dara Kay Cohen

Abstract:

Much of the current scholarship on wartime violence, including studies of the combatants themselves, assumes that women are victims and men are perpetrators. However, there is an increasing awareness that women in armed groups may be active fighters who function as more than just cooks, cleaners, and sexual slaves. In this article, the author focuses on the involvement of female fighters in a form of violence that is commonly thought to be perpetrated only by men: the wartime rape of noncombatants. Using original interviews with ex-combatants and newly available survey data, she finds that in the Sierra Leone civil war, female combatants were participants in the widespread conflict-related violence, including gang rape. A growing body of evidence from other conflicts suggests that Sierra Leone is not an anomaly and that women likely engage in conflict-related violence, including sexual violence, more often than is currently believed. Many standard interpretations of wartime rape are undermined by the participation of female perpetrators. To explain the involvement of women in wartime rape, the author argues that women in armed group units face similar pressure to that faced by their male counterparts to participate in gang rape. The study has broad implications for future avenues of research on wartime violence, as well as for policy.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Combatants, Female Combatants, Gender, Women, Men, Sexual Violence, Female Perpetrators, Male Perpetrators, Rape, SV against Men, SV against Women, Violence Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Sierra Leone

Year: 2013