War, Women and Post-Conflict Empowerment: Lessons from Sierra Leone

by Josephine Beoku-Betts (Editor), Fredline A. M'Cormack-Hale (Editor)

Overview

Since the 1991-2002 civil conflict ended in Sierra Leone, the country has failed to translate the accomplishments of women's involvement in bringing the war to an end into meaningful political empowerment. This is in marked contrast to other post-conflict countries, which have increased the political participation of women in elected and appointed office, increased the representation of women in leadership positions, and enacted constitutional reforms promoting women's rights.

Written by Sierra Leonean and Africanist scholars and experts from a broad range of disciplines, this unique volume analyses the historical and contextual factors influencing women's political, economic and social development in the country. In drawing on a diverse array of case studies – from health to education, refugees to international donors – the contradictions, successes and challenges of women's lives in a post-conflict environment are revealed, making this an essential book for anyone involved in women and development.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781786996947
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	08/24/2023
Series:	Politics and Development in Contemporary Africa
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.64(d)

About the Author

Josephine Beoku-Betts is Professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Sociology at Florida Atlantic University, USA. She is also co-President of the Research Committee on Women and Society of the International Sociological Association.

Fredline A. M'Cormack-Hale is Associate Professor with the School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University, USA. She also serves as Research and Policy Director for the Institute for Governance Reform in Sierra Leone.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Josephine Beoku-Betts and Fredline M'Cormack-Hale

Foreword
Filomina Chioma Steady

Part 1: Conceptual Frameworks

Chapter 1 Understanding the Politics of Women and Gender Equality in Sierra Leone: Opportunities and Possibilities
Josephine Beoku-Betts Fredline M'Cormack-Hale

Chapter 2 Transformative Narratives: The Empathetic Imagination, Empowerment, and Women in Post-War Sierra Leone
Arthur Onipede Hollist

Part 2: Women in Politics

Chapter 3 Zainab Hawa Bangura's Early Career as an Activist in Sierra Leone, 1994–2005
LaRay Denzer

Chapter 4 Bastards in Politics”: Violence Against “Political” Women in Sierra Leone's Post-War Politics
Hussainatu J. Abdullah

Chapter 5 Women Chiefs, Women's Empowerment, and a Feminist Agenda in Contemporary Sierra Leone
Lynda R. Day

Part 3: Issues in Women's Empowerment: Legal, Social, and Economic

Chapter 6 Women and Law Reform in Post-War Sierra Leone
Peter A. Dumbuya

Chapter 7 Barriers to Girls Education in Rural Sierra Leone: Results of Participatory Research
Susan Shepler

Chapter 8 Where Does She Enter? (Re) Defining the Role of Traditional Birth Attendants in Sierra Leone
Fredanna M. McGough

Chapter 9 Gender Based Violence in the Age of Ebola
Lyn Graybill

Part 4: Mobilizing to Advance Women's Empowerment: Internal and External Actors

Chapter 10 UNHCR's Gender Policy for Refugees and Returbanees in Sierra Leone: Health, Well-Being and Political Agency
Claudena Skran

Chapter 11 From Local Discussion Groups to Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp: Sierra Leone Women Mobilizing for Women's Rights in Sierra Leone
Amy Smythe

Chapter 12 The Politics of Religion and Women's Activism: Women's “Choices” in the Abortion Bill and Constitutional Review Debates
Aisha Fofana Ibrahim

Chapter 13 Sierra Leonean Women Mobilizing for Change: Revising the Sexual Offenses [Amendment] Act of 2019
Fredline A. O. M'Cormack-Hale

Editorial Reviews

Finally, a book on post-conflict transitions that centres and celebrates the deep knowledge, diversity, and richness of Black women's perspectives and experiences of post-conflict empowerment. This book is a welcome relief from simplified takes on gender and post-conflict that often centre whiteness and assume a singular experience of women post-conflict. Instead, this book takes the reader on a fascinating jourbaney that explores the multiple meanings, obstacles, and gendered politics of post-conflict empowerment for Sierra Leonean women.” —Megan MacKenzie, Professor, Simon Fraser University, Canada

“This volume offers an excellent, comprehensive examination of Sierra Leonean women's activism in ending the Civil War, establishing democracy and advancing gender equality. Coming from academic, policy and activist backgrounds, these authors succeed in providing a pathbreaking book – one which takes a transdisciplinary approach in recognizing the critical role of intersectionality and African-centered frameworks (as opposed to neoliberal approaches) in understanding Sierra Leonean women's lived experiences and long history of activism. While many challenges remain for Sierra Leonean women in their quest for a more unified women's movement and full gender equality, this book grapples with these complexities and offers recommendations for achieving gender justice. This is an inspiring collection which makes a major contribution to Feminist, Africanist and Global South scholar-activism!” —Mary J. Osirim, Professor of Sociology, Bryn Mawr College, USA

“This book is a crucial and timely contribution to expanding literature on women, war, and post conflict reconstruction as it meticulously accentuates copious applications in which women's agency in Sierra Leone has been deployed to secure their hard-won gains.” —ACCORD

From the Publisher