AFRICAN WOMEN AND PEACEBUILDING

Eddah Mutua-Kombo, Ph.D.

September 2004

Course Description

A new global movement is raising awareness and the importance of creating spaces for advocating and women’s concerns about their inclusion at all levels of peace building.

According to the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women report (2004) the number of women participating in formal peace processes remains ''very small'' or are conspicuously absent from internationally sponsored peace processes, where negotiating teams are dominated by leaders of warring factions. The complex task of peace-building requires both men and women to use their resources and roles to build genuine peace.

This course aims to examine major contributions of African women to the quest for peace in the Africa. The course will trace the nature and meaning of peace, those conditions in women’s lives which are unfavorable to its realization, and thus the need to affirm and expand their role in peace-building. Case studies of individual women and collective women’s organizations in Africa will be discussed as signifiers of a culture of resistance collectively created by women to dismantle all forms of structural injustices in their communities. Emphasis will be placed on different forms of contributions - artistic, organized groups- by women engage in peace-building. Additionally, it will discuss the challenges that women face, strategies for addressing the challenges and lessons for sustaining women’s efforts in creating a peaceful world.

Course Objective

The course aims to explore a variety of approaches to peace-building that women have adopted to affirm their inclusion in the new global movement of peace and critically assess their effectiveness in promoting peace in Africa. By the end of the course students will be able to:

• Define peace and discuss the important elements in the definition
• Explain historical and contemporary forms of injustices in women’s lives in Africa
• Identify and discuss a variety of ways women participate in peace-building in Africa Discuss critical issues affecting peace-building process in Africa
• Identify strategies for promoting peace in Africa

Course Material

Recommended Resources

http://www.gwsafrica.org/knowledge/bibliography/pt4b.htm

http://UNIFEM.org

http://UN.org

Recommended Books

Lederach, J. P. books

Gatlung, J. Peace by Peaceful means: Peace and conflict, development and civilization

Pankhurts, Donna M. (1996). Mainstreaming gender in peace-building: a framework for action

Garner, R., (1996). Contemporary movements and Ideologies

Course Structure: Topics

What is peace, its nature and meaning?

• Define peace: narrow and broad definition
• Understanding absence of peace: Philosophical/theoretical issues
• What is building peace/ peace-building

Unfavorable conditions in women’s lives to attaining positive peace

• All forms of structural and systematic injustices: Domestic violence, poverty, unequal access to education, unequal political representation etc

Affirming women’s inclusion in peace-building

• Why include women?: United Nations stance
• Case studies: what are women doing?, How are they doing it? Challenges faced, and strategies for overcoming challenges

Lessons learned

• The future of women in peace-building
• Need to political good will, effective democratic structures
• Continued skills enhancement

Suggested Assignments

• Research paper/Group project: one organized women’s peace movement in Africa and its Diaspora

Ask students to select an African country that examine the types of movements that arise with it. Describe the causes of the emergence of such a movement, its activities, membership, successes and challenges. Does the movement have coalitions, alliances and any other kinds of support locally, nationally or internationally? Examine tools of grassroots activism used, how were the community mobilized, how did the movement get support? What are the reported strains, problems with the movement? How are they resolved? What are the gains achieved? What are the major lessons learned.

• Profile of a woman peacemaker: e.g. Miriam Makeba, Winnie Mandela, Gracia Marcel
• Response to an artistic piece (film, Music, poetry, art etc) e.g. Cry Freedom
• One Test on theoretical literature
• Video Response

Resources

Films and Documentaries by and about Women in Africa

http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/GlobalGender/africafilm.html

www.tenyearsoffreedom.org

http://www.newsreel.org/nav/topics