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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Women's agency and collective action: peace politics in the Casamance |
Author: | Stam, Valerie |
Year: | 2009 |
Periodical: | Canadian Journal of African Studies |
Volume: | 43 |
Issue: | 2 |
Pages: | 337-366 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Senegal |
Subjects: | separatism conflict resolution women's organizations |
External link: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00083968.2010.9707575 |
Abstract: | In 2000, UN Security Council Resolution 1325 called for the increased participation of women in formal political processes surrounding violent conflict. However, worldwide, women continue to be a minority in formal politics, particularly in situations of armed violence. Contrary to this trend, women have played an influential role in the Casamance peace process in southern Senegal, where a rebel movement has been fighting for independence since 1982. In 1999, women formally began to mobilize for peace and created the Association Régionale des Femmes pour la Paix (ARFP). Using social movement theory as a reference point, this article assesses the methodology, constraints and, most importantly, the gendered opportunity structures surrounding the women's peace movement in Casamance. It demonstrates how women participate in the politics of war and peace through an astute manipulation of gendered platforms and a judicious reading of political context, thus propelling their voices into the formal political arena. This case study highlights practical and local approaches to political participation that may be relevant to women around the world. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. in English and French. [Journal abstract] |