Pathways and Barriers for Women’s Mobilization during Civil War: Nepal, Colombia, and Rwanda in Comparative Perspective

Abstract

The authors greatly appreciate Marie Berry, Heather Fryer, and the two anonymous Peace & Change reviewers who provided very insightful suggestions for the manuscript at various stages of development. A previous version of this paper was presented at the 2019 Midwest International Studies Association conference, which yielded important insights from discussant John Ishiyama and many other participants. We also are deeply grateful to the women who shared their experiences of civil wars with us for this research, especially to those living in Mafraq, Jordan. Funding from the Oxbridge Honors Summer Research Program at William Jewell College and the Hall Family Foundation provided essential support for this project.

Political Empowerment of Women, Girls and LGBTQ+ People: Post-conflict Opportunities

“…Violent conflict can transform patriarchal norms and traditional gender roles by: ▪ Opening up space for women to enter traditionally male-dominated areas and professions, challenging patriarchal norms (Lapėnaitė, 2021;Bakken & Buhaug, 2020). ▪ Creating opportunities for collective agency and women's mobilisation, through participation in armed forces and other leadership roles (Evilsizor & Cox, 2021;Bakken & Buhaug, 2020). ▪ Changing public attitudes toward women, stemming from their adoption of new roles in the public sphere (Bakken & Buhaug, 2020).…”

“…The escalation stage of civil war is a major catalyst for de-stabilising gendered social norms: women with greater knowledge of oppressive power structures and barriers to collective agency can develop new skills, interests, and platforms for mobilisation during civil wars (Evilsizor & Cox, 2021). Mobilisation momentum can carry over into the peacemaking process and influences the development of institutions that provide women access to formal political power (Evilsizor & Cox, 2021). Risks to sustained collective agency and mobilisation, however, include:…”

“…▪ Tension between international norms related to empowerment of women and SGM groups , on the one hand, and local realities, on the other. This can lead to tokenistic institutions, where minority groups are represented but do not have real power (Evilsizor & Cox, 2021). ▪ The (re)emergence of identity-based politics during statebuilding, which can fragment previously unified women's networks (Evilsizor & Cox, 2021).…”

“…This can lead to tokenistic institutions, where minority groups are represented but do not have real power (Evilsizor & Cox, 2021). ▪ The (re)emergence of identity-based politics during statebuilding, which can fragment previously unified women's networks (Evilsizor & Cox, 2021). In Liberia, the strong women's movement started to fragment post-conflict, with divisions of class, religion, ethnicity and age re-emerging (Debusscher & Almagro, 2016).…”

“…anti-corruption, anti-racism) (Nagle, 2020). ▪ Patriarchal backlash and structural repression of women's formal political representation (Evilsizor & Cox, 2021).…”