Women organising in fragility and conflict: lessons from the #BringBackOurGirls movement, Nigeria

Atela, Martin; Ojebode, Ayobami; Makokha, Racheal; Otieno, Marion; Aina, Tade Akin

doi:10.1080/13552074.2021.1979323

Cited by 4 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…To examine protest activities (and expressions of collective agency) I draw upon cases of contention (either women-led protests or movements/campaigns where women participated in large numbers) in Egypt, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Pakistan. These protest cases include: campaigns in three university settings (Alexandria, Beni Suef, and Fayoum) demanding accountability with respect to sexual harassment in Egypt (Hamada et al 2020); the Chiango protests led by women demanding road safety and public service delivery in Mozambique (Khan and Taela 2021); and Bring Back Our Girls (#BBOG), a women-led movement in Nigeria that emerged following the abduction of 276 school girls in Chibok by Boko Haram (Atela et al 2021). I also use findings from a range of women-led protests that focus on sexual violence, misogyny, and labour and citizenship rights in Pakistan (Khan et al 2021).…”

Section: Fragile Polities and Gender-specific Barriersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Women participate in peace, socio-environmental, faith-based, youth, ethnicity, and natural resource movements in fragile polities (Earle 2011). Much of the A4EA research documents women-led protest actions and mass actions where women have participated in significant numbers in fragile polities (Atela et al 2021;Khan et al 2021;Tadros and Edwards 2020). These protests range from small-scale localised protests to national campaigns and movements where women participated as frontline activists and leaders.…”

Section: Women As Protest Activists and Leaders In Collective Actionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While alliances with other civil society actors amplify voice and create widespread legitimacy, A4EA research shows that the women protest leaders and activists in the case studies were wary about engaging with mainstream political parties. Formal engagements with political parties meant the women protest leaders faced increased risk of arrest and other forms of persecution, and a loss of legitimacy (Atela et al 2021;Khan et al 2021;Khan and Taela 2021).…”

Section: Box 35 Legitimising Claims and Sustaining Collective Actionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…And we have done well in that regard, so it is not a challenge. (Atela et al 2021: 327) Sources: Aina et al (2019); Atela et al (2021); Khan et al (2021) The protest leaders in Pakistan engaged with the National Women's Commission (Khan et al 2021). In Egypt, the network between the members of the anti-sexual harassment units at the three universities and the National Commission for Women (NCW) was effective in producing results (Hamada et al 2019).…”

Section: Box 35 Legitimising Claims and Sustaining Collective Actionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The effect of these barriers is confirmed in the polities A4EA researched Oladapo et al 2021). But A4EA findings also show that women can and do navigate restrictive social norms and biased formal rules, and organise using gender-specific tactics that reduce the risk of direct targeting by state security agencies and other non-state actors (Atela et al 2021;Khan and Taela 2021;Khan et al 2021;Tadros and Khan 2018). These gender-specific expressions of collective agency influence the development of women's leadership skills and their capacities to exert political power collectively.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Women’s Leadership and Political Agency in Fragile Polities

Nazneen¹

2022

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Recent evidence from Afghanistan shows that even in the most difficult contexts, women will still protest for their rights. This paper draws on evidence from the Action for Empowerment and Accountability (A4EA) research programme to show how women express their political agency and activism and seek accountability in repressive contexts. A4EA research looked at cases of women-led protest in Egypt, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Pakistan, and explored women’s political participation in Nigeria and Pakistan. The research shows that despite some success in claim-making on specific issues, ‘sticky norms’ and male gatekeeping prevail and govern women’s access to public space and mediate their voice in these contexts. The paper concludes by calling on donors to go beyond blueprints in programming, and to work in agile and creative ways to support women’s rights organising.

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Section: Fragile Polities and Gender-specific Barriersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Women As Protest Activists and Leaders In Collective Actionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Box 35 Legitimising Claims and Sustaining Collective Actionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Box 35 Legitimising Claims and Sustaining Collective Actionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Women’s Leadership and Political Agency in Fragile Polities

Nazneen¹

2022

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Researching governance in difficult times and places: Reflections from Mozambique, Myanmar, Nigeria, and Pakistan

Mohmand

Anderson

2023

Development Policy Review

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Women's political agency in difficult settings: Analysis of evidence from Egypt, Nigeria, Mozambique, and Pakistan

Nazneen

2023

Development Policy Review

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Motivation: Male gatekeeping and biased social norms in difficult settings characterized by fragility, authoritarianism, and conflict create challenges for women's political participation. This article explores the nature of challenges experienced by women and how they exercise political agency in such settings-as voters, claimants, and brokers of services, and as activists. Purpose: I investigate the range of expressions of women's political agency and responses they secure from public authorities in difficult settings. I ask the question: how and to what effect do women exercise political agency in difficult settings? Analysis of the range of expressions of political agency allows a broader view of women's engagement in politics. Methods and approach:The article develops a framework to identify the range of expressions of women's individual and collective agency from Action for Empowerment and Accountability (A4EA) studies conducted in Egypt, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Pakistan. This synthesis explores social norms and male gatekeeping; strategies women use to navigate these and limit backlash; and the changes that result from women taking action. Findings: Evidence shows that social norms and male gatekeeping limit women's engagement in politics and their relations with multiple public authorities that operate in difficult settings. Women use gender-specific repertoires to organize protests and make claims on authorities and specific strategies to reduce the risk of backlash from their own communities and security agencies. The findings show that, while there is some success in claim-making on specific issues and that at a personal level women feel more empowered, these do not necessarily lead to systemic change. Policy implications: Donors and local authorities need to develop interventions that tackle male gatekeeping within political parties and communities to facilitate women's political engagement. Flexibility in funding will enable donors to work directly or indirectly with grassroots and national women's rights groups in difficult settings for developing contextualized, bottom-up interventions. Strengthening pro-gender-equality alliances and spaces for deliberation will help to ensure that gender equality is not co-opted by authoritarian leaders and populist groups and will sustain counter-narratives.

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Women organising in fragility and conflict: lessons from the #BringBackOurGirls movement, Nigeria

Cited by 4 publications

References 36 publications

Women’s Leadership and Political Agency in Fragile Polities

Women’s Leadership and Political Agency in Fragile Polities

Researching governance in difficult times and places: Reflections from Mozambique, Myanmar, Nigeria, and Pakistan

Women's political agency in difficult settings: Analysis of evidence from Egypt, Nigeria, Mozambique, and Pakistan

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