ABSTRACT

There is often a moment in time that acts as a rallying point around a particular issue. 2015 was one of those moments for women, peace and security as numerous landmark anniversaries were celebrated in the field. Africa has, in many ways, been the global laboratory for the gender, peace and security agenda, not only because of the number of conflicts occurring on the continent but also because African regional organisations, governments and civil society organisations have been at the forefront of striving for gender equality and implementing United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325. This book explores gender, peace and security in Africa from multiple angles, including: the conceptual and implementation challenges and shifts around women, peace and security in Africa over the last 15 years; women’s role as combatants in national liberation forces in South Africa; the dynamics of gender in the military through the lens of Kenyan women combatants; food security through a feminist lens; and a series of case studies on the nexus between gender and security in Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Madagascar, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya and Somalia. This book was previously published as a special issue of the African Security Review.

chapter |12 pages

Women, peace and security in Africa

Conceptual and implementation challenges and shifts

chapter |13 pages

Women combatants and the liberation movements in South Africa

Guerrilla girls, combative mothers and the in-betweeners

chapter |11 pages

Feminine masculinities in the military

The case of female combatants in the Kenya Defence Forces' operation in Somalia

chapter |16 pages

Gender, feminism and food studies

A critical review

chapter |5 pages

Madagascar

Paving the way to national ‘fampihavanana' and lasting peace

chapter |17 pages

Kenya and Somalia

Fragile constitutional gains for women and the threat of patriarchy