ABSTRACT
This chapter tackles the everyday bargaining of statehood through encounters of state representatives, ‘traditional’ authorities, and ordinary women. While in Kankan, the local government is an ambivalent sphere for women, the ‘traditional’ authorities are even more so. Nevertheless, women can silently have some influence, as they advise powerful men through their positions as mothers, sisters, aunts, wives, or daughters. This chapter illustrates, with the example of widows who claim their pensions, that the formation of what Asef Bayat (2010) calls a “passive network” can be a useful tool for women to pursue their goals when dealing with representatives of the local government. The chapter further emphasises that even if women are only rarely present during popular protest, the idea that they could be marching on the streets gives them some power. By looking closely at market women and their encounters with local state employees, it illustrates that market women as collective actors can sometimes pursue their goals, not least because they substantially contribute to their families’ budgets. This chapter also argues that having personal relations with state employees is helpful in many ways.
