Female Combatants in African Wars and Conflicts

In most Russian and international studies, including African ones, their authors portray African women that reside in areas affected by civil wars and conflicts as victims of violence, robbery, forced labor, etc. At the same time, it is rarely taken into account that in most national liberation movements and rebel groups the number of women fighters constituted and still constitutes 10-30% of their rank and file. Moreover, many women became field commanders, chiefs of intelligence, or were responsible for the supply of weapons and ammunition. The present authors provide a new interpretation of the participation and role of women in the confrontation between armed anti-government factions and the central government. It is noted that in recent decades, not only in Africa, but also in other parts of the world, the trend towards “feminization of the militarization process” has become extremely noticeable. Many women, along with men, participate in acts of violence, including against the civilian population, and thus contribute to the destabilization of the internal political situation. Women most actively participated in hostilities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Eritrea and Ethiopia. The present paper looks into reasons and consequences of women’s involvement in insurgencies. It is pointed out that while during the years of the national liberation struggle women were motivated by the overarching goal of achieving independence, in later conflicts many of them fought to expand their political and economic rights and opportunities, i.e., to achieve gender equality. In addition to joining “armed groups” for ideological reasons, women tried to prove that they were “no worse than men”; others joined the ranks of the insurgents to protect themselves and other women from violence or death, i.e., they followed a kind of “survival strategy”. Particular attention is paid to suicide bombers, who have been increasingly used by the Islamist organization Boko Haram in recent years. The authors also consider the conditions in which demobilized women-combatants find themselves. The authors conclude that as the level of women’s involvement in African conflicts is constantly growing, it ceases to be an anomaly and to some extent reflects the “successes” achieved by the “fair sex” in the struggle for equality, although the negative consequences of this participation prevail over the positive ones.

Contesting the Fighter Identity: Framing, Desertion, and Gender in Colombia

The growing literature on desertion from insurgent groups focuses almost exclusively on male deserters, with few comparisons to combatants who choose to stay and little consideration of women combatants or the gendered norms and narratives that restrict combatants’ options. As governments increasingly emphasize “counter-narratives” to prevent radicalization and encourage disengagement from non-state armed groups, there is insufficient empirical evidence on how such framing contests between governments and insurgents might affect how recruits calculate their options. With “deradicalization” programs proliferating globally, and disarmament, disengagement, and reintegration (DDR) programs continuing to perpetuate gender stereotypes, it is critical to examine why some men and women disengage from violence while others stay, how they evaluate these decisions, and how gendered norms affect these decisions. Based on over 100 interviews with men and women ex-combatants across seven departments of Colombia, this article examines the effects of framing contests between the FARC guerrillas and the Colombian government, in which gender norms and gendered power dynamics play key roles. This paper argues that these gendered framing contests are critical to individual combatants’ disengagement decisions and, in particular, influence how women combatants perceive their alternatives and manage their exit pathways out of non-state armed groups. Las crecientes publicaciones sobre la deserción de combatientes de los grupos rebeldes se centran casi exclusivamente en los desertores hombres, con pocas comparaciones con los combatientes que deciden quedarse y poca consideración de las combatientes mujeres o la influencia del género en las normas y la narrativa que restringen las opciones de los combatientes. A medida que los gobiernos hacen cada vez más hincapié en las “contranarrativas” para evitar la radicalización y fomentar la desmovilización de los grupos armados no estatales, no hay pruebas empíricas suficientes sobre cómo dichas disputas de estructuración entre los gobiernos y los rebeldes podrían afectar la manera en que los reclutas determinan sus opciones. Con la proliferación de programas de “desradicalización” en todo el mundo, y dado que las iniciativas de desarme, desmovilización y reintegración (Disarmament, Disengagement, and Reintegration, DDR) siguen perpetuando los estereotipos de género, es fundamental analizar por qué algunos hombres y mujeres se desvinculan de la violencia mientras que otros no, cómo evalúan estas decisiones y de qué manera las normas en función del género influyen en estas determinaciones. A partir de más de 100 entrevistas a hombres y mujeres excombatientes en siete departamentos de Colombia, este artículo analiza los efectos de las disputas de estructuración entre la guerrilla de las FARC y el gobierno colombiano, donde las normas y las dinámicas del poder en función del género juegan un papel clave. En este documento, se sostiene que dichas disputas de estructuración influenciadas por el género son fundamentales para las decisiones de desmovilización de los combatientes y, en especial, influyen en la manera en que las combatientes mujeres perciben sus alternativas y gestionan sus vías de escape de los grupos armados no estatales. La littérature croissante portant sur la désertion des groupes d'insurgés se concentre presque exclusivement sur les hommes déserteurs, avec peu de comparaisons avec les combattants qui choisissent de rester et peu de considération pour les femmes combattantes ou les normes et récits sexospécifiques qui limitent le panel de combattants abordés. Alors que les gouvernements mettent de plus en plus l'accent sur les « contre-récits » pour prévenir la radicalisation et encourager le désengagement des groupes armés non étatiques, les preuves empiriques de la mesure dans laquelle un tel cadrage des conflits entre gouvernements et insurgés pourrait affecter la façon dont les recrues calculent leurs options sont insuffisantes. Tandis que les programmes de « déradicalisation » prolifèrent dans le monde entier et que les programmes de désarmement, de désengagement et de réintégration continuent à perpétuer les stéréotypes de genre, il est essentiel d’étudier les raisons pour lesquelles certains hommes et certaines femmes se désengagent de la violence contrairement à d'autres, les facteurs que ces personnes prennent en compte dans leur décision, et la manière dont les normes sexospécifiques affectent ces décisions. Cet article s'appuie sur plus de 100 entretiens avec des hommes et femmes ayant précédemment combattu dans sept départements de Colombie pour analyser les effets du cadrage des conflits entre les insurgés des FARC et le gouvernement colombien, dans lesquels les normes de genre et les dynamiques de pouvoir liées au genre jouent des rôles clés. Il soutient que ce cadrage sexospécifique des conflits est essentiel aux décisions de désengagement des combattants individuels, en particulier pour influencer la manière dont les combattantes perçoivent leurs alternatives et gèrent leurs voies de sortie des groupes armés non-étatiques.

Transitional justice and the challenges of a feminist peace

Colombia’s 2016 Peace Accords with the former FARC guerrillas expressed the triumphs and challenges of feminist mobilization. The resulting deal has been touted as “history’s most inclusive peace deal internationally.” During the negotiations groups of women combatants, government officials, and activists were successful in integrating a gender perspective into the Accords; their triumph extended to the selection of the judges of the new transitional justice system, where gender parity is a first for regional courts. With power, however, come new and complex challenges, not least the fact that perpetrators who admit perpetrating crimes of sexual violence will receive lenient, community service, sentences. Hope is perhaps to be found in feminist peace activism in Colombia, which has far exceeded the reiteration of women’s sexual victimization, and is set to take advantage of the incorporation of restorative justice to insist on the centrality of victim impact statements, the assessment of harm as part of transitional justice, and the incorporation of victim agency and expertise. However, as this article also argues, feminist activists are also right to be skeptical: there is no clear path to the construction of a feminist peace.

Body, Sex/Gender, and Integration of Women into Combat Roles

Chapter 5 addresses narratives of women in combat and in combat-support roles regarding their bodily experiences and struggles to integrate in traditionally masculine roles in the military, particularly in the light of objections to women’s integration into combat forces. Accounts of bodily experiences disturb conventional IR and hegemonic masculine war metanarratives, whose tendency is either to abstract or to glorify combat (or both). These otherwise silenced narratives reveal juxtapositions of feelings of competence and vulnerability. The chapter shows how women combatants situate themselves in a masculine environment and demonstrates the ways in which, having crossed the pre-established imaginary boundary between male and female, they form unique meanings for their war experiences. Through the women’s narratives, issues of body and sex/gender are addressed, alongside nuanced interpretations of what it means to be feminine or masculine in the military environment, to carry a weapon, and to be a combatant.

The Politics of Trauma, Gender, and War

Chapter 4 provides a critical feminist outlook on trauma and presents a deconstruction of binary perceptions about traumatic experiences in armed conflicts. Combat trauma and trauma studies emerged from masculine hierarchic theoretical foundations. Current knowledge about trauma concentrates on men as combatants and women as victims. By focusing on the narratives of women combatants, the chapter’s analysis breaks with the traditional ways in which war-associated trauma has been studied. Hegemonic masculinity has influenced the study of trauma—just as it influences and reinforces everyday practices of gendered identities, particularly gendered identities in a military environment. These overlooked aspects of trauma can be understood through the study of women exposed to combat trauma (as perpetrators or victims or both). By the analysis of the traumatic experiences of women combat soldiers, the chapter challenges disciplinary boundaries by emphasizing the need for a critical and feminist perspective in the study of trauma.

The Negotiation of Political Identity and Rise of Social Citizenship: A Study of the Former Female Combatants in Aceh Since the Helsinki Peace Accord

An identity negotiation process, initiated after the peace agreement was reached, is currently underway in Aceh. This can be seen, for example, in the activities of the women joined in the Inong Balee troop, the women's wing of the Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, GAM) formed in the late 1990s. Their participation as women combatants is inseparable from the strong ethno-nationalistic identity and ethno-political struggle that sought Aceh's independence. Today, more than twelve years after peace was reached in Aceh, the Acehnese ethno-political identity has experienced a transformation. Although it has not entirely disappeared, their activities have been framed as part of Indonesian nationalism. This finding emphasizes that nation is not fixed, but transformable and negotiable. The once ethno-political identity has become a social national identity. This paper attempts to understand how former woman members of GAM through a qualitative narrative. This paper attempts to answer why this has happened and how former combatants have negotiated their identities. Is there still a sense of Acehnese nationalism, as they fought for, and how has this intersected with their Indonesian nationalism since they became ordinary citizens?

The Negotiation of Political Identity and Rise of Social Citizenship: A Study of the Former Female Combatants in Aceh Since the Helsinki Peace Accord

An identity negotiation process, initiated after the peace agreement was reached, is currently underway in Aceh. This can be seen, for example, in the activities of the women joined in the Inong Balee troop, the women's wing of the Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, GAM) formed in the late 1990s. Their participation as women combatants is inseparable from the strong ethno-nationalistic identity and ethno-political struggle that sought Aceh's independence. Today, more than twelve years after peace was reached in Aceh, the Acehnese ethno-political identity has experienced a transformation. Although it has not entirely disappeared, their activities have been framed as part of Indonesian nationalism. This finding emphasizes that nation is not fixed, but transformable and negotiable. The once ethno-political identity has become a social national identity. This paper attempts to understand how former woman members of GAM through a qualitative narrative. This paper attempts to answer why this has happened and how former combatants have negotiated their identities. Is there still a sense of Acehnese nationalism, as they fought for, and how has this intersected with their Indonesian nationalism since they became ordinary citizens?

The Great War (1914–1918)

The Great War was fought from 1914 to 1918, and was officially ended in 1919 by the Treaty of Versailles. Its primary locus was the trench war on the Western Front between the Entente Powers (the British, French, and Russian empires, the US from 1917, and many other nations) and the Central Powers (the German, Austro-Hungarian, and Ottoman empires and Bulgaria). By the time the armistice was signed at Compiègne, at 11 a.m on November 11, 1918, almost nine million combatants had been killed. It was the first truly global war, whose modernity was felt in its scale, technology, and the corresponding speed with which events could be reported. The impact of the war was unavoidable in Europe and was felt in literature at the levels of content and form, in modernist prose and poetry, by men and women, combatants and civilians.