The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been called the ’worst place in the world’ for women, with reports of widespread and horrific incidents of rape and sexual violence and almost complete impunity for the perpetrators of such violence. However, despite the high profile media reporting on sexual violence in the DRC, and the widely publicized responses of the international community, there is still very little real analysis of the real situation of women in the country. This book provides such detailed analysis of gender relations in the DRC, and goes beyond the usual explanations of sexual violence as a product of conflict, to examine the complex and socially constructed gender norms and roles which underlie incidences of violence. The book benefits from a comprehensive account of men’s and women’s roles in conflict, violence, peace building and reconstruction, and evaluates the impacts of national and international political responses. In doing so, this book provides valuable new evidence and analysis of the complex and multilayered conflicts in the DRC.

This book provides a robust gendered analysis and establishes a feminist approach to international actors’ responses to sexual violence crimes in conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the impact of these global political practices on local gendered power relations. Sexual violence crimes in eastern DRC have received significant global attention and triggered calls by the international community to end this violence. This book critically assesses international assistance to the Congolese legal system to challenge sexual violence crimes, to determine to what extent it engages with the continuum of gendered violence from peacetime to conflict. It also examines whether international assistance has produced any transformations in gendered power relations in eastern DRC. The author investigates how challenging sexual violence crimes in conflict necessitates broader female empowerment and engagement with gendered power relations. This book will be of interest to scholars and postgraduate students in gender studies, development studies and international relations. It will also provide significant guidance for professionals working for development agencies and international NGOs focusing on eastern DRC.

Over the past decade, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) and South Africa have attracted global attention for high rates of sexual and gender-based violence. Why is it that courts in eastern DR Congo prioritize gender crimes despite considerable logistical challenges, while courts in South Africa, home to a far stronger legal infrastructure and human rights record, have struggled to provide justice to victims of similar crimes? Lake shows that state fragility in DR Congo has created openings for human rights nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to influence legal processes in ways that have proved impossible in countries like South Africa, where the state is stronger. Yet exploiting opportunities presented by state fragility to pursue narrow human rights goals invites a host of new challenges. Strong NGOs and Weak States documents the promises and pitfalls of human rights and rule of law advocacy undertaken by NGOs in strong and weak states alike.

Violence affects the economy of production and the ecology of reproduction— the production of economic goods and services and the generational reproduction of workers, the regeneration of the capacity to work and maintenance of workers on a daily basis, and the renewal of culture and society through community relations and the education of children Gender and the Political Economy of Conflict in Africa explores the persistence of violence in conflict zones in Africa using a political economy framework. This framework employs an analysis of violence on both edges of the spectrum—a macro-economic analysis of violence against workers and a micro-political analysis of the violence in women’s reproductive lives. These analyses come together to create a new explanation of why violence persists, a new political economy of violence against women, and a new theoretical understanding of the relation between production and reproduction. Three case studies are discussed: the Democratic Republic of the Congo (violence in an era of conflict), Sierra Leone (violence post-conflict), and Tanzania (which has not seen armed conflict on the mainland). This book fills a significant gap on the political economy of war and women/gender for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as researchers in African Studies, Gender Studies, and Peace and Conflict Studies.

Mwamini traveled around the world due to her father's diplomatic status, but her heart was still in Africa. No place was like the Democratic Republic of Congo, her home. Being very young, she had no interest in politics. All she knew was that she had to leave and go into exile in May 1997 because of a coup d' tat. After seven years, Mwamini went back to the DRC and realized that even if the war was officially over, many Congolese were still suffering. She decided to further her education at George Mason University with a master's in Conflict Analysis and Resolution so she could help rebuild her country. As a conflict analysis practitioner, her concern was to understand the Congolese people, their past, present, and the hope they could have in the future. She was determined to solve the conflict because many of those suffering the consequences of the war were her friends and family. Mwamini researched for years and went to remote locations to meet rape victims and child soldiers. Her book starts in 1994 during the genocide in Rwanda, because many victims of the successive wars in the DRC are long-term victims of the genocide. This book relates her journey through the pain and hope of the Congolese women and children. About the Author: Mwamini Thambwe Mwamba Diggs works for the Angie Brooks International Center (ABIC) and Femmes Africa Solidarite (FAS), two nonprofit organizations working on Resolution 1325 of the United Nations. This resolution expresses concern that civilians, particularly women and children, account for the vast majority of those adversely affected by armed conflict. Publisher's Website: http: //sbpra.com/MwaminiThambweMwambaDiggs

The book explains an unexpected consequence of the decrease in conflict in Africa after the 1990s. Analysis of cross-national data and in-depth comparisons of case studies of Uganda, Liberia and Angola show that post-conflict countries have significantly higher rates of women's political representation in legislatures and government compared with countries that have not undergone major conflict. They have also passed more legislative reforms and made more constitutional changes relating to women's rights. The study explains how and why these patterns emerged, tying these outcomes to the conjuncture of the rise of women's movements, changes in international women's rights norms and, most importantly, gender disruptions that occur during war. This book will help scholars, students, women's rights activists, international donors, policy makers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and others better understand some of the circumstances that are most conducive to women's rights reform today and why.

Mageza-Barthel addresses issues of ‘global governance’ in gender politics through such international frameworks as CEDAW, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, as well as Resolution 1325. These instruments have been brought forth by a transnational women’s movement to benefit women and women’s rights across the globe. This book shows how these gender norms were introduced, adapted and contested locally at a crucial time of the transformation process underway. Concerned with the interplay of domestic and international politics, it also alludes to the unique circumstances in Rwanda that have led to unprecedented levels of women’s political representation.