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.

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.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Romi Sigsworth and Cheryl Hendricks

1. Women, peace and security in Africa Conceptual and implementation challenges and shifts

Cheryl Hendricks

2. The convergence and divergence of three pillars of influence in gender and security

’Funmi Olonisakin, Cheryl Hendricks and Awino Okech

3. Women combatants and the liberation movements in South Africa: Guerrilla girls, combative mothers and the in-betweeners

Siphokazi Magadla

4. Feminine masculinities in the military: The case of female combatants in the Kenya Defence Forces’ operation in Somalia

Mokua Ombati

5. Gender, feminism and food studies: A critical review

Desiree Lewis

6. A case study of gender and security sector reform in Zimbabwe

Netsai Mushonga

7. Women police in the Nigerian security sector

Tosin Akinjobi-Babatunde

8. Madagascar: Paving the way to national ‘fampihavanana’ and lasting peace

Gaby Razafindrakoto

9. Sexual and gender-based violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Yolanda Sadie

10. Kenya and Somalia: Fragile constitutional gains for women and the threat of patriarchy

Hawa Noor Mohammed

Bringing together an interdisciplinary team of scholars, this collection of essays intends to enrich and move our understanding of southern African societies, and to contribute to the policies and scholarship of the region, in a pan-African context. The authors aim to vigorously re-examine the complex processes of national liberation and the challenges of post-liberation identity politics, democratisation and social transformation. They further engage with political and cultural economies, in order to challenge and deconstruct dominant discourses in southern African studies and historiography. Taken collectively, the chapters constitute critical reflections on the southern African component of the pan-African ideal, the ongoing quest for a democratic renaissance and greater regional cooperation and integration.

Contemporary Africa and the Foreseeable World Order sheds light on the place of "Africa Agency” in the competitive and changing global system. This book provides scholars, policymakers, and other stakeholders studying and working on African issues with innovative solutions, strategies, knowledge, insights, case studies, and analyses to support decision-making on how best African states should position themselves in the dynamic global system in order to influence key decisions. Featuring themes such as the African Union (AU) and the consequences of the discovery of oil in the non-traditional oil exporting countries, the editors and contributors have demonstrated why and how Africa’s position in the foreseeable world order is largely dependent on the influence of both existing and emerging world powers. .

Contemporary Africa and the Foreseeable World Order sheds light on the place of "Africa Agency" in the competitive and changing global system. This book provides scholars, policymakers, and other stakeholders studying and working on African issues with innovative solutions, strategies, knowledge, insights, case studies, and analyses to support decision-making on how best African states should position themselves in the dynamic global system in order to influence key decisions. Featuring themes such as the African Union (AU) and the consequences of the discovery of oil in the non-traditional oil exporting countries, the editors and contributors have demonstrated why and how Africa's position in the foreseeable world order is largely dependent on the influence of both existing and emerging world powers. .