Title: Empowerment boom or bust? Assessing women's post-conflict empowerment initiatives
Abstract: Abstract Over the past decade, the term ‘empowerment’ has been generously employed and woefully ill-defined. In particular, women's empowerment has been embraced by such a vast number of development actors that it appears to be a unifying mission within development. Despite the boom in women's empowerment initiatives, there remains little critical analysis of the use of empowerment in general, and the perceived success or failures of specific empowerment initiatives. Using the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process in Sierra Leone as a case study, this paper examines how reintegration was described as a source of empowerment for women. Drawing from interviews and analysis of related policy discourses, it is argued that, rather than representing a radical shift in development approaches towards more inclusive and representative policies, empowerment projects are shaped by neoliberal ideas such as individualism, responsibility and economic order and carry implicit, gendered and disciplining messages about appropriate social behaviour. Notes 1 See also McKay and Mazurana (Citation2004), Cockburn (Citation1999), Whitworth (Citation2004). 2 The Kamajors were an armed militia group primarily consisting of members of the Mende ethnic group. 3 Aid in Support of Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment: Statistics based on DAC Member's reporting on the Gender Equality Policy Maker, 2004-2005. OECD-DAC Secretariat. Creditor Reporting System database, www.oecd.org/dataoecd/7/55/38898309.pdf (accessed 10 April 2009). 4 See for example A Resource Guide for Gender Theme Groups. Report by the United National Development Fund for Women. New York, NY, January 2005, http://www.undp.org.pl/files/536/resource_guide.pdf 5 < http://www.oecd.org/>, accessed 22 February 2009. 6 Interview with Edward Anague, Director of the Community Empowerment and Development Agency (CEDA) Organization, Kissy, East Freetown, Sierra Leone, 28 November 2005. 7 Of the approximately 75,000 adult combatants disarmed at the end of the conflict in Sierra Leone, just under 5000 were females. Girls made up about eight per cent of the 6845 child soldiers disarmed. 8 See also Shepler (Citation2002). 9 Interview with Bintue J Magona. Director of the National Commission for War Affected Children (NACWAC), Freetown, 18 November 2005; Sulay B Sesay, Information and Sensitization Unit Manager, DDR/Project Manager, Freetown, 16 December 2005; and Hamidu Jalloh, Country Officer for UNDP Sierra Leone, Freetown, 15 December 2005. 10 Interviewee #67. 11 Interviewee #73. 12 Interviewee #59. 13 Interviewee #70, 62, 54. 14 Interviewee #58, 57. 15 Interviewee #68. 16 Interviewee #56. 17 The actual names of the female soldiers have been changed to protect their identity. 18 Interviewee #42. 19 Interviewee #11. 20 Interviewee #11, 22, 24, 53, 67. 21 Interviewee #5. 22 Interviewee #37. 23 Interviewee #18. 24 Interview with Sulay Sesay, Information and Sensitization Unit Manager, DDR/Project Manager, Capacity Development, Freetown, 16 December 2005. 25 Interview with Edward Anague. 26 Interview with Isha Kamara, Social Worker for the ‘Girls Left Behind’ programme, Makeni, Sierra Leone, 23 November 2005. 27 Interview with Catherine Zainabl Tarawally. Director of Human Rights Awareness in Makeni and manager of a radio station in Makeni, Sierra Leone, Makeni, Sierra Leone, 24 November 2005.
Publication Year: 2009
Publication Date: 2009-06-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 32
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