Gender-based Violence in Africa - Course Outline

Theorizing violence

Excerpts from:

• Amrtya Sen, Identity and Violence:the Illusion of Destiny London: Penguin, 2006
• Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, A Human Being Died That Night Cape Town: David Philip, 1998
• Judith Butler, Precarious Life, the Power of Mourning and Violence London: Chatwin 2004
• Pema Chodron, Practicing Peace in Times of War Boston and London, Shambala, 2006
• Arundhati Roi, “Do turkeys enjoy Thanksgiving?”, speech made at World Social Forum, 2004

A range of complex and powerful writings exist which seek the address the current prevalence of gender-based violence. Most are written with good intentions – seeking to inform, understand causes and impact, look for solutions and interventions. For someone seeking activist solutions, there seem to be few genuinely radical options for societies in which gender-based violence is not an option for social control… I find this disheartening
^{Xoliswa Cooke, 2007}

The violence of gender?

This seminar explores critical debates on the ways in which gender operates as a force of social organization, and attempts to ground notions of “gender-based violence” within a politics of identity-negotiation which has deep implications for understanding citizenship, culture, and the material environment.

Movie to be screened: Boys Don’t Cry:

• Judith Butler, Chapter One from Undoing Gender, New York: Routledge, 2004
• Zanele Muholi, “Thinking through lesbian rape”, in Agenda, #61, 2004
• Gear, Sasha, “Rules of Engagement: Structuring sex and damage in men’s prisons and beyond,” in Men Behaving Differently, edited by Graeme Reid and Liz Walker, Cape Town: DoubleStorey Books, 2005. click here  
• Kate Bornstein, “Gender Terror, Gender Rage,” in The Transgender Studies Reader, edited by Susan Stryker and Stephen White, New York and London: Taylor and Francis, 2006
• Muthien, Bernedette. 2003. “Why are you not married yet?” Heteronormativity in the African women’s movement. Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights Newsletter 79 (2).
• Armstrong, A. 1998. Culture and Choice: Lessons from Survivors of Gender Violence in Zimbabwe. Harare: Violence Against Women in Zimbabwe Research Project.
• Simpson, G. 1997. Jack-asses and Jackrollers: Rediscovering gender in understanding violence. Johannesburg: Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation click here

Introduction: The “voices” of survivors: issues of “data”

This seminar explores the routes through which survivors’ experiences of diverse forms of gender-based violence have become “data” or “knowledge” within our societies. What are the politics, and challenges of this form of knowledge-production?

Required Readings:

• Amnesty International. 2007. Uganda: ‘Doubly Traumatised lack of access to justice for female victims of sexual and gender-based violence in northern Uganda’ click here
• Foreword and Introduction. Steyn, Melissa and van Zyl , Mikki (eds). 2009. ‘The Prize and the Price - Shaping sexualities in South Africa’. HSRC Press. click here  
• Jane Foress Bennett, “Credibility, plausibility and autobiographical oral narrative: some suggestions from the analysis of a rape survivor’s testimony”, in Ann Levett, Amanda Kottler, Erica Burman and Ian Parker, eds. Culture, Power & Difference:Discourse Analysis in South Africa, London and Cape Town, Zed and UCT Press, 1997
• John Pape, “Black and White: The ‘Perils of Sex’ in Colonial Zimbabwe”, Journal of Southern African Studies, 16, 4: 699-720. 1990
• Ken Plummer, “Women’s Culture and Rape Stories,” and “Recovery Tales,” from Telling Sexual Stories: Power, Change and Social Worlds London and New York: Routledge, 1995
• Nthabiseng Motsemme, “The Mute Always Speak: Women’s Silences at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission”, Current Sociology, September, 2004
• Roy Porter, “Rape – Does It have a Historical Meaning?” in Rape: An Historical and Social Enquiry, edited by Sylvana Tomaselli and Roy Porter, Basil Blackwell, 1986
• Zeleza, P. T.“Gender Biases in African Historiography.” In Engendering African Social Science, edited by Ayesha M. Imam, Amina Mama, and Fatou Sow. Dakar, Senegal: Council for Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), 1999.

Excerpts from:

• Yvonne Vera: Under the Tongue
• K Sello Duiker: The Quiet Violence of Dreams
• Nothemba Ngcwecwe: Not the End of the World
• Huda Sharaawi. Harem Years: The Memoirs of an Egyptian Feminist

Current African debates in gender-based violence studies

Required Readings:

• Adomako Ampofo, Akosua, Osman Alhassan, Francis Ankrah, Deborah Atobrah, and Moses Dortey. 2004. Report on the child sexual exploitation in Accra study. Accra, Ghana: Unicef/Institute of African Studies.
• Bennett, J. 2000. “Research Review: Gender-Based Violence, Poverty Alleviation and Peace-Negotiation in South Africa.“ OXFAM/IDRC.
• Centre for Human Rights. “Gender-based violence in Africa: Perspectives from the Continent”. click here  
• December Green, Chapter 2 Gender Violence in Africa: African Women’s Responses MacMillan Press, 1999
• Ratele, Kopano. 2004. Kinky politics. In Rethinking sexualities in contexts of gender, edited by Signe Arnfred. Uppsala, Sweden: Nordic Africa Institute. click here
• Rumbold, V. and Keesbury, J. “Sexual and Gender-based Violence in Africa: Literature. Review.” February 2008. Nairobi: The Population Council.
• Truong, Thanh-Dam. 2006 ‘Poverty, Gender and Human Trafficking in Sub-Saharan Africa: Rethinking Best Practices in Migration Management’, UNESCO. click here
• Vetten, L. 2005. “Addressing domestic violence in South Africa: reflections on strategy and practice”. click here  

Optional Overviews/Reviews:

• Ampofo, Beoku-Betts, Njambi and Osirim. 2004. “Women’s and Gender Studies in English-Speaking Sub-Saharan Africa: A Review of Research in the Social Sciences”, in Gender and Society, pg. 692. click here  
• Lewis, Desiree. 2002. Review essay: African feminist studies: 1980-2002. Gender and Women’s Studies Africa. click here
• Mama, Amina. 1996. Women’s studies and studies of women in Africa during the 1990s. Working paper series 5/96. Dakar, Senegal: CODESRIA.

Interlocking questions: gender, sexuality and violence 1

• Adomako Ampofo, Akosua. 2004.”’By God’s grace I had a boy’: Whose ‘unmet need’ and ‘dis/agreement’ about childbearing among Ghanaian couples”, In ‘Rethinking sexualities in Africa’, edited by Signe Arnfred. Uppsala, Sweden: Nordic Africa Institute. click here
• Kiragu and Nyongo, “LGBTI Organizing in East Africa: The True Test for Human Rights Defenders,” Urgent Action, March, 2006
• Mumbi Machera, “Opening a Can of Worms: A Debate of Female Sexuality,” in ‘Rethinking Sexualities in Africa’, ed. Signe Arnfred, Nordic Africa Institute, 2004. click here  
• Signe Arnfred, “Re-thinking Sexualities in Africa: Introduction”, Rethinking Sexualities in Africa, ed. Signe Arnfred, Nordic Africa Institute, 2004. click here  
• Steyn, Melissa and van Zyl , Mikki (eds). 2009. ‘The Prize and the Price - Shaping sexualities in South Africa’. HSRC Press. click here  
• Sylvia Tamale, “Out of the Closet: Unveiling Sexuality Discourses in Uganda,” in Feminist Africa, 2, 2003. click here 
• Vasu Reddy, “Perverts and sodomites: homophobia as hate speech in Africa,” in Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 2002.

Drawing from the readings, please prepare the following questions for discussion:

• What are the key theoretical challenges to discussions of ‘sexualities’ with African contexts?
• Identify the connections between gender, culture, and sexuality that seem most powerful to you
• Choose one piece and identify four arguments it suggests which help us unpack the shape and politics of gender-based violence. Then critique the piece in terms of its capacity to offer activists interested in challenging gender-based violence a way forward – this needs to be a theoretical critique.
• Do the articles – as a group – suggest connections between homophobia and cultural norms which ‘explain’ the prevalence of gbv? If so, what are the connections? If not, where are the ‘unbridged gaps’?

Interlocking questions: gender, sexuality, and violence 2: the question of “culture”

This is the final seminar in the interlocking questions theme, and tackles the question of “cultural abuse”, through a discussion of female circumcision which we will use to explore other areas sometimes identified as versions of “cultural abuse”: sexual harassment, virginity-testing, abduction.
Definitions of “cultural abuse” will be debated.

• Assitan Diallo. ‘Paradoxes of female sexuality in Mali: On the practices of Magnonmakaand Bolokoli-kela.’ In ‘Rethinking sexualities in Africa’, edited by Signe Arnfred. Uppsala, Sweden: Nordic Africa Institute. 2004. click here  
• Helen Moffett, “These Women, They Force Us to Rape Them!” Journal of Southern African Studies, Vol. 32, 1, 2006
• Kailash Bhana, “‘Asking for Help is Hard to Do’: The costs and consequences of gender-based violence to South African women”, paper presented at 2003 International Victimology Symposium, Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation
• Liselott Dellenborg, “A Reflection on the Cultural Meanings of Female Circumcision. Experiences from fieldwork in Casamance, Southern Senegal”, in ‘Rethinking Sexualities in Africa’, ed. Signe Arnfred, Nordic Africa Institute, 2004. click here 
• Peacock, D. and Khumalo, B. 2007. ‘“Bring Me My Machine Gun”: Contesting Patriarchy and Rape Culture in the Wake of the Jacob Zuma Rape Trial’. Sonke Gender Justice Network. click here 
• Thandabantu Nhlapo, “The African customary law of marriage and the rights conundrum,” in Beyond Rights talk and Culture Talk, edited Mahmoud Mamdani, David Philip Publishers, 2002

Geo-politics and GBV

After having gained insights into politics of representation of GBV as well as after having been given an idea of current debates on the continent surrounding GBV, students are asked to locate these debates within a globalising world characterised by growing inequality between those with abundant access to resources (the industrialized Nations) and those caught in the grind of spreading poverty (the rest of the planet). Students are subsequently asked to identify possible differences between the meanings of GBV in the North and those in the South, identify their sources and then compare these differences in meaning against their differing occurences of GBV in an African context as enmeshed into global power politics.

Readings:

• Adomako Ampofo, Akosua. 2001. ‘The sex trade: Globalisation and issues of survival in sub-Saharan Africa’. Research Review 17 (1): 27-43. click here 
• Benjamin, Saranel. 2001. ‘Masculinisation of the state and the feminization of poverty’. Agenda 48:68-74. click here
• Deedat, H. and van der Westhuizen, C. 2004. ‘The socio-economic impact of trade liberalisation and employment loss on women in the South African clothing industry: A Cape Town case study’, FOCCISA. click here 
• Emeagwali, G. 1995. ‘Women pay the price: Structural adjustment in Africa and the Caribbean’. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press.
• Fall, Yassine. 1999. ‘Globalization, its institutions and African women’s resistance’. In ‘Africa: Gender, globalization and resistance’, edited by Yassine Fall. Dakar, Senegal: AAWORD Book Series.
• Gana Shettima, Abba. 1998. ‘Gendered work patterns in the endangered Sahelian rural environment: Exploring three layers of exploitation’. Africa Development 23 (2): 163-183.
• Mama, A. 1997. “Heroes and Villians: Conceptualising Colonial and Contemporary Violence Against Women in Africa”, in Alexander, M. and Mohanty, C. eds. Feminist Genealogies, Colonial Legacies, Democratic Futures. New York/London: Routledge.
• Mbilinyi, Marjorie. 1991. ‘Big slavery: Agribusiness and the crisis in women’s employment in Tanzania’. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: Dar es Salaam University Press.
• Tsikata, Dzodzi (2002). “Effects of structural adjustment on women and the poor” from The Third World Network Website at: (6p.) click here

Optional:

• Amin, Samir (1997) ‘Capitalism in the Age of Globalisation’, Zed, London
• Munguti, Kaendi, Edith Kabui, and Mabel Isoilo. 2002. ‘The implications of economic reforms on gender relations: The case of poor households in Kisumu Slums’. In ‘Gender, economic integration, governance and methods of contraceptives’, edited by Aicha Tamboura Diawara. Dakar, Senegal: AAWORD Book Series
• Samson, Melanie, (1997) ‘Women workers: paying for globalisation’, South African Labour Bulletin, 21,1, 8-13
• Sassen, Saskia (1998) ‘Globalisation and Its Discontents’, The New Press, New York.

The politics of Donorism/ The donorism of Politics?

In this section students are asked to interrogate the politics of funding more closely. Seeing that any sustainable activism aimed at transforming gender relations within society holistically mainly depends on sustained funding, this section will focus on deconstructing the effect of funding politics on GBV activism.

Readings:

• Budlender, D. and Kuhn J. 2007. “Where is the money to address gender-based violence?”. CSVR. click here  
• Kerr, J. Alpizar Duran, L. Clark, C. Sprenger, E. and VeneKlasen, L. 2006. ‘Where is the money for Women’s Rights?’, AWID. Toronto. click here
• Kerr, Joanna. 2007 ‘The Second FundHer Report: Financial Sustainability for Women’s Movements Worldwide’, AWID. click here  

Legal Activism

Presentation:

As this week’s work will focus on legal reform, the following websites will be relevant:

Women in Law in Southern Africa
Women’s Legal Centre, Cape Town

Gender and Law section/GWSAfrica (to be linked)

Women Living under Muslim Law

The week’s session will review some of the general trends in the area, and concentrate on issues of sexual harassment/meanings of ‘safeness’

• Bennett, J. Chapters 1 and 2 of Killing a Virus With Stones Cape Town; African Gender Institute, 2005. click here  
• Finchilescu, G. 1997. “Sexual Harassment on a South African University Campus: Reverberations from Apartheid.” Sexuality & Culture, 1:191–211.
• Hallam, R. 1994. ‘Crimes without punishment: Sexual harassment and violence against female students in schools and universities in Africa’. Discussion paper no. 4, Africa Rights, London.
• Mayekiso, T. and Bhana, K. 1997. “Sexual Harassment: Perceptions and Experiences at the University of Transkei.” South African Journal of Psychology, 27, 4:230–236.
• Shoukry, Dr. A. and Hassan, R. M. 2008. ‘”Clouds in Egypt’s Sky” - Sexual Harassment: from Verbal Harassment to Rape’. Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights (ECWR). click here 

Tools for legal activism on the continent:

• UN Resolution on ‘Intensification of efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women’. click here  
• AU Maputo Protocol on rights of women – effective 25 Nov. 2005 – articles 4, 5, 11. click here  
• Maputo Plan of Action for the Operationalisation of the Continental Policy Framework on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. 2006. click here
• ‘Nairobi Declaration On Womens’ And Girls’ Right To A Remedy And Reparation’.2007. click here  
• ‘The Rio Declaration: Global Symposium on Engaging Men and Boys on Achieving Gender Equality’. 2009. click here  
• ‘SADC Protocol on Gender and Development’. 2008. click here
• ‘SADC - Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan’ (RISDP) click here  
• ‘UN Resolution on the trafficking in women and girls’. 2009. 

NGO Activisms

Guest speakers:

see Activists’ Profiles

NGO’s:

• Kivulini
• Raising Voices
• Mifumi
• Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children
• WANEP
• Sonke Gender Justice
• TAC
• Amanitare
• (Unifem)

SGBV during Conflict

This section is aimed at introducing the field of Peace and Conflict studies. The emphasis is thereby on deconstructing the use of SGBV by military and para-military during as essentially political, thereby exposing the inherent hyper-masculinization of militaries that serves as the root cause of much of the SGBVwitnessed during conflicts.

Required readings:

• Bastick, M., Grimm, K. and Kunz, R. 2007 ‘Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict : Global Overview and Implications for the Security Sector’, DCAF. click here  
• Bernedette Muthien, “Human Security Paradigms through a gendered lens,” in Agenda, 43, 2000
• Cynthia Cockburn, “The Continuum of Violence: A Gender Perspective on War and Peace,” in Sites of Violence: gender and conflict zones, edited by Wenona Giles and Jennifer Hyndman Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2004
• Human Rights Watch. 1996. ‘Shattered Lives: Sexual Violence During the Genocide and its Aftermath’. New York: Human Rights Watch.
• IRIN. 2004. ‘In-Depth: Our Bodies - Their Battle Ground: Gender-based Violence in Conflict Zones’. click here 
• Layika, F. 1996. “War Crimes Against Women in Rwanda”, in Reilly, N. ed. Without Reservation: The Beijing Tribunal on Accountability for Women’s Human Rights. New Brunswick, NJ: Centre for Women’s Global Leadership.
• Mazurana, Raven-Roberts and Parpart. ‘Gender conflict and Peacekeeping’ (Oxford: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers inc, 2005);
• Meintjes, Pillay and Turshen. ‘The Aftermath: Women in Post Conflict Transformation’ (London; Zed Books 2001);
• Rodriguez and Togboa (eds.) ‘Gender and Peacebuilding in Africa’ (San Jose;University for Peace, 2005)
• Sadou, Z. 1996. “Algeria: The Martyrdom of Girls Raped by Islamic Armed Guards”, in Reilly, N. ed. ‘Without Reservation: The Beijing Tribunal on Accountability for Women’s Human Rights’. New Brunswick, NJ: Centre for Women’s Global Leadership. click here  
• Tazreena Sajjad, “Women guerrillas: marching towards true freedom? An analysis of women’s experiences in the frontlines of guerrilla warfare” in Agenda, 59, 2004
• Tina Sideris, “Rape in War and Peace: some thoughts on social context and gender roles,” in Agenda, 43, 2000
• Turshen, Meredith, and Clotilde Twagiramariya. 1998. ‘What women do in wartime: Gender and conflict in Africa’. London: Zed Books.

Course summary session: beyond violence?

This section focuses on recent approaches and developments within the field. One example of this is the more recent shift towards preventative solutions to combating GBV is the, such as working with potential perpetrators.

Working with Men/Perpetrators of GBV

• One Man Can Campaign
• Men As Partners (MAP)

Readings:

• de Vylder, S. 2004. ‘Ending gender-based violence: A call for global action to involve men’, SIDA. click here  
• Gear, Sasha, “Rules of Engagement: Structuring sex and damage in men’s prisons and beyond”, in ‘Men Behaving Differently’, edited by Graeme Reid and Liz Walker, Cape Town: DoubleStorey Books, 2005. click here 
• Jewkes, R. Sikweyiya, Y. Morrell, R. Dunkle, K. 2009. ‘Understanding men’s health and use of violence: interface of rape and HIV in South Africa’. MRC. click here 
• Ratele, K. 2001. “Between ‘Ouens’: Everyday Makings of Black Masculinity”, in Morrell, R. ed. Changing Men in Southern Africa. Pietermaritzburg: University of Natal Press.