Conference Wars and Conflicts in Africa
March 28-30, 2008
University of Texas at Austin

Fruits of war? Political and economic opportunities of women in Liberia

Wars involve increases in the burden of female responsibilities, women’s victimization and pressure to engage in prostitution, but recent research on gender relations has pointed to other effects as well. Transcending the common focus on female losses, an agency-oriented and historical view may also highlight possible female gains. The total scope of political and economic roles that Liberian women perform today appears to be larger than it was before the war. Both individually and collectively, certain women have gainfully used openings that the war has made available to them. This can be demonstrated with reference to various subgroups of women, especially in those cases for which meaningful evidence is available from pre-war times to the present. An examination of the historicity of gender roles, which takes into account the peculiar constellation of socio-political factors in Liberian history, illuminates some precedents for observed changes in women’s status. Also, these changes have been substantially fostered by gender-related policies and practices of the international peace building and development business. Although the realization of female ambitions seems to be constrained by various institutional and economic factors, and female claims to power are vigorously contested, Liberia may harbour a unique potential for sustainable shifts in gender roles. The election of a female head of state may be considered as a manifestation of this potential.

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Misconceived peace building? NGO business, ‘workshop culture’, and the exclusion of minorities in Liberia

This paper explores (1) selected practices of NGOs that have tapped into the flow of international funding for peace building in Liberia and (2) the implications of the expanding ‘workshop culture’ for the Mandingos, a trading minority including, for complex historical reasons, both prominent victims and perpetrators in the war era. Conflicts between various ethnic groups and Mandingos returning from exile have been viewed as a threat to durable peace in Liberia. The majority of workshops address topics such as gender mainstreaming, good governance, or youth leadership. Relatively few workshops specifically address reconciliation between ethnic groups, and these typically involve the Mandingos. Standardised procedures applied in the implementation of workshops, however, may be counterproductive in attempts to reconcile ethnic conflict parties. When designating workshop participants, NGOs often try to include representatives from subgroups widely perceived as comprising civil society, i.e., local authorities, women and youth. In reconciliation workshops, youths are sometimes included in discussions of critical subjects that might be processed more effectively if they were reserved for elders. In addition, the economic, political and symbolic resources that workshops provide to those invited or selected to participate are unevenly distributed by local elites. Mandingos tend to be excluded from enjoying the multiple benefits of Liberia’s ‘workshop culture’ and also from the employment opportunities offered in the expanding NGO business. In this way NGOs may unwittingly become a party in ethnic conflicts.

Dr. Veronika Fuest
Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology
Department Integration and Conflict
Advokatenweg 36
06114 Halle/Saale
Germany
phone 0049-(0)345-2927 124, mobile 0049 (0)162 1334434
fax   0049-(0)345-2927 502
email fuest@eth.mpg.de