The gender dividend in soft and hard insecurity in the horn of africa

GENDER DIVIDEND IN 'SOFT' AND 'HARD' INSECURITY IN THE HORN OF AFRICA A Masculinist and Womanist Perspective

Dr Mbugua wa Mungai Dr Judith CL Mutahi

TCH/IPEX Working Paper No 03/11/2013

Research supported through a grant to The Consulting House (TCH) Institute for Policy Exchange (IPEX) from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

A Masculinist and Womanist Perspective

“Every state is founded on force” – Trotsky at Brest‐Litovsk¹ 1.0 INTRODUCTION: Mapping Gender Questions

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While acknowledging that there are overlaps between 'soft' and 'hard' insecurity—associated with organic and organized militia respectively—the first part of this paper accents the former while the second speaks to the latter aspect. The introductory section maps generally the gender issues before proceeding to examine their specific aspects in the paper's two major sections. In the introduction we also specify the theoretical lenses that we deploy in interrogating questions of gender. The paper is informed throughout by our reading of the state as masculine in architecture and that violence is one of the ways through which it enforces its own legitimacy.

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Our main objective is to bring a gender lens to bear upon the interactions between insecurity and gender in the Horn of Africa by looking at its manifestations in the three convergences (Loki, Kivu and Ogaden).However, aware that within the broad context of insecurity gender relations are manifested differently in varied political, socio‐ economic and cultural spaces, we examine specific conflict situations in order to see how gender relations are rendered and even re‐ordered.

While violence is one of the principal planks upon which gender relations are (re‐)constituted, we assert that it is by no means the only one.

Economic activities, a critical basis upon which gender roles are often (re‐ )organized, can themselves simultaneously be a cause and function of insecurity; extraction processes in the three convergencies shed more light on how gender slippages work within such contexts. While we remain keenly aware that women are often seen as bystanders to and victims of insecurity perpetrated by men, this paper calls these assumptions to question.

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In terms of structure, we first lay out our understanding of the theoretical issues at play and that impact upon the insecurity‐gender nexus before briefly discussing the masculinist architecture of the state and socio‐economic formations which then become then the background against which issues of soft and hard insecurity are highlighted. We then present the discussion of gender in four inter‐ related thematic fields. Ultimately, our conclusion is that conventional thinking about insecurity needs to be more nuanced in order for the role of gender to be appreciated.

Weber (1948)

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A Masculinist and Womanist Perspective 2.0 A CONCEPTUAL NOTE 2.1 The Masculinist Perspective We have deployed the concept of agency, pace Butler 1989, to enable us evaluate how exactly men and women participate in fomenting insecurity. More importantly, we ask what activities the different genders engage in that allow us to see a reconfiguration of socio‐economic roles in response to insecurity. In this regard we note that women's roles tend to change drastically in contexts of insecurity.

At the same time we take into consideration masculinities scholarship (among others Guttman,1997; Morrel,2001 ; Swart and Morrel, 2005; Epprecht, 2008 ; Morrel and Ouzgane, 2005; Were 2008) which argues first, that masculinity is not an uncontested terrain and, second, that not all men enjoy the 'patriarchal dividend', at least not in the same way even for those who do. These two points—i.e. agency and differentiated masculinities—are relevant to this study. First, through Butler, it might be seen how women do things for themselves that fall outside the normative prescriptions of gender roles. Agency might be understood at several levels such as the individual, political, economic, socio‐cultural or other parameters. As such in conflict situations, perhaps more than any other settings, individuals to adapt roles they would not ordinarily undertake. It is important to note, by looking at gender‐related work in other contexts such as that of matatu men in Nairobi, that a disadvantaged social can actually engage in activities that end up reinforcing the very terms by which it is subjugated by another, dominant category (see for instance Wa Mungai, 2013). Sometimes women are involved in soft insecurity to the benefit of the men and at the expense of women in the longer term.

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Second, by questioning predominating ideas of masculinity, we can examine the effects of conflict upon specific men; men, sometimes more than women, come to experience the most debilitating effects of conflict/violence. Whatever it's manifestations, insecurity benefits some men and not all men as is assumed; in fact, it ends up disadvantaging men who may not conform to the widely held ideas of masculinity as hard/rough, non‐emotional, physically enduring, heterosexual, propertied manhood. We are interested in establishing how, for instance, (non‐) combatant men behave within and outside moments of conflict and how this impacts upon their relations with the female gender.

Third, perhaps even more significantly, we upend the notion of 'dividend' in order to assess whether all men and women indeed experience the vagaries of war in the same way. Our assumption here is that some of them even end up benefiting from insecurity, and in the case of some women sometimes much more than even most men. What is more illuminating is to examine the kinds of economic activities they engage in that allow them to thrive in the midst of conflict, as the case of female real estate tycoons in Mogadishu suggest. ²

TCH Field notes, 2012.

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A Masculinist and Womanist Perspective 2.2 The Womanist Perspective Gender for our purposes refers to traditional perceptions of men and women, and to the relation between them. With reference to everyday culture, it is normally the biological difference between men and women that is emphasized, exhibiting the differences in sex roles whereby they coexist and complement. A womanist gender analysis, however, distances itself from the notion of 'sex equality' that stresses similarities between men and women and the desired equality between them, to stress instead that difference in gender exists, and male supremacy reigns. Indeed, in traditional times as well as in modern ones, women's experiences of subordination and oppression have rendered them largely disadvantaged.

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The recognition of the pervasive dominance of men and masculinity causes a Womanist perspective to seek answers to the questions "who gains from women's oppression?' and 'who differentiates and why?' By bringing to light relations of power and powerlessness, a womanist gender analysis concurrently seeks to understand masculine power structures and masculine subcultures. Because patriarchy is known to oppress men by setting them at odds with each other, a gender lens, in order to perceive human interaction, views the totality of men's and women's social, political, economic and physical spheres.

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In viewing crime and militarized activity through a womanist gendered lens, this study seeks to consider the nature of difference in the positioning of women and men in relation to power, to violence and to war. It is significant that masculine culture is at its most intense under militarized formations, which can be contrasted with how a masculine culture exhibits its identity in times of peace; working for justice and human rights, addressing conflicts and seeking to mediate where possible. Undoubtedly, a masculine culture of war exhibits the pursuit of various power projects while grooming and preparing masculine energy to achieve its ends. Male dominant systems involve a hierarchy between men, producing different and unequal masculinities, always defined in relation not only to each other but to women (Pateman 1988).

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While it is established that "men predominate across the spectrum of violence" (Connel, 1996), it necessitates to state that militarized formations are not a total divide of men and women as there are women who are actively involved and who volunteer their services. Engaging in gender analysis, as with all systems of inequality, will inevitably reveal not just differences between men and women but that women ‐ and men too‐ differ from each other on many dimensions. A womanist perspective to this study, therefore, should reveal gender hierarchy and gender oppression as experienced in many different ways in a manner that would lead to the exploration of masculinities and femininities in the plural.

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A Masculinist and Womanist Perspective 2.3 Of 'Soft' and 'Hard' Insecurity: The Dividend Context This study focuses on the role of militia groups in defining soft or hard insecurity. Where a militia finds its legitimacy in community and is created out of a community's demand for security, it is defined as an organic militia. Militia that is opportunistic, marketised or militarized is referred to as organised militia. While the relationship between organic militia and community is symbiotic; that between organized militia and community is parasitic. For the purposes of this gender analysis, the insecurity occasioned by organic militia will be referred to as 'soft' insecurity while 'hard' insecurity makes reference to the functions of organised militia.

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In order to look at insecurity through a gender lens we need to further define its nature and reach in the region. Ngunyi and Katumanga (2012) ³ suggest that insecurity is an industry. And that it has a dividend accruing to its enterprise. This dividend is shared amongst actors in societal divide.

In a place like Kivu in Congo, the General gets the minerals and the foot solders get the women. And in terrorist war, the warlords get the 'glory'; the suicide bomber gets the 'virgins'. This distorted 'gender dividend' is a function of a militarized patriarchal sphere of authority. The woman becomes the 'prize' for distorted war heroism. But the woman is not the only victim of insecurity, the man too is a victim especially in the context of patriarchy.

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In the context of insecurity, patriarchy is primarily "a massive hierarchy of men dominating other men. All men benefit, but they don't all benefit equally. Indeed, militarized formations are based on levels of hierarchy that greatly disadvantage some men and certainly not all men receive the same share of the 'patriarchal dividend' (Connel 1996). This 'dividend' suggests the advantage that men as a whole gain from living in a patriarchal gender order. However, in situations of conflict, this notion is not always true. In fact, patriarchy also oppresses men by setting them at odds with each other.

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TCH working paper No 001/2012 From Soft to Hard Insecurity in the Horn of Africa: Predatory States and Rogue Capital

Whether soft or hard, therefore, insecurity produces fiercely gendered cultures. In assessing both, the 'gender regime' must be put to strict focus. This regime refers to the gender arrangements in any given situation that would allow us to view the power workings and gender relations in the different gender orders. In situations of insecurity, the gender regime is male dominated and the systems train, disciplines and exploits the propensity for violence in men ‐ fists, feet and penis become instruments through which to impose their will. Enloe (1988) argues that militarism as a terrain of power has always been largely a contest over the meaning of manhood. But this is not only true of militarism, the original formulation of the African state does not differ significantly from this.

As we hope to show in this paper, a fundamental cause of the patterns in gender participation and/or exclusion in the public sphere, generally in post‐colonial Africa but more specifically in the three locations under From Soft to Hard Security||TCH Working Paper 03/11/2013

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A Masculinist and Womanist Perspective study, is the architecture of the state as a masculine formation. An examination of the history of colonialism—and by extension the founding of colonial state shows clearly that the colonial project intended, among other things, to establish in colonized spaces, certain European ideas of a 'civilized' masculinity ( See for instance Mclintock,1995; White,1990). However different the actualization of these ideas might have been in different colonies, two things were common; the idea of male power and the consequent use of violence to enforce compliance with these ideas amongst the colonised. In the case of Cecil Rhodes, such masculinity was to be ruthlessly applied to the supervision of projects of extraction; any 'softness' on the part of the state would have been a distraction from what was deemed to be the more central masculine project. It clearly is the case that post‐ independence governments inherited the colonial state intact, with no desire whatsoever to change its underpinning masculine identity, ideology or gender order.

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From the outset, women were deliberately left out of state organization and, thus, formal structures of power. Even when militarist groups overthrow elected governments the 'new democracies' they bring in do not anticipate a space for women. Power then, whether exercised by legitimately elected rulers or usurpers in the form of militarists, has always been conceptualized in male terms. When guerrilla movements and other militarist formations are fighting in the bush, there are cadres of women out there; while the majority might not be highly educated, they are nevertheless not always illiterate. A good number are conscious of the movements' driving force(s). In the conflict zones, these women play diverse roles, ranging from being 'bush wives'/comfort women to intelligence gatherers spies. Ironically, apart from isolated cases like Alex Kagame's regime where women who participated one way or the other in the bush war now playing some prominent roles in state government, generally when the militarists like the UPDF wrest the reins of power from their antagonists, former 'bush women' hardly access positions of power, something that might be attributed to the masculine architecture of the state already alluded to. At least this seems to be the case in situations of reinvented militarism as was the case in Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea and South Sudan, all of which areas fall within the ambit of this study. ⁴

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2.4 Militia Convergences in the Horn This study focused on three militia convergences in the Horn. Most of these are located along the borderline belt that brings the Horn Countries together. The first is the Kivu Convergence, and is located along the borders of Uganda, Rwanda and DRC. The actual location is South and North Kivu and has one of the highest numbers of militia in the region.

The second is the Ogaden Convergence. While Kivu has a 'looterable resource' in terms of minerals, timber, coffee and oil, this one is more of a Hub for contraband products. It is located along the borders of Ethiopia,

4See TCH Working Paper 001/006,2012)

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A Masculinist and Womanist Perspective Somalia and Kenya. Eritrea is a bio‐actor in this space in the sense that she does not share a border with any of the countries, but is involve in the convergence. A third convergence, located between the borders of north‐western Kenya, northern Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia exists. This is probably the oldest convergence zone in the region. It harbours both the 'soft' and the 'hard' insecurity militia ranging from the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) to non‐descript, 'soft‐core' milita groups.

3.0 GENDER DIVIDEND IN 'SOFT' INSECURITY 3.1 Militia Incubation in 'soft' Insecurity: Understanding the Base

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The base, a focal point of economic activity with an organized membership, is a critical space in the morphing of gangs from being community‐based outfits to militias. ⁵ The base is, as correctly observed, a space that acts as a spring‐board for other activities, many of them illegitimate. However, bases are also a space for innovation and, ultimately, survival for many young people in urban centers who might not have any skills or training that would enable them to earn a livelihood. ⁶ Available evidence from the study of Sheng also shows that bases are not exclusively masculine spaces (Githinji, 2006).

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A few women will be found in these bases and they act as decoys and baits when need arises, for instance when a male client can only be 'trapped' by a female 'bait', a common enough modus operandi in both police and crime networks. They also fit into the network of police informers, and a good number of them are police officers 'wives'; these women also have their own independent criminal networks which is easy to achieve given that normative police profiles of criminals may overlook female actors (Oduor,2013) ⁷. Other sociological factors that might explain their participation in these bases include lack of formal education and social rejection on the basis of their being single mothers. On the whole, the foregoing has implications upon first, the types of criminal activities that take place and, second, the relations between the genders depending on how individuals are placed within the crime matrices.

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Ngunyi and Katumanga,2010 Ngunyi and Katumanga,2010. See also Wa Mungai 2008 See Life in Crime: Three women, major blunders, hard lessons, DN2, Daily Nation, November 13, 2013,pp.2-3.

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The examination of gender in soft insecurity is organized around four thematic areas, viz.; Gender regime and order, the insecurity reward structure, gender power structure and the masculine culture and collective construction of masculine identities.

3.2 Gender Regime and Order Gender is always implicated in other ideas, especially those to do with identity. This is more so in relation to ideas that are foundational to the state; its security is related to, and in many ways dependent upon those ideas. This is what necessitates an understanding of the gender identity of particular states or societies in conflict for us to better understand how this might shape insecurity. It might also be noted that attempts by the state to railroad all its members into a particular identity may lead to resistance whose diverse forms could breed insecurity.

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A Masculinist and Womanist Perspective In all the locations under study, it is apparent that the state formations in each of them are conceptualized to, first, deliberately emphasize male power, second, to de‐emphasize women's roles in the exercise of power and, third, to limit and erase women's contributions. For instance in the Kivu convergence it is notable that women are hardly visible in the DRC government.

Whatever the reasons for such absence, it might be surmised that the non‐participation of women to influence policy at the core of the central government has affected successive regimes' attitudes and approaches to the broader conflicts and embedded competitions for extraction in the Kivu convergence. Where extraction is the paramount objective, 'feminization' of the state (thereby giving it a soft identity) may have been considered counterproductive to include women in government.

Even in states such as Kenya and Tanzania that are relatively stable on account of the absence of war, government administrators are usually men. In Kenya for instance it has taken the writing of a new constitution to ensure female representative in government/public sector appointments but even this has been met with stiff resistance. Thinking about female government administrators such as chiefs and Regional Commissioners, it is possible to see the sorts of ideological tensions that arise amongst the citizenry when women come to represent the authority of the patriarchal state. In situations of soft insecurity, the loyalty of locals is bought either bribery, informal provision of services such as water and electricity and 'security' though protection; government and the formal sector generally are unable to provide these for locals. If all of these methods fail, then violence and outright elimination is an alternative.

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This leads us to a related point. 'Governable spaces' are regulated by rational laws that enable the creation of a security architecture. By implication women can be rendered visible within the state structure, at least in theory. On the other hand, looking at 'ungovernable spaces' such as those occupied by urban gangs (e.g. slums, but also increasingly non‐ slum neighborhoods) , we might see that because the laws in operation there are largely unwritten and not known to the broad mass, it is easier to keep women out of extraction processes. However, it is this very notion of non‐regulation that makes it possible for crime matriarchs to come into being and to run vast networks of illegal businesses. Thus, a sheeben owner might also own a brothel proprietor who procures prostitutes for clients (she will normally protect her charges from being pulverized by the criminals they consort with) who may in turn benefit her through intelligence or by supplying her with contraband. Lack of regulations here clearly does not necessarily lead to some of these women's social erasure—they might even enable survival. In any event, existing on the margins of a state which cannot take care of them, criminality and insecurity become alternative avenues of self‐ actualization.

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A Masculinist and Womanist Perspective Closely related to the foregoing is the failure by governments in the region under study to recognize the management role of the traditional institutions. ⁸ In a way, this potentially good for gender relations given that women can move into the spaces that have been freed of the tyranny of traditional institutions which, as is well known now by, tend to favor patriarchy to the detriment of women. Thus, in situations where wealth is considered to be an index of social status, wealthy women (regardless of how they may have obtained their riches, but often through their criminal networks) can attain positions of power and become the new elders and influence local opinion. On the other hand, men who were disadvantaged by the previous traditional order find a space in which to thrive, for instance in crime and other non‐normative work such as security provision within gang formations. In these circumstances, attempts to revive traditional‐normative structures and institutions would be resisted.

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At another level, in sites of extraction, particularly the states, it is possible to maintain a particular gender regime by failing to invest in a human physical base. ⁹ This might be seen in underinvestment in areas such as health and education; even though these touch directly on the welfare of both men and women, it is clear that when maternal health services are either poor or non‐existent, women tend to suffer more than the men. In spaces controlled by gangs and militia, these services might be provided under benevolent terms as a means to buying the loyalty of the locals. On the other hand, where schools and government health care facilities exist, they might either be dismantled or taken over and placed under the direct control of the militias. In the case of schools, these have to teach a curriculum prescribed by the militias. The Madrassa in areas under the MRC, Al Shabab and the Taliban are cases in point. Particular gender identities emerge from these institutions and they are then practiced in the general areas under the control of these groups.

D TCH Working paper 001/006/2012 Ibid.

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There is an interesting convergence of modes here between the enforcement mechanisms of the state and those of militias. Both entities, regardless of the diversity of their identity projects, might be seen as being preoccupied with violence as a justification of their own being.

Conversely, if we were to de‐emphasize the idea that violence is foundational to the identity of both the state and militias, then they would become soft and feminine, a state of being that would render them vulnerable. Hence the adoption of ruthless measures within the state (e.g. police, army and specialized killing and intelligence units) as well as militias and criminal groups (e.g. enforcers) to forestall this possibility.

Finally, we find it necessary to rethink the marginalization of women thesis. While it is true that women might fall outside the formal structures of power, be it within political, economic or socio‐cultural institutions), within the state or militias, they also operate, and thrive, in situations of informality. In thinking about insecurity it is possible to see how some of From Soft to Hard Security||TCH Working Paper 03/11/2013

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A Masculinist and Womanist Perspective them might command immense resources by organizing informal businesses that may not necessarily be illegal (e.g. Mpesa and Simu ya Jamii kiosks) but which in fact they might end up using for the purveyance of criminality e.g. money laundering or merely safe‐keeping. It is true that patriarchy designs structures to keep women in a particular place in the gender order but they are adept at formulating mechanisms that enable them to transcend the specified gender regime and subvert it to their own ends. The insecurity networks may be authored by men,but it would be difficult for them to work without the active participation of women.

3.3 The Insecurity Reward Structure

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The men who find themselves at the lower ranks of the pecking order might actually find that diminishing stateness enables them to stake a claim to their interests based on particular ideas of manhood. Being poorer or not conforming to the ideals held by the men at the core of the state power, the 'lesser' men farther away from the center power will see the violent militia groups at the margins of the state as a better way of actualizing their identity and whatever other goals they might think of. In this case, insecurity is fomented around a compendium of issues, key to which is a masculine identity.

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It is necessary to state that when (in)security is discussed, often this is done from a collective perspective. Thus gender slips through the cracks.

It is necessary to disaggregate the identity of those whose security is at issue to make more clear whose security is at stake and why.

Individualizing through the personalization of the perspectives in question will enable us to see how difference in gender might affect the thinking and approaches to security. Another reason is that we get to see (more) clearly who benefits from what types of insecurity. Women and men benefit differently from insecurity depending on what specific roles they play in its execution. For instance, while women might benefit from selling information to facilitate a gang's kidnapping of a rich woman, the bigger cut of the spoils will go to the men who execute the job. But there are also class considerations at play here. Thus, if the victim of the kidnapping is raped, it can be seen that the female accomplices have abetted two types of crime but only benefited from one even as they contributed to general insecurity.

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During and after the attack on Nairobi s Westgate Mall, one of the narratives that quickly emerged to centrality in media reports in Kenya and abroad was that of Samantha Lowenthal ( The White Widow ) who is reputed to be a ruthless Al Qaeda commander who has reportedly ordered the assassination of male rivals from the USA to Mombasa. This model of the non-conventional female ghter might be new to the extent of her being white but in practice it has been in existence since the 1980s when the LTTE brought it to prominence with the female suicide bombers. It has since been replicated in India, Pakistan and Israel. The only di erence is that where female suicide bombers see self-immolation as part of their mission, ghters like Samantha see self-preservation as central to the continued execution of their missions.

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Descending from the situation above, it is might be seen that women too have become participants in larger situations of insecurity in which they would not normally be thought to function. Just as Al Shabab—which we know to be as hostile to women as the Taliban—and the Mombasa Republican Council ironically now have cadres of female fighters, it is clear that women must be playing significant roles in proxy militias. ¹⁰ The war dividend is attractive to both men and women, especially for the latter as they now appear to command a presence in non‐traditional spaces. There is a historical precedent here in the form of Mau Mau female cadres. Even though a great number of these women From Soft to Hard Security||TCH Working Paper 03/11/2013

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A Masculinist and Womanist Perspective were weapons carriers and intelligence gatherers, others such as Field Marshal Muthoni were active combatants. On her part, Wambui‐Otieno claims to have been General Mathenge's bush wife and later a consort to a number of other leading Mau Mau fighters¹¹. Such a shift also tends to overthrow the traditional view of war as masculine space or men holding the monopoly over violence.

At any rate, the dividends of extraction, no matter the commodity at issue, must attract men and women in equal measure. By building alliances with the male commanders, those women who position themselves in the battlefield most strategically stand to benefit more than even the rank and file men. Being involved with militias thus becomes a route to gaining access to capital (social or monetary) that would otherwise remain beyond reach. In urban centers like Nairobi, the registration of passenger service vehicles (matatu), motor cycles (boda boda) and other retails businesses like shops under female names may camouflage the fact that these women have invested the proceeds of crime on behalf of others. In the alternative, these women may rent out premises and equipment (motor cycles) to men for use in the commission of crimes, thereby upending notions of male‐as‐providers and women‐as‐ recipients.

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In a related sense, criminal activities do not always have to be confined to an immediate site of extraction. In other words, players in criminality are distributed far and wide depending on where their services can be best utilized. Men generally work in the 'danger zones' while the women labour in what are seen as 'safe spaces'. A good example of this is the illegal sugar trade in the Horn of Africa. While the men are involved in the shipping of the commodity to various destinations, women end up packaging the sugar into packets and even retailing it in shops. This is evident in the refugee camps and the Garrissa Lodge economies¹².

Currency printing, gun‐running and cattle‐rustling equally involve a division of labor. However, given constantly evolving trends, it is sometimes necessary for women to step out into the danger zones because that way they arouse less suspicion.

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See Wambui Otieno, 1998.

Garrisa Lodge is a thriving business center to the East of Nairobi s Central Business District where a diverse variety of contraband goods is available within the supply chain of legitimate goods.

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3.4 The Gender Power Structure

Paramount here is the consideration of who has the right to exercise power, and under what terms. The exercise of political power pointedly delineates the sort of gender‐based tensions that might arise out of what could easily be mistaken as an otherwise straightforward matter like casting the ballot. Voting is often fraught with gendered‐based considerations. Sometimes women are prevented from voting, and at others their men instruct them how to vote. For instance, while on the one hand the men at the centre of (state) power may assume that everyone will vote in a predetermined way in a referendum to do with independence such as the one held in South Sudan, it is possible that intervening stories may blur the picture. Thus while male logic might From Soft to Hard Security||TCH Working Paper 03/11/2013

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A Masculinist and Womanist Perspective suggest the need to vote in one obvious way, private interests such as socio‐economic survival networks may force individuals, in this case women, to vote the other way. In sum, the different genders will exercise power, at whatever level, contingent to their needs (these might be informed by criminal interests) as opposed to the national ideals that the political elite might espouse.

The acquisition of formal education confers particular advantages to individuals, for instance access to formal employment, appointment to public sector positions among others. Thus, when discussions of conflict emphasize the role of uneducated or poorly educated men¹³, young women are usually left out of the picture. They too have aspirations to a fulfilling life, and lack of formal education disadvantages them in more profound ways than it does the young men. Attractive suitors become hard to find, and those who are available do not have the financial means to start families. It must be borne in mind that the traditional frames of social organization such as marriage—and often polygamy—that would have absorbed these young women have already been sundered by war.

Crime and other anti‐social economic activities such as transactional sex then become more attractive to these women. By offering sexual services, these women might assume a certain power for themselves where they trade their bodies for information that they can then turn into financial capital.

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In a related sense, it is necessary to examine the state of gender relations in locations where predating takes place. Economic activities such as gold and tin mining as well as the cultivation and harvesting of Aloe Vera are labour intensive. In extraction locations under militia rule, labour is also likely to be coerced. This then brings into play also child laborers. Here, any ideas that any gender can play any traditionally prescribed roles are severely strained. While it might be possible to find around such centers populations of women offering their labor and bodies to the extraction workers, it is also possible to find female overseers and proprietors or co‐owners of businesses (e.g. trucking or as agents) related to the larger systems of economic production. This is possible in the main because the traditional chains of command such as age groups and norms are no longer at play. Following Hobsbawn and Ranger (1992), we might argue that these women invent new traditions for themselves in which they become leaders. ¹⁴ Even as these women might be responding to social‐economic changes, they may also become agents to criminality. At another level, sometimes the men who were not qualified to leadership may do the bidding of these women, but they are just as likely to set up their own power bases with membership which may be rented out to (larger) criminal groups. Thus these locations of extraction rather than shrink the space for women's participation might actually be seen to expand it.

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Honwana and De Boeck (2005) Momoh (2000), Abdullah (2005), Mwangola (2007), Mwaura (2007) and Straker (2007) discuss a broad range of responses by young people to various situations of inequitable distribution of resources.

Even though Nigeria s Boko Haram is not about extraction, it o ers a relevant illustration.

Vigilante groups have sprung up to defend themselves against the Boko Haram attacks, with women taking leadership positions. See for instance At least 18 killed in Boko Haram, Vigilante clashes, The Standard, September 10, 2013.

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A Masculinist and Womanist Perspective 3.5 Masculine Cultures and the Construction of (Masculine) Identities Traditionally the state's spaces of public expression have been marked as masculine. This is seen in the 'tough' symbolism, usually bordering on the manifest phallo‐centricism, that is usually marshaled in mapping this identity: spears, cockerels, axes, shields, bows and other warlike paraphernalia (the Kenyan Court of Arms which is imprinted on the Kenyan flag carries the first three symbols cited here). Given the centrality that these symbols and emblems are given in the state's foundational narratives, it becomes apparent that the general culture is constructed as the playing ground for a discourse on masculinity.

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Collectively, subjects are enjoined to stand strong, given that the state, in the face of competition and/or hostility from neighbors cannot afford to be seen as weak or fragile. In other words, the state's discourse of identity is distinctly male, often calling upon the valor of its subjects in safeguarding its existence.

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What these symbols and discourses of masculinity do is to immediately force women to become aware of a subordinate position as subjects of the state. It delegitimizes their identity and sometimes they are figured in negative terms; sayings abound in myriad national languages, for instance Kiswahili, to demonstrate this point. This then predisposes other actors within the state to not only deny them opportunities for participation in the business of the state but also to commit crimes upon them. Sexual crimes such as rape are perhaps the most pointed example of this. ¹⁵ Rape is not just a weapon in conflict situations but it also becomes a means to terrifying whole populations. For residents of urban neighborhoods who know too well the reality of this threat, doing the bidding of a gang/criminal group to forestall sexual violence upon members of their becomes can be seen as an attempt to deal with the ugly side of masculinity that is fostered through ideas of what constitutes manhood. Sexual bravado by men may also resort in rape, particularly in societies with a strong macho culture (See Correia and Bannon,2007: 248);gangs often resort to this form of criminality to state their presence.

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The report of the Commission of Inquiry into Post Election Violence (CIPEV,2009)

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At a different level, there is a correlation between identity and the stability of a state. It is assumed the identity chosen by the society's (male) elite is the one that everyone should subscribe to. However it is also true that various categories of citizens (youth, women, gay and lesbian communities, among other interest groups) always craft a discourse that contests society's predominant identities by performing a subcultural discourse of their own (See, among others, Hebdige, 1979;Wa Mungai, 2013). These subcultures, constituted around leisure and occupational engagements such as music and matatu work, might be involve criminality (e.g. gun violence and drug trafficking) as an articulation of a dissident identity. Insecurity and therefore instability might result from these identity contests in which men and women participate to various degrees.

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A Masculinist and Womanist Perspective Organized criminal formations too have their own masculine cultures.

Knowing as we do the interplay between machismo and sex(uality), it is apparent that in the case of militias, women do play a role in the running of the warlord camps . Especially the top echelons of militia formations are known to want and seek succor from women; a harem of sorts will normally be available for their exclusive (ab)'use'. It is also known that certain decisions, whether these are right or wrong, that militia commanders at the top take may be influenced ultimately by their bush/camp consorts. Where these women are shared out with close colleagues in the high command, it is with the tacit understanding that such interactions have a direct bearing on the power positioning amongst the males. In other contexts such as Zulu warrior camp practices, the 'generals' at the top would sodomize younger warriors assigned to them as bodyguards to satisfy their sexual needs (Epprecht, 2008). Effectively, these bodyguards' male bodies are feminized. On the whole this becomes a way of inscribing hierarchies among men.

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A pertinent point here might be made in relation to demilitarized combatants. Owing to the predominance of a masculine ideology purveyed by the state, soldiers especially understand their mandate in terms of violence. For them, violence is instrumentalist. Finding that the space outside the barracks operates on a different logic, some of these men then end up lending their expertise to criminal enterprises. This then results in insecurity, for instance robberies and rape. Ex‐soldiers may thus be seen as forming a link between the world of criminality and that of order from whose service they have just emerged. ¹⁶

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4.0 GENDER DIVIDEND AND 'HARD' INSECURITY 4.1 Logic for a Militarized Patriarchal Sphere of Authority

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Ongoing discussions within the Kenyan security establishment indicate that the many former police and army o cers who have left the armed forces for one reason or the other are key to the operations of crime networks in Kenya.

Ngunyi and Katumanga, 2012 Militarization can be understood as a cultural and ideological phenomenon in which military priorities, ideals and values come to pervade the larger society. Heywood (2000), p 170

The study of soft and hard insecurity in the Horn of Africa has suggested that the further a given space is from the centre of power, the lesser the interaction with formal authority¹⁷. Due to this 'governance decay', a plethora of opportunistic gangs and militia has been on the rise.

The security gaps created by police absence and/or abstinence creates situations where communities are forced to rely on these groups for protection, leading to a “security trade” of sorts. In the instance of the convergences or the non‐administered spaces away from the centre of political authority, this has lead to a demand and supply of small arms and light weapons, which in turn has increased the degree of violence and firepower in the regions. It is in this manner of increased and rising tensions that a new militarized identity is created within a given community¹⁸. This militarized identity exhibits an intensified masculine culture.

This suggests that the identity attached to the convergences, and those spaces away from the civic sphere of authority, will exhibit a culture that celebrates a violent masculinity. This is because it is men who will predominate in the spectrum of violence. Our hypothesis is that although From Soft to Hard Security||TCH Working Paper 03/11/2013

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A Masculinist and Womanist Perspective some women are actively involved and volunteer their services in instances of armed conflict, for the most part, the positioning of women and men in relation to power and violence produces an overtly uncontested and incontestable militarized patriarchal authority that leaves women (and some men) vulnerable and victimized. It is in the transitions and shifts of conflict that women are able to multiply their identities and renegotiate the normative gender contract. sIf the logic of militarization depends upon men being 'men' or 'masculine' and women being 'women' or 'feminine', ¹⁹ then a gender analysis of the convergences should reveal communities living not only under the predatory and ethno‐customary spheres that replace the civic governing sphere of the nation state, but also under an militarized patriarchy that is unpredictably organic.

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As far as the power or spheres of authority are concerned, a womanist gender analysis should both differentiate men and women, while also positioning them in relation to one another. As a social process, it brings to the fore powerlessness and discerns the voiceless on the lower echelons of authority. It is also necessary to state that patriarchal dividend is contingent upon the 'earnings' made from strict enforcement of masculine authority. In the case of the two spheres of authority under discussion, when they are eclipsed by the militarized patriarchal sphere of authority, this not only ensures male rights over women's behavior and bodisses, but – in the context of conflict and violence – authority over women whenever and however it suits the man. As we shall see in conflict situations, power relations²⁰ impact every area of life: physically, it determines who eats first and what they eat and, if under attack, who has greater mobility. Economically, it is manifested in distribution of money, property and resources.

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4.2 Insecurity and Gender in the Civic Sphere of Authority

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Stern &Nystrand, 2006 Economic class and ethnicity also inform power systems and because they help construct masculinities and femininities, they can also be said to be gendered, just as one could compare the (class) femininities of a rural, uneducated Somali woman tied to ancient tradition with that of a Somali woman member of parliament who is educated and allowed to participate in decision making.

See Phillips (1998); Grant & Newland (1991).

Cockburn (1998); Kandiyoti (1991)

The civic sphere is the most visible sphere of authority and is regulated by civic law. Here we find the civic citizen and an institutionalized form of government. It is in this sphere that men and women are assumed to be equal citizens with equal rights and duties. In reality, however, the practice is far from the theory. Modern African states are built upon a distinction between the 'public' and the 'private' sphere²¹. The public sphere refers to the centre of the nation‐building sites, political representation and national defense. All cultural and economic activity is produced here. Typically, this sphere has been deemed masculine by virtue of its personnel as well as by the nature of the activity – defense, production and politics.

The private sphere is referred to as feminine because reproduction happens at this site. This encompasses social reproduction which involves caring for the household, normative traditions, subsistence farming, as well as the biological reproduction of future generations²².

Being close to 'nature' lends the mother/ daughter into the role of the From Soft to Hard Security||TCH Working Paper 03/11/2013

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A Masculinist and Womanist Perspective sacrificer while the father/ son is rendered the producer and protector. By defining roles based on biology, the nation prescribes identities and activities for men and women. This view is harmful to women who under situations of domestic violence are not granted audience because 'private' matters should not be handled in 'public'. Concurrently, the social and economic roles of men and women, in reality, are blurred and intersecting rather than neatly partitioned. This situation has been described as inappropriate and harmful to women²³.

The civic sphere, with its laws, regulations and emphasis on equality, gives the woman the 'best' available recourse to justice and social standing. This situation which is suggestive of equality will be weighed against an openly male dominated militarized system that involves a hierarchy between men, producing different and unequal masculinities.

Situations that fail to recognize the difference in gender relations further subjugates the woman.

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Weaknesses and competing interests within the civic sphere of authority have led to the emergence of non‐state actors who wield violence. These actors fill the gap between the state and the community especially in border areas and slums²⁴. Significant to a womanist gender analysis is the definition of conflict which is the pursuit of needs and desires that are in contradiction with each other²⁵. When the centralized state charged with enforcing a regime of rights is unwilling/unable to fulfill these roles, the outcome is conflict as evidenced in social violence (mainly interpersonal), economic violence (street crime and kidnapping motivated by economic gain) and political violence (such as gang and militia operations) ²⁶. The pursuits of state actors have resulted in the ceding of their authority and instruments of violence to an emergent militia that is self‐propelled, receiving instructions from its own structure.

The militia is comprised of non‐state actors with interests that are either at 'war' with the state or, where necessary, in alliance with it²⁷. This contradiction jeopardizes the weaker (both male and female) members of society by exposing them to both poverty and violence.

D El Bushra (2003) Ngunyi and Katumanga (2012) Cynthia Cockburn (1999) Moser, Caroline (1999) Tar, Usman, A., (2005) See Hyden (1991) Odinkalu, Chidi (2005)

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4.3 Insecurity and Gender in the Ethno‐Customary Sphere

Away from the urban centres of power with its formal mechanisms of justice delivery, such as the courts and the police, can be found the ethno‐ customary regulatory sphere. This sphere arises from traditions, social interaction and a pattern of exchange in the community. Based on reciprocity, trust and goodwill²⁸ the ethno‐customary sphere functions under high‐trust mechanisms operated by de facto leaders, organic vigilantes and faith‐based institutions. These institutions exist outside of the state although in some instances they are integrated into the structures of government. This sphere of authority is founded upon and exists on “notions of indigeneity and localized alienage” ²⁹ which speaks to the ethnic identity and of the traditional communities.

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A Masculinist and Womanist Perspective 4.3.1 Ethno‐Gender as a Mechanism of Inclusion and Exclusion Spheres of authority are legitimated when they produce a shared sense of national/ethnic belonging. By identifying the “Other” they achieve a level of unity within a designated territory. When a community has evolved over time, they enjoy a common history, which sets them apart from other communities. In the conflict zones of the Horn of Africa, questions of identity and belonging accompanied by disputes over the division of resources. In the Loki convergence of South Sudan, for example, there have historically been inter and intra‐tribal cattle raiding and fighting as well as skirmishes over resources such as grazing areas or fishing pools (Hutchinson and Jok, 2002). These disputes were experienced and expressed as related to identity.

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A gender lens helps further understand the dynamics of conflicts under the ethno‐customary sphere. Under conflict situations, gender roles within a community become more rigid with little room for difference or deviation. In the Ogaaden convergence of Somaliland, customary law applies to all parts of the country³⁰. This suggests that the source of law is a geographical (ethnic) location and similar issues may result in different decisions, based on their geographical location and ethnic identity. The customary law court is made of elected male clan members. Women do not participate. Women symbolize the ethnic group through their expressions of culture and through their bodies. This explains the importance of the traditional clothing and behavior for Somali women during times of conflict: it becomes an identity marker showing the difference between “us” and “them”. Notions of masculinity and femininity are linked to the national identity of how to be a man or woman. A nations' future depends on their ability to guard its heritage and reproduce history and tradition.

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Tungaraza (2007) ibid United Nations: Human Rights; Harmful traditional Practices A ecting the Health of Women and Children, Fact Sheet NO.23; World Campaign for Human Rights.

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In the Ogaaden convergence, customary law is very powerful as it is constituted by the elders of the clans and all power is vested in them. The clan system rests on a patriarchal system which determines customary law. Thus, customary law also governs issues relating to matrimonial disputes, inheritance and property rights, again, depending on the geographical area³¹. One particular customary practice that has had a detrimental effect on women is the pharaonic female genital mutilation: FGM forms an important part of the rites of passage ceremony for some communities marking the coming of age of the female child.

It is believed that, by mutilating the female's genital organs, her sexuality will be controlled; but above all it is to ensure a woman's virginity before marriage and chastity thereafter. ³²

This traditional practice has serious long‐term effects including prolonged labour and the rupturing of bladders and rectum, causing fistula. This is a legally recognized practice and women have no recourse to other authority. This practice is part of a continuum of female body and From Soft to Hard Security||TCH Working Paper 03/11/2013

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A Masculinist and Womanist Perspective sexuality control. These practices are carried out by women for the benefit of men and its perpetuation is but the invisible hand of patriarchy under the guise of cultural norms. So long as FGM is a requirement and not a choice, attention to this activity provides insight into the possible areas of vulnerability within the society in situations of conflict.

4.4 Insecurity and Gender in the Predatory Sphere of Authority In the absence of the civic authority and the ethno‐customary sphere, rogue elements within the state and militia actors have captured a space to wield violence and defy the civic state. This is the predatory sphere where victims of economic and political distress can gather. The phenomena of young men without jobs, destabilized families with no male bread‐winner, female‐headed families with no recourse to credit or jobs, all converge to propagate the 'feminization of poverty' and general uneven distribution of power and resources. This leads to victimhood and the recourse to violence.

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In conjunction with matters of inclusion/exclusion, the widening of the gap between men and women, which effectively increases the inequality between them, is observed to weaken the inhibitions against aggression³³. The disparity legitimates violence towards people considered worth‐less while the masculine response when made to feel of little value, is sometimes to resort to violence in order to gain self‐ respect or power. The gap of the predatory sphere also serves the interests of the politically disenfranchised from neglected communities that have grievances or are economically disadvantaged.

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Actors in this sphere have license to exercise 'bandit law' and enforce selective cultural practices. Because the states' monopoly of policing the society has been compromised, there is a proliferation of arms that further compounds the existing competition over resources leading to situations of violent encounter. This section will show how lack of regulatory frameworks can escalate violence. As women and children are brutalized, men on either side degenerate into evermore subhuman acts of revenge.

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5.0 GENDER, THE CONVERGENCES AND EXTRACTION 5.1 Loki Convergence

The communities in the borderline belt in the Horn of Africa are predominantly pastoral. The site is the country's ill‐defined borders from where neighboring communities penetrate. Even with the conclusion of the second Sudanese civil war, conflict persists across South Sudan due to the abundance of small arms. The price is lost lives and disrupted communities. The perpetrators are almost exclusively men while women, children and the elderly are the victims and sometimes even the target.

Cockburn (1999)

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A Masculinist and Womanist Perspective Historically, the conflicts caused by cattle raiding and the skirmishes over resources, such as grazing fields and water, were not uncommon.

They were also short‐lived³⁴. During the Sudanese civil war, small arms and light weapons flooded the region making firearms an integral part of the culture and even used as a form of dowry payment in some parts of the south³⁵. Firearms also made it easy to target women and children.

Where in the past the unwritten ethical code considered women as sources of refuge for fleeing or wounded men, changing norms saw a high rate of women and children being targeted in a manner that involved the brutalities of rape and mutilation³⁶

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It is the unregulated escalation of the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war that characterizes the conflict from 1991 onwards. The abuses were widespread and all women could speak of at least a friend or an acquaintance who had been raped. Both Northern soldiers and SPLA troops participated in the perpetration with attacks and counter attacks of systematic rapes to terrorize and displace populations.

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The SPLA leadership attempted to regulate the sexual violence of its soldiers by issuing the death penalty for any soldier found guilty of rape.

While this punishment was meted out, it did not act as a deterrent to the rapes. The extent of this war out of the public eye saw clinics and hospitals being deliberately attacked and destroyed, children being kidnapped, cattle stolen and “the targeting of women to the exclusion of all other goals” ³⁷. This is a clear indicator that gender can define women as targets when a war is fought in the absence of national or international regulation. The displacement of populations to refugee camps and bordering states gave rise to further sexual harassment and suffering for women. A coping mechanism for women in refugee camps was to attach themselves to a 'husband' who would offer some form of protection.

D Hutchinson and Jok (2002) HSBA (2012) ibid ibid ibid Sarah Maguire (1998)

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The root cause of the South Sudan conflict was based on food insecurity. It is said that women put pressure on their husbands to bring home food and this would encourage the men to raid other tribes. This led to a vicious cycle of communities not cultivating in rural areas because it left them vulnerable to attack. This perpetuated food insecurity and reliance on raiding³⁸.

The experiences of men and women in this situation of conflict showed great role differences especially as victims and as perpetrators.

The militarized predatory sphere has negative implications for women's and men's relationships to each other. On a personal level, it is documented that domestic violence often increases as societal tensions grow, and is more lethal when men carry weapons³⁹. As shall be shown through the Kivu convergence, the masculine world of arms dealing is often linked to trafficking in drugs and in women.

The unmanageability of the ethno‐ customary and predatory spheres requires regulatory innovations to temper their growth. In light of the From Soft to Hard Security||TCH Working Paper 03/11/2013

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A Masculinist and Womanist Perspective gender component a pertinent question is: “What happens when women resist the pressures to loyally support the cause of conflict?”

(Enloe,1993). Women's roles and that of the communal voice in violence reduction are apparent when they act as peacemakers. Stories are told of South Sudanese women who in the 1980s halted fighting by refusing to have sex with their husbands or who would not milk the cows their husbands had stolen⁴⁰.

These initiatives are evidence of the potential power of women to influence situations of conflict. In South Sudan, for example, women assist the armed forces as cooks, carriers and nurses, but research suggests that their active engagement in war does not bring women equality with men⁴¹. The character and function of armed groups is to predate and women's presence cannot render them more feminine nor alter their culture and hierarchy. In the section on convergence extraction this will be explored further.

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5.1.1 Gender and the 'Bandit Economy' in Loki Convergence

The conflict in the Loki convergence is given context by environmental degradation, cattle rustling as a cultural phenomenon and the activities of rebel groups in the area. The Horn of Africa has a history of communal violence within and across borders occurring in the region's vast semi‐ arid areas. It is the frequency, intensity and destructiveness of the violence in recent years that brings this area into sharp focus⁴². The lack of roads lines of communication and the absence of state security presence has led to the pastoralists of the Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopian border region arming themselves for protection.

D Ibid see note 21 Peries (1998) Mukutu (2008) Temesgen (2010)

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Pastoralist's livelihoods centre on the upkeep and size of their herds which requires them to be in constant migration in search of grazing land and water. As their numbers grow and access to water is curtailed by competing rights to land, conflicts have brewed leading to inter‐clan clashes as one tribe enters the territory of another. Other factors that have contributed to the conflict include land privatization, government policies favouring sedentary groups for large‐scale agriculture and the emergence of local elites aiming to profit from cattle rustling. The increased access to cheap and easy to use high‐powered assault rifles has led to widespread fatalities and the displacement of families, as well as the depletion of livestock.

5.1.2 Gender Regime in Loki Convergence

Cattle raiding is seen as a heroic deed and is praised through songs and poems⁴³. It was a mechanism for restocking depleted stock lost through droughts, epidemic and conflict. Traditionally, elders and spiritual leaders play the important role of blessing the warriors when they set out to raid cattle and performing rituals that would foretell successful raids. These leaders also hold the dual role of resolving conflicts within clans.

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A Masculinist and Womanist Perspective Women have become both agents and victims of pastoral conflict.

Although women do not have an active role in planning raids or consulting men with regard to the raids, they see as eligible men who raid and bring back many heads of cattle. For men, the cattle signify both courage and wealth. In particular, cows provide milk for children and bride wealth for a bachelor. By extension, a woman's social standing within the community rises when her husband extends his herd through raids. Conversely, men who do not engage in raiding activities are goaded through cultural songs⁴⁴. The masculine warring nature of the community is reflected in the gravity that is attached to keeping the good name of the clan which is a source of pride⁴⁵.

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Raiding typically provokes retaliatory action from the raided community and where traditionally women and children were spared the current conflict spares no one. The acts of mutilation that have been witnessed are used to send messages specifically to the men of the communities. When women and children are captured they are expected to carry looted good and to cook for the men on the raids⁴⁶. The practice of kidnapping women is now less favoured than the practice of killing off the women and, literally, the future of the offending clan.

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Guarding and replenishing the communal wealth is a masculine enterprise. From the age of 17‐24 young men are expected to protect the cattle they herd. It is at this stage that they engage in training in security matters. The next age set of 25‐32 is the stage when young warriors begin to take part in formal military campaigns in the presence of senior members⁴⁷ and then the 33‐40 age set take the lead in military activities which also allows them to gain wealth for marriage. Male circumcision is symbolically tied to masculinity, military preparedness and raids.

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Cattle raiding is not always done in the name of communal glory. Due to poverty and unemployment, young men increasingly get involved in cattle thefts and highway banditry. These young men are often ready recruits to join rebel forces. The Kenya/Uganda government initiatives to disarm the communities have served to destabilize rather than address the root causes of the issues which lie in community's ability to cooperate.

5.2 The Kivu Convergence

In addition to the conflicts described in the convergences, there is the added element of natural resources that sustain the militia and act as a cause of further conflict. Each convergence has an axis of extraction that provides either mineable wealth, natural resources or a strategic corridor to regional markets. The presence of militia at the hub of this economic activity characterizes their occupation as 'marketized' and rogue.

ibid Interview with Nuria Gollo. See Temesgen Interview with Jarso Kadubata. See Temesgen.

Taye (2002). See Temesgen.

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A Masculinist and Womanist Perspective This section aims to consider each convergence and explore how the element of extraction of resources affects the 'gender regimes' or arrangements of power and gender relations in the militarized setting.

Secondly, we shall also inquire of the patriarchal dividend or the share that men as a whole gain from living in a patriarchal gender order.

Traditionally, this hierarchy excludes women, but expediency in unpredictable situations could suggest otherwise and women could stand to benefit if it is to men's advantage. Because all men do not profit equally from patriarchy, we will consider how patriarchy oppresses men by setting them at odds with each other.

5.2.1 Artisanal and small‐scale mining

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The fighting in North Kivu is an ongoing conflict caused by the presence of various Congolese and foreign armed groups. This has created tensions between the province's ethnic communities and returning Congolese Tutsi refugees over control of North Kivu's considerable mineral and agricultural wealth.

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In spite of a number of government‐led peace initiatives, the province remains deeply insecure with civilians paying a high price for the presence of thousands of armed troops and militia. Their presence is responsible for unlawful killings of civilians, abductions, rape, arbitrary arrests, acts of torture and looting of civilian and humanitarian property. Armed groups also obstruct the delivery of humanitarian aid, recruit from IDP camps and loot aid equipment⁴⁸. This escalating violence in North Kivu continues to threaten regional stability.

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Amnesty International (2008) Pact Congo, Women in Artisanal Mining in the DRC

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Central to the existence of the security forces is the control of the mining sector which is the backbone of the trading economy in DRC today. It is unregulated, illegal and hazardous. In conjunction with illegal traders and new foreign investment, the trade is increasingly monopolized by an elite few for political and financial purposes. At the bottom of this pyramid is the artisanal and small‐scale mining which is the most important segment of the mining sector because it produces 90% of the minerals exported from the country⁴⁹. Estimates suggest that about 2 million people are actively involved in mining, 20% of which are women miners, sorters, transporters and suppliers. About 40% are children.

It is not the women and children alone that are exploited and exposed to danger but the men too, who form the bulk of this workforce.

However, men do not experience the discrimination in the hiring and compensation of extractive projects. Research has demonstrated that the industry tends to employ mostly male, and often migrant, workers.

Yet while everyone in the sector faces challenges, it is not a gender neutral sphere and women suffer massively on project sites and few benefit from the economic growth that accompanies resource extraction.

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A Masculinist and Womanist Perspective 5.2.2 Extraction and De‐womanization in Kivu The environment of the mines is in remote areas controlled by military forces. The literature on rape and sexual abuse perpetrated by security forces and militia in Eastern DRC presents a rate second to none in the world. The target is women and girls, and in a smaller number of cases, men and boys. Infant children, older women and people with disabilities are among the victims, many of whom have suffered gang rape or have been raped more than once⁵⁰. In instances of ethnic conflict or attack on communities, rape has been committed in public and in front of family members, including children. Some women have been abducted and held as sexual slaves. In the context of the ethno‐customary sphere, the mass defying of women and children can only be categorized as 'de‐ womanization'. This is a state in which the woman is de‐humanized to a point where she becomes in‐humane and appropriates the extraction culture of the perpetrator as our field visits in Kivu showed.

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The change from subsistence farming to resource extraction disrupts the gender dynamics of local economics by propelling agricultural communities into cash‐based economies that favour men. As women's livelihood is tied to their environments, their economic opportunities are compromised when their farmland, crops and water sources are appropriated by the mining projects. Although women make the switch to generating an income from the mines, they still are straddled with their designated roles of providing food for their families, fetching firewood and water and caring for children and the elderly.

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Other factors that impact negatively on women are the physical trauma from the difficulty of the manual labour. It is recorded that women in mining camps suffer a high rate of miscarriages due to injury and stress⁵¹. The high risk lifestyle of large concentrations of migratory young men, family separations (leading to break‐ups and polygamy), the military presence, prostitution, alcohol and drug abuse and lack of condom use, makes the risk of HIV/AIDS and STDs a very credible threat.

The presence of child miners prevents children from going to school and thereby limiting their future option and the hope for transition to a better life⁵².

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5.2.3 Women and Significant Roles in the Mining Chain

Conflict often leads both women and men to adopt coping strategies that challenge traditional gender norms. To meet the needs of their household and compensate for loss of revenue usually provided by male family members, women may assume new natural resource management roles, either by taking up alternative income‐generating activities or by moving into traditionally male sectors. This is evident in the mining sector:

Amnesty International (2008) ibid ibid

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A Masculinist and Womanist Perspective Some [women] are involved in actual mining, the majority in washing and sorting material, some in transportation of raw and processed material, and many run small businesses to supply the mine and camps. A recent survey in Lolwezi, Katanga, indicated that 30%of women actually dig, 60% process the material, and 10% provide transport and supply services. Whilst income varies according to the location of the mine and market, the mineral involved, and the task carried out, the average income for women in and around the mines ranges from $2‐$4 per day⁵³ Away from the stereotype of women engaging in the menial tasks of cooking and cleaning in the mining industry, they also play roles and hold positions of significant influence. Many women have overcome gender barriers and have control of some points on the mining chain. Some mining camps are run by women, the likes of which are notably cleaner, better organized and exhibit well‐balanced economies. Their ability to act as traders makes them powerful actors in the economic chain. They are known to hold leading management positions such as camp chiefs, gold traders, minerals buyers and “middlemen” or negociants⁵⁴.

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Although women are understood to be better at many tasks than men due to their greater patience and ability to both work with their hands and multi‐task (they sort diamonds better and they are more honest), women are paid less than men for the same tasks and sometimes, for superstitious reasons, they are not permitted into the camps because of the belief that the presence of women will cause the ore to disappear.

Ensuring the subjugation of women protects the patriarchal dividend: while the commanders of the troops enrich themselves with the wealth from the mines, they reward their footmen with the ancient prize of war – women as loot. In training, soldier's manhood is emphasized and the promise to them is the entitlement to women's bodies⁵⁵.

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5.3 The Ogaaden Convergence

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ibid ibid Cockburn (2008) Eassi, Somalia, www.eassi.org/somalia

Women in Somalia find themselves subjected by extreme interpretation of Sharia law which often contradicts their accustomed practice of Islam and Somali culture. Girls aged 15 to 19 often find themselves married, divorced or widowed. According to the Family Code, men head their families and the wife is obliged to follow he husband.

Widows have no inheritance rights.

In Somalia, sexual and domestic violence is reported to be a serious problem and on the increase⁵⁶. Women in Somali continue to be subjected to high levels of conflict‐related sexual violence and domestic violence, where rape is often used as a weapon of war. Police and militia members have been found to be perpetrators of rape against women with gang rapes a particular problem in urban areas, perpetrated by youth gangs, members of police forces and male students. Linked to the increase in pirate activity in Somalia are reports revealing the increasing problem of trafficking of women.

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A Masculinist and Womanist Perspective Women are largely excluded from owning land and it is the collective property of the family and is passed from father to son. Sharia governing law also disadvantages them from owning property. The years of conflict have further jeopardized their access to collateral for investment in business enterprises. The presence of insurgent groups limits the movement of women who live under the threat of forms of violence, particularly sexual violence. Their dress code is also restricted to the covering of their faces.

The conflict in Ogaaden convergence has provided some opportunities for women. With many men unemployed, women have been allowed to engage in income generating activities. Men do not undertake such activities because society may look down on them and therefore they may lose their status.

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Women in Somalia have had to break free of traditions that would otherwise relegate them to poverty. For women whose families have lost their livestock due to drought, their only recourse is begging, suggesting how the power structures leave them ill‐prepared to survive on their own. But case studies have also revealed a willingness of women to damn culture and its constraints: In the town of Mandera, some women have taken to selling animal intestines in defiance of their culture. These innards of animals are usually thrown away at slaughter houses. Though these women suffer discrimination as a result of their job, they persist in making ends meet by cleaning tripe. Women between the ages of 45 and 80 have embarked in this business after having been widowed, abandoned by their husbands or supporting disabled husbands. Those who have engaged in this business have managed to educate their children and make ends meet, but they have had to contend with the being treated as outcasts in a society that views them as “dirty women” because of their choice of jobs. This has led to trauma and stigmatization for them and their children⁵⁷.

D Safe World for Women www.asafeworldforwomen.org Daniel Williams (1993) articles.latime.com/1993

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In the tradition‐bound society, the conflict has opened new opportunities for women. These have included previously restricted commerce like the qat trade that only men were allowed to sell. Women now hold negotiations with militant gunmen and foreign relief officials for passage on unsafe streets. Women are often favoured for delivery of food and stuffs because they are considered more reliable than man. This allows allows them to play a crucial partisan role in the conflict. Some work as supply and message couriers for their clans, although women bearing arms cannot be confirmed⁵⁸

Women entrepreneurs in Somalia face challenges of maintaining their primary role as mothers and wives and breaking away from traditional roles that do not allow them to engage in business. For the many women in the aftermath of conflict, capitalizing on these shifting roles can contribute to breaking down barriers to women's empowerment and enhancing women's productivity in sectors that are often critical to From Soft to Hard Security||TCH Working Paper 03/11/2013

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A Masculinist and Womanist Perspective economic revitalization.

6.0 OVERALL IMPRESSIONS This study has attempted to take into account masculinities and femininities and the relationship between them in militarized spheres of authority – in the continuum of soft and hard insecurity. We have tried to show how gender relations penetrate all other relations especially economic activity. That which connects the three convergences under study is the nature of their conflict that all suggest economic marginalization and political disempowerment. Most conspicuous in this study on militia is the aspect of violence and its gendered nature which leads us to propose that: 1) violence in soft insecurity and hard insecurity are not distinct – one spills into the other. Political violence can ultimately manifest itself in armed conflict. Therefore it is violence that can be regulated and constructed as socially disruptive. And 2), violence is sexualized (read gendered) not just at the domestic level but all the way to the regional level where armed conflicts are fought. If in the civic sphere wife‐bashing is not recognized as assault but a 'private' matter, then women raped by soldiers are simply casualties in the line of national defense.

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The role of militia, predatory states and rogue capital calls for sensitivity to 'difference' in order to see how women and men may be positioned differently to recognize their different strengths and skills.

The array of cultures in the Horn of Africa equally requires an expression of the differences that exist between the cultures.

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