Forging Ahead without an Affirmative Action Policy: Female Politicians in Sierra Leone's Post‐War Electoral Process
In contemporary post‐conflict Sierra Leone, women have managed to secure 13.5 per cent of seats in parliament – without affirmative action in place, thanks to women's groups' and coalitions' mobilisation and activism. While the political resistance to Sierra Leone having a quota was high, the women's movement has succeeded in forcing the political parties and the government to recognise that it is no longer politically viable to sidestep women's rights, should they wish to capitalise on women's voting power. As women's organisations, in particular the 50/50 group, continue the struggle to introduce a quota, the challenge for Sierra Leonean women is how to ensure that the quota project is not hijacked by the male‐dominated political establishment. To this aim, this article examines the ongoing efforts to politically consciencise women parliamentarians, society and political parties.
Women.s empowerment: what works and why?
Revisiting foundational feminist work on the concept of empowerment from the 1980s and 1990s, this paper draws on the findings of a multi-country research programme, â€˜Pathways of Womenâ€™s Empowermentâ€™, to explore pathways of positive change in womenâ€™s lives, in diverse contexts, and to draw together some lessons for policy and practice. It begins with an account of womenâ€™s empowerment in development, tracing some key ideas that have shaped feminist engagement with empowerment in theory and practice. It then introduces the Pathways programme and its methodological approach, before turning to each of Pathwaysâ€™ themes, exploring key findings from our research and highlighting examples of â€˜what worksâ€™. It goes on to narrate a series of stories of change that illustrate some of the dynamics and dimensions of change identified in our key conclusions. Drawing out the principal lessons, the paper concludes with reflections on implications for development policy and practice
The New Religions of Africa
This volume is an important and original collection of firsthand field reports and essays on contemporary African cults and churches. Using comprehensive ethnographic information, this volume focuses on the importance of religion as an agent and symbol of social change in emerging African nations, and the changing roles of gender in African society.