The Search for Peace in Angola: The Crucial Role of Women-I

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Periodical article

Title:	The Search for Peace in Angola: The Crucial Role of Women-I
Author:	Campbell, Horace
Year:	1999
Periodical:	Africa Quarterly
Volume:	39
Issue:	1
Pages:	1-40
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Angola
Subjects:	civil wars national liberation struggles women Politics and Government Military, Defense and Arms Women's Issues Cultural Roles Ethnic and Race Relations
Abstract:	During the anticolonial war of 1961-1974, the war of destabilization of 1975-1991, and the destruction of Angola by UNITA from 1992 to 1994 millions of Angolans were uprooted from their village communities. Angolan women have been affected disproportionately by warfare, exploitation and violence. Increased violence in society meant that they were more susceptible to assaults and attacks, sexual abuse and beating. They felt the brunt of the shortages and hardships imposed by war: water shortages, chronic electricity shortages, shortages of food, high prices for shoddy goods, and the ravages of direct and domestic violence. With the collapse of the economic infrastructure, women's survival techniques played a curcial role. This paper deals with the multiple wars in Angola and the centrality of African women in moving away from warfare to new forms of social interaction. It shows that the spirit of resistance was nowhere as evident as in the forthright emergence of Angolan women on the centre-stage of the economic life. Bibliogr., ref.