Identity and Exclusion in the Post-War Era: Zimbabwe's Women Former Freedom Fighters

In: Journal of peacebuilding & development: critical thinking and constructive action at the intersections of conflict, development and peace, Band 2, Heft 1, S. 51-63

Abstract

This study examines how demobilisation & reintegration processes affected the roles & status of women ex-combatants after the liberation war in Zimbabwe. The success of post-war demobilisation & reintegration depends on the formulation & implementation of programmes that recognise the contributions of women & treat them as a differentiated mass with specific aspirations. In disarmament, demobilisation & reintegration (DDR) processes after most wars, the roles of women in the conflicts & their post-war needs are ignored or not adequately addressed. Their critical roles & contributions in the conflict & its resolution are rarely recognised. The vital contribution that women fighters made in Zimbabwe's liberation struggle between 1962 & 1979 has gone largely unsung. Through extensive interviews with female ex-combatants, this article argues that the absence of a gender-sensitive demobilisation & reintegration policy resulted in the marginalisation & exclusion of women ex-combatants in the military, social, political & professional spheres. What then, it asks, are the lessons that can be learnt from Zimbabwe's experience of demobilisation & reintegration? 19 References. Adapted from the source document.