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- Convenors:
-
James Kewir Kiven
(African Leadership Centre Trust, Nairobi, Kenya)
Gordon Crawford (Coventry University)
Roxana Willis (FRIAS, University of Freiburg)
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- Format:
- Panel
- Stream:
- 'Françafrique'
- Location:
- Room 1139
- Sessions:
- Thursday 9 June, -
Time zone: Europe/Berlin
Short Abstract:
This panel examines the unprecedented levels of political violence and internal conflict currently affecting Cameroon. It is especially interested in the experiences and perspectives of those most affected by violence, and in the use of art-based methods to generate such data.
Long Abstract:
Cameroon is currently experiencing unprecedented levels of political violence and conflict in the post-independence period. In the Far North region, Boko Haram has been engaged in attacks against the military and civilian population since 2014. While the intensity of fighting has risen and fallen, armed confrontations continue, including the involvement of local ‘comités de vigilance’ . In the English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions, the Anglophone conflict between the military and armed separatist groups is in its fifth year. Consequences for the civilian population have been devastating in terms of loss of life and livelihoods, internal displacement, gross human rights violations, including gender-based violence. Conflicts between Mbororo pastoralists and Grassfields farmers in the Northwest region have also intensified, compounded by the Anglophone conflict. The Mbororo people have accused separatist militias of attacks, but have also been accused by separatists of attacking Anglophone civilians and collaborating with the military. Displacement of Mbororo people and the formation of ‘vigilance committees’ have occurred in consequence.
Panel convenors are especially interested in contributions that focus on the experiences and perspectives of individuals and communities affected by violence in Cameroon, and the use of art-based methods to generate research data with affected people. Contributions should address at least one of VAD themes: ‘Francafrique’; ‘Flight & Migration’; ‘African researchers...’; ‘African Studies…’; ‘Images…’. One area of interest is ‘peacebuilding from below’ and the contributions of local organisations to conflict resolution. However, papers are welcome that explore any aspect of the political violence and conflict that currently affects Cameroon.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Thursday 9 June, 2022, -Paper short abstract:
This paper amplifies the pockets of peace actions led by women peace activists and leaders in the northwest and southwest regions of Cameroon. And highlights the strategies used in building peace movements across the country.
Paper long abstract:
Women’s peace activism and movement building in Cameroon can be traced back during the colonial era and within the 90s where there was mass organizing of female militants like the Takembeng, Anlu and Titi Koli in fostering social justice. They organized through public demonstrations, nude activism, and social protests. Today, with the advent of new media and technology, pockets of peace actions by women’s activists can be seen across the nation, from the Far North regions down to the Center Region and the Coastal fields of the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon. Of these actions, some of the most significant accomplishments have been the organizing of the first National Women’s Convention for Peace, which brought together over 1500 women and girls from all walks of life across the national territory to dialogue for peace. Follow-up has been the localization of the convention's outcomes in line with the Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.
This paper is a snapshot to the broader reflections on women’s activism on peace movements in Cameroon, with a particular focus on women’s activism across the northwest and southwest regions. It’s an ethno-sociological study, which employs a triangulated methodological approach that is participatory and interactive and grounded in social movement perspectives.
Paper short abstract:
La violence instrumentalisée de la 《terroriste》(à partir de 2015) telle que perçue dans le cadre du conflit Boko Haram rend compte du primat patriarcal (ou de la psychologie de la soumission) qui influe sur l'agir de la catégorie des femmes dans la region de l'extreme-nord Cameroun.
Paper long abstract:
En 2012, le groupe terroriste Boko Haram d'origine nigériane fait son irruption suite à une attaque dans la région de l'extrême-nord et plus précisément à Banki (zone frontalière avec le Nigeria). Deux ans plus tard, les entrepreneurs du chaos entrent en affront direct avec les forces de défense et de sécurité camerounaises. Essoufflé par la montée en puissance de la coalition antiterroriste de la Force Multinationale Mixte ( FMM ) de la Commission du Bassin du Lac Tchad ( CBLT ), les terroristes redéfinissent leur stratégie guerrière en campant sur l'attentat-suicide. Cette modalité d'action du groupe Boko Haram s'observe à partir du 12 et 22 juillet 2015 dans les localités de Maroua et de Fotokol. De façon claire, il est important de signifier ici que ce sont les femmes qui sont les boucs émissaires. Aussi, l'on souligne que le mode lié à l'attentat-suicide que mobilise le groupe Boko Haram est le propre de sa stratégie de contournement et fort observable jusqu'à aujourd'hui. Théoriquement, cette étude interroge le concept des "violences féminines sous tutelle" de Cardi et Pruvost. Ceci nous amène à nous poser la question ci-après : Comment rendre intelligible la violence instrumentalisée de la « terroriste » de l'organisation Boko Haram dans les zones grises de la région de l'extrême-nord ? Pour répondre à cette question, l'on mettra un focus sur les mobiles sous-jacents qui expliquent le second rôle de la femme. Aussi, il sera question de comprendre au mieux le jeu instrumental de ces dernières dans le conflit Boko Haram.