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Paper short abstract:

This paper examines the escalating violence and insecurity across communities in northern Nigeria. Banditry, kidnapping, Boko Haram and farmer-herder conflicts occur to varying degrees. It stresses the need for applying decolonial methodologies in analysing the impact of these conflicts on women.

Paper long abstract:

The UK and Nigerian national agendas relating to women, security and peace (reflecting UN Sustainable Development Goals (Resolution 1325) emphasise the importance of women in development, security, peace, and conflict resolution. This is set against, escalating violent conflict and insecurity across states and communities in Nigeria. Banditry, kidnapping, cultism, armed robbery, indigenous-settler disputes, intra- and intergroup conflicts, and farmer-herder conflicts occur to varying degrees across the country. Women are disproportionately impacted by these violent acts and yet excluded from decisions regarding the prevention and management of such conflicts. Despite local initiatives, policy and practice remain sub-optimal because, whilst women are present in the peacebuilding work of non-governmental organizations, cultural and government institutions continue to marginalize them through gendered patriarchal institutional and societal power relations. The question of how to secure opportunities and capacity building for women still needs to be resolved. This paper stresses the need for applying decolonial methodologies in analysing the impact of these conflicts on women in Northern Nigeria.

The conclusion will show that the coloniality of power, knowledge and being clearly occupies most narratives about the local women in Northern Nigeria and therefore in need of decolonization. Proper consideration must be given to the narratives and perspectives of the local women themselves in other to create a balanced platform of exchange.

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This study explores challenges of Ntumbaw/Njirong women in Cameroon due to Anglophone conflict and land disputes in the Mbaw Plain. It examines the impact, coping mechanisms, and their role in conflict resolution.

Paper long abstract:

This paper explores the dual crises faced by the Ntumbaw/Njirong women in Cameroon, who deal with the Anglophone conflict and land disputes in the Mbaw plain. The ongoing conflict between the Cameroon Armed Forces and ‘Ambazonian’ separatist rebel groups has intensified pre-existing tensions, including land disputes. The Ntumbaw and Njirong villages, part of the Wimbum community, in the North West Region of Cameroon have been in a dispute over Land in the Mbaw area since 1974, disrupting social, economic, and spiritual relationships. Amidst this, the Ntumbaw women, already marginalized by traditional gender ideologies, face increased hardships. This study aims to explore the impact of these crises on the Ntumbaw/Njirong women, their coping mechanisms, and their role in conflict resolution. It also seeks to understand the broader implications of these crises for gender equality, social cohesion, and peacebuilding in the region. The findings provide valuable insights into the importance of recognizing and addressing the unique challenges women face in conflict zones, particularly those dealing with other forms of social and economic strife and highlighting the need for sustainable solutions to complex social issues. This paper is based on qualitative data collected through interviews and guided discussion from 2021 to 2023.

Keywords: Gender, Conflict, hardship.

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This paper aims to assess specific questions of sovereignty and governmentalities that directly contributed to the genocidal civil war that has been ongoing since November 2020 in Ethiopia. It employs combination methods of in-depth interviews and document analysis.

Paper long abstract:

The civil war that erupted in Ethiopia in November 2020 is rooted in complex issues of sovereignties and governmentalities, among other factors. This paper aims to assess specific questions of sovereignty and governmentalities that directly contributed to the commencement of this devastating conflict.

The research addresses the following inquiries: 1) What specific questions of sovereignty and governmentalities played a pivotal role in triggering the onset of the civil war in Ethiopia? 2) How have differing interpretations and assertions of sovereignty contributed to the conflict's escalation? And 3) In what ways do issues of governmentalities influence the dynamics of the war, including governance structures, power relations, and state control?

This study employs in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, government officials, and representatives from diverse communities to gain insights into their perspectives on sovereignty and governmentalities. Additionally, document analysis is utilized to examine official documents, policy papers, and historical records, tracing the evolution of sovereignty and governmentalities in Ethiopia.

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This presentation examines the impact of anti-Boko Haram measures on civilian populations’ livelihood and access to basic services in Cameroon. Its material was produced as part of an ongoing ethnographic research of Boko Haram and its derivative dynamics in the Lake Chad Basin since 2013.

Paper long abstract:

Since 2009, civilian populations in the Lake Chad Basin have suffered abuses by Boko Haram, a jihadist group considered the deadliest movement in the world according to the Institute for Economics and Peace’s 2015 Global Terrorism Index. In Cameroon, this group operates through bloody raids on villages, suicide bombings, improvised explosive mines, hostage-taking, and attacks on army posts. Due to intensive media demonization and negative labeling of Boko Haram, the literature tends to focus on the violence and horror of its acts, to the detriment of the abuses of the Cameroonian military and the negative consequences of counterinsurgency practices on local populations.

This presentation aims to fill this research gap and examine the impact of anti-Boko Haram measures on civilian populations’ livelihood and access to basic services in Cameroon. Concretely, it will focus on the effects of military and administrative measures such as restrictions on the mobility of people and goods, the construction of a border trench, the ban of some economic activities, the multiplication of checkpoints, the administrative closure of markets, and the closure of the border with Nigeria.

The material for this presentation was produced as part of an ongoing ethnographic research of Boko Haram and its derivative dynamics in the Lake Chad Basin since 2013, during which interviews were conducted with administrative authorities, traditional leaders, army officers, local service officials (agriculture, livestock, fisheries, social affairs), women and youth. The presentation will also be based on direct observations and unclassified security and administrative archival documents.

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This study interrogates the specter of rural banditry in northwestern Nigeria and the coping strategies by the people in the affected areas. It argues that banditry has emerged as one of the gravest security threats in Nigeria, in terms of intensity of violence and disruptive impact on the citizens. Due to state absence, collections of various criminal groups emerged to inflict violence on hapless fellow locals through kidnap-for-ransom, taxation, armed robbery, cattle rustling, rape, pillage and attacks on traders, farmers, and travelers. Though the locals and government have responded through formation of vigilante groups and deployment of troops, yet the problem is far from being over. And this triggers some pertinent questions: what accounts for the resilience of banditry in the rural areas of northwestern Nigeria? How do the people cope with the menace? What can be done? Based on primary data gathered through personal interviews with selected people in some affected areas of northwestern Nigeria, the study interrogates the foregoing questions. It is erected on the theory of ungoverned spaces and findings show the presence of ungoverned spaces as a major contributor to the emergence and resilience of banditry in the rural areas. Following inability of the state to come to their rescue, the people have adopted several coping methods including relocation to urban areas and payment of ransoms and taxes imposed by the bandits in order to stay alive. The study recommends kinetic and non-kinetic strategies as a way of dealing with the menace.

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Paper short abstract:

The Tuareg insurgencies in Northern Mali is often rationalized in terms of exclusion and marginalization. This study explores the role of Identity and Territorialization as alternative factors triggering and energizing the Tuareg rebellions in Mali and their implications for regional security.

Paper long abstract:

Armed rebellion occasioned by the activities of rebel groups pose a significant danger to human security and nation-building. Prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa and typical of this is the Tuareg rebellion in Mali. Existing studies have discussed the probable causes of the Tuareg rebellion from narrow standpoints. This justifies the need for broader engagement. Using secondary and primary sources, including interviews with key Tuareg leaders, government officials, the United Nations and African Union Missions, this study explores alternative factors that trigger and energize the Tuareg rebellions in Mali and their implications for regional security. This study argues that, given that the Tuareg are Berbers adhering mostly to a nomadic pastoralist lifestyle, the battle for their identity and campaign to geographically territorialize this identity in the State of Azawad in the face of opposition by the Malian state, is a plausible alternative explanation for their persistent and obstinate rebellion against the Malian government. Furthermore, the lack of understanding of these aspirations and continuous state-sponsored violence against the Tuaregs has resulted in many fleeing to neighbouring sub-Saharan countries with implications for security in the region. This has increased armed conflict and occupation of ungoverned spaces by criminal syndicates promoting transnational crime and worsening the already precarious state of human security, fueling insurgency and incidence of terrorism. This study concludes that there is compelling need for the Malian government to revisit several peace deals with the Tuareg and promote inclusive governance as a crucial step to de-escalating violence and breaking the cycle of insurgency.

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Paper short abstract:

This paper investigates local initiatives of unarmed civilian protection (UCP) in Cameroon's Anglophone conflict. It draws on findings from our research in Cameroon, highlighting some of the community-led unarmed civilian self-protection strategies and their accompanying challenges.

Paper long abstract:

This paper investigates community-led initiatives of unarmed civilian protection (UCP) in the ‘Anglophone conflict’ in Cameroon, now in its seventh year. While much work on UCP has focused on the role of external actors, this research highlights grassroots efforts of civilian self-protection that involve vulnerable civilians’ own agency. The Anglophone conflict in Cameroon is a civil war between state security forces and armed separatist groups fighting for an independent republic of Ambazonia in the Northwest and Southwest regions, the former British Southern Cameroons. The armed separatist groups are based in the rural areas where the military undertakes a counterinsurgency campaign. Rural residents in the conflict zones are hugely affected, with over 200 villages razed, more than 6000 deaths and over one million people displaced since the conflict began. Subjected to violence from both warring parties, though predominantly from the military, civilians have been pro-active and resourceful in devising ways to protect each other, inclusive of non-verbal communication, direct negotiation, spontaneous strategies, and early warning mechanisms. The role of women’s groups is especially significant. The paper contributes to knowledge on informal and innovative grassroots measures of civilian self-protection by drawing on findings from our research in Cameroon in 2023, highlighting some of the community-led unarmed civilian protection strategies and their accompanying challenges.

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Paper short abstract:

The study investigates the impact of the African Union border re-demarcation exercise on Malawian and Mozambican borderland communities showcasing how the AUBP’s realignment or transformation of borders from barriers to bridges is creating serious unintended consequences for civilian populations.

Paper long abstract:

On 7 December 2017, the Mozambican border patrol police shot dead a 43-year-old Malawian in Makanjira along the Mozambique-Malawi border, after a group of Malawian peasants protested the uprooting of their subsistence crops by the Mozambican authorities. Malawi and Mozambique were, from 2008, involved in a World Bank-funded boundary retracing exercise under the African Union Border Program (AUBP) which saw Malawi losing about ten square kilometres of land to Mozambique. Six Malawian villages, with about 12000 people suddenly found themselves in Mozambican territory with inhabitants losing their nationhood, land and were subjected to abuse/violence after Mozambique began its effective occupation in 2011 through beacon installations, patrols and raids. Allegedly, this was done without proper consultation with the affected communities. Despite numerous civilian defiances/responses and diplomatic manoeuvres to pacify the situation, tensions and sporadic clashes have come to characterise life within the borderland, with many peasants living in perpetual fear and uncertain-ty. The project, therefore, engages qualitative research methods to investigate how the delimitation exercise has affected the borderland communities from 2008 to the present. It argues that the AUBP’s effort towards eliminating sources of conflict between states by realigning or transforming borders from barriers to bridges creates serious unintended conflict that have consequences for borderland civilian populations. The study offers a platform for African governments and policymakers to reflect and draw critical lessons in the implementation modalities of a program that aimed at ensuring state security at the national level but ended up endangering human security on the local level.

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Paper short abstract:

This paper explains strategies developed by wartime rape survivors who have children born of rape to transcend long-lasting trauma affecting social reintegration complexified by the dynamism of cultural tensions against children identity,a serious concern against mothers sociopsychological stability

Paper long abstract:

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has seen a protracted war that has ripped apart relationships, making it difficult for rape survivors to move past their trauma and reintegrate into their local communities. Without classifying them, several academics have concentrated on the process of their recovery in general. Factors of long-lasting trauma affecting social reintegration of rape survivors impregnated by foreign rebels, and having children born of wartime rape, dynamism of cultural and relational tensions caused by the identity of children born of rape, which constitutes a serious concern against their mothers; and self-strategies developed by mothers to overcome those challenges have received little attention.

This paper aims to explain the causes of persistent trauma effects on the social reintegration of rape survivors, which are complexified by the burden of their traumatised offspring who are excluded from society and the coping mechanisms they have developed to deal with it. The findings of the study indicate that the severe mistreatment of children born of rape, which is justified by customary practices, has an impact on the mothers' ability to heal and reintegrate into society. Mothers have devised relational, physical, mental, spiritual, and sociocultural strategies to help them overcome the circumstances and defeat the established system that is patriarchal and patrilineal to ensure their sociopsychological stability.

To gather and examine the data, we used a qualitative approach. The population consists of wartime rape survivors having children born of rape, impregnated by foreign rebels; traditional and community leaders, located in eastern DRC.

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Paper short abstract:

This study investigates the pivotal role of popular defense in containing Boko Haram in Cameroon's Far North. The findings stress the significance of grassroots involvement in crafting effective strategies against Boko Haram, offering valuable insights for future containment approaches.

Paper long abstract:

This study aims to explore the significant contribution of “popular defense” to the containment of Boko Haram in the Far North of Cameroon, highlighting the crucial impact of this initiative on security and community resilience. Popular defense encompasses the involvement of populations in the war effort. It involves a range of local actions, such as vigilance and collaboration, aimed at strengthening resilience against threats, as illustrated in the fight against Boko Haram in Cameroon. It relies on local expertise to develop effective resistance strategies.

The research is based on in-depth field investigations, focusing on the experiences, local knowledge, and self-protection strategies of community members affected by Boko Haram activities.

The adopted data collection methodology is participatory, including participant observation, in-depth interviews, group discussions, and workshops. The results emphasize the relevance of “popular defense” based on local expertise and a profound understanding of the context. Initiatives such as community vigilance, regional calls, expressions of support, ecumenical prayers for victims and soldiers engaged in the theater of operations, information sharing, and inter-community collaboration are identified as critical elements of “popular defense” in the fight against Boko Haram.

The data, consolidated in detailed reports, incorporate testimonials and contextual analyses. By highlighting the crucial role of local populations, including vigilance committees, this summary underscores the importance of popular defense in resisting Boko Haram. Data obtained through participatory means provide a solid foundation for understanding popular defense practices, thus contributing to developing more effective containment strategies.

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Paper short abstract:

The study explores the multidimensional sufferings of aged women forcefully displaced by wars in Benue state, Nigeria. Also examined their coping strategies through the challenges of old age, failing health, Covid-19, hunger, wars and displacement; noting roles of state-civil society organizations.

Paper long abstract:

Over 1.5 people have been displaced by protracted farmers-herders resource crisis and inter-communal wars in Benue state, Nigeria. Out of this over 1.5 million displaced persons hosted in 27 IDPs camps, elderly women, between the ages of 65-100 years, are over 40,000. Alongside other IDPs, they live in deplorable conditions like hunger, poor medical care, etc. Underlining illnesses have also left many bedridden, while some are lame, blind, and mostly dependent on others for survival. Usually, women are among the most vulnerable populations during wars, to be an aged further multiplies their sorrows. Drawing from the theory of state failure therefore, this study examined the impact of the wars on elderly women IDPs population in terms of health care and food provisioning responses; role of state-civil society; and the coping strategies of the women. The study argues that state failures and wars leading to displacement collude to create a situation of extreme sufferings for aged women, who need intensive care. Primary and secondary sources were adopted. Primary sources includes oral interviews with elderly women, in IDPs camps, Benue State Emergency Management Agency and Civil Society Organizations'. Data were qualitatively analyzed. Findings reveal that, at least 5 aged women die daily; the Covid-19 pandemic further worsened their woes, civil societies were overwhelmed; state officials diverts palliatives for personal use. The women resorted to protests, street begging, and self-medication. The study recommends dealing with the causes of the wars and creating aged care homes. In conclusion, the most vulnerable deserves great attention.

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Paper short abstract:

This paper discusses the root causes of current armed banditry and kidnapping in Katsina with emphasis on Dutsen-Ma, as one of the most affected Local Government Area in the state. The paper highlights the impacts of these crimes on women and children as the most affected civilians.

Paper long abstract:

Armed banditry and kidnapping are the two major security challenges disturbing Northern parts of Nigeria. The genesis of such crimes started as herder-farmer conflicts but later metamorphoses to kidnap for ransom, extortion, murder, cattle rustling and rape. These crimes could be attributed to bad governance, poverty, unemployment, economic instability, corruption, political instability, civil unrest and illiteracy. Armed banditry and kidnapping has become an event of daily occurrences in Northern Nigeria and poses a security threat to the nation. This paper explores the impact of armed banditry and kidnapping on women, young girls and children in Dutsen-Ma, as one of the most affected Local Government Area of Katsina State. The menace of such criminalities led to rape, forced displacements, trauma, discontinuation of education, economic hardship and loss of lives. It is also found that on daily basis, every evening, young girls,women and children who are the main target of these criminals have to abandon their homes and trek to the neighbouring villages seeking shelter, all in an attempt to avoid apprehension by bandits, only to return home the next morning. This has been the daily routine among the people of Dutsen-Ma community.