War, Women and Post-conflict Empowerment

Josephine Beoku-Betts is Professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Sociology at Florida Atlantic University, USA. She is also co-President of the Research Committee on Women and Society of the International Sociological Association.Fredline A. M’Cormack-Hale is Associate Professor with the School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University, USA. She also serves as Research and Policy Director for the Institute for Governance Reform in Sierra Leone.

• Acknowledgements Josephine Beoku-Betts and Fredline M’Cormack-HaleForeword Filomina Chioma SteadyPart 1: Conceptual FrameworksChapter 1 Understanding the Politics of Women and Gender Equality in Sierra Leone: Opportunities and PossibilitiesJosephine Beoku-Betts Fredline M’Cormack-HaleChapter 2 Transformative Narratives: The Empathetic Imagination, Empowerment, and Women in Post-War Sierra LeoneArthur Onipede HollistPart 2: Women in PoliticsChapter 3 Zainab Hawa Bangura’s Early Career as an Activist in Sierra Leone, 1994–2005LaRay DenzerChapter 4 Bastards in Politics”: Violence Against “Political” Women in Sierra Leone’s Post-War PoliticsHussainatu J. AbdullahChapter 5 Women Chiefs, Women’s Empowerment, and a Feminist Agenda in Contemporary Sierra LeoneLynda R. DayPart 3: Issues in Women’s Empowerment: Legal, Social, and EconomicChapter 6 Women and Law Reform in Post-War Sierra LeonePeter A. DumbuyaChapter 7 Barriers to Girls Education in Rural Sierra Leone: Results of Participatory ResearchSusan SheplerChapter 8 Where Does She Enter? (Re) Defining the Role of Traditional Birth Attendants in Sierra LeoneFredanna M. McGoughChapter 9 Gender Based Violence in the Age of EbolaLyn GraybillPart 4: Mobilizing to Advance Women’s Empowerment: Internal and External ActorsChapter 10 UNHCR’s Gender Policy for Refugees and Returnees in Sierra Leone: Health, Well-Being and Political AgencyClaudena SkranChapter 11 From Local Discussion Groups to Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp: Sierra Leone Women Mobilizing for Women’s Rights in Sierra LeoneAmy SmytheChapter 12 The Politics of Religion and Women’s Activism: Women’s “Choices” in the Abortion Bill and Constitutional Review DebatesAisha Fofana IbrahimChapter 13 Sierra Leonean Women Mobilizing for Change: Revising the Sexual Offenses [Amendment] Act of 2019Fredline A. O. M’Cormack-Hale

Finally, a book on post-conflict transitions that centres and celebrates the deep knowledge, diversity, and richness of Black women’s perspectives and experiences of post-conflict empowerment. This book is a welcome relief from simplified takes on gender and post-conflict that often centre whiteness and assume a singular experience of women post-conflict. Instead, this book takes the reader on a fascinating journey that explores the multiple meanings, obstacles, and gendered politics of post-conflict empowerment for Sierra Leonean women.