Is the Motherist Approach More Helpful in Obtaining Women’S Rights Than a Feminist Approach? a Comparative Study of Lebanon and Liberia
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IS THE MOTHERIST APPROACH MORE HELPFUL IN OBTAINING WOMEN’S RIGHTS THAN A FEMINIST APPROACH? A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF LEBANON AND LIBERIA A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts By CRYSTAL MARIE WHETSTONE B.A., International Studies, Wright State University, 2007 2013 Wright State University WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL April 25, 2013 I HEREBY RECOMMEND THAT THE THESIS PREPARED UNDER MY SUPERVISION BY Crystal Whetstone ENTITLED Is the Motherist Approach More Helpful in Obtaining Women’s Rights than a Feminist Approach? A Comparative Study of Lebanon and Liberia BE ACCEPTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF Master of Arts. ______________________________ December Green, Ph.D. Thesis Director ______________________________ Laura M. Luehrmann, Ph.D. Director, Master of Arts Program in International and Comparative Politics Committee on Final Examination: ___________________________________ December Green, Ph.D. Department of Political Science ___________________________________ Laura M. Luehrmann, Ph.D. Department of Political Science ___________________________________ Awad Halabi, Ph.D. Department of History ___________________________________ R. William Aryes, Ph.D. Interim Dean, Graduate School ii ABSTRACT Whetstone, Crystal Marie M.A., International and Comparative Politics M.A. Program, Wright State University, 2013. Is the Motherist Approach More Helpful in Obtaining Women’s Rights than a Feminist Approach? A Comparative Study of Lebanon and Liberia. The theory that women gain rights during the social upheaval of war has not held universally. While the debate has traditionally centered over women’s participation in fighting and entry into the workforce this paper explores the topic from the form of mobilization, motherist or feminist, that women’s organizing takes during war through the use of a longitudinal, comparative study of Lebanon and Liberia. Lebanese women’s organizations overwhelmingly employed motherist mobilization and tackled practical gender interests that made no attempt to end women’s subordination. In contrast, during the Liberian civil war women’s groups were more apt to focus on strategic gender interests which acknowledged hierarchical gender relations. This paper addresses whether a motherist approach allows women a culturally acceptable space from which to make demands or if, in fact, the motherist approach limits opportunities to increase women’s rights. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………1 1.1 The Research Question and Sub-Questions.…………………………….1 1.2 The Literature Review…………………………………………………..2 1.3 Procedure……………………………………………………………….17 2. Women’s Organizing during Lebanon’s Civil War…………………………21 2.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………. 21 2.2 Background on Lebanon……………………………………………….. 21 2.3 Lebanon’s Conflict over Identity……………………………………… 25 2.4 Summary of Lebanon’s Civil War……………………………………… 28 2.5 The Causes of Lebanon’s Civil War……………………………………. 33 2.6 Women in Lebanese Society……………………………………………..37 2.7 Lebanese Women's Experiences during the War Years…………………..41 2.8 Wartime Violence against Lebanese Women……………………………..47 2.9 Lebanese Women's Coping Mechanisms…………………………………50 2.10 Lebanese Women's Roles in the War…………………………………….52 2.11 History of Women’s Activism in Lebanon……………………………….55 2.12 Lebanese Women's Activism during the War…………………………….62 2.13 Gender Interests Typology………………………………………………..82 2.14 Motherhood as Mobilization for Activism………………………………..89 2.15 Gains in Women’s Rights Following the War…………………………….93 2.16 Conclusion……………………………………………………………….101 3. Women's Activism during Liberia’s Civil War………………………….……103 iv 3.1 Introduction……………………………………………………….……103 3.2 Background on Liberia…………………………………………….……104 3.3 Liberia’s Conflict over Identity………………………………….….…..113 3.4 Summary of Liberia’s Civil War…………………………………….…..119 3.5 The Causes of Liberia’s Civil War………………………………………126 3.6 Women in Liberian Society……………………………………………..132 3.7 Liberian Women’s Experiences during the War Years…………………..140 3.8 Wartime Violence against Liberian Women……………………………..145 3.9 Liberian Women’s Coping Mechanism…………………………………..151 3.10 Liberian Women’s Roles in the War……………………………………..155 3.11 History of Women’s Activism in Liberia…………………………………158 3.12 Liberian Women’s Activism during the War……………………………..162 3.13 Motherhood as Mobilization for Activism……………………………….185 3.14 Gender Interests Typology……………………………………………….189 3.15 Gains in Women’s Rights Following the War……………………………195 3.16 Conclusion………………………………………………………………..203 4. Analysis and Conclusion………………………………………………………204 4.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………..204 4.2 Process-tracing……………………………………………………………..204 4.3 Future Research……………………………………………………………225 4.4 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………226 Works Cited…………………………………………………………………………………229 Works Consulted…………………………………………………………………………....260 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1……………………………………………………………………………………………88 Table 2…………………………………………………………………………………………..195 Table 3…………………………………………………………………………………………..208 vi LIST OF ACRONYMS AFELL Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia AFL Armed Forces of Liberia CPA Comprehensive Peace Agreement DDRR disarmament, demobilization, reintegration, and rehabilitation ECOMOG Economic Community of West African States Cease-fire Monitoring Group ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States FAS Femmes Africa Solidarité FGC female genital cutting HTP harmful traditional practice IDP internally displaced person IECOM Independent Electoral Commission IGNU Interim Government of National Unity INPFL Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia IRIN Integrated Regional Information Networks Isis-WICCE Isis-Women’s International Cross-Cultural Exchange LFPA Lebanese Family Planning Association LIWORP Liberian Women for Reconciliation and Peace International LNTG Liberian National Transitional Government LPC Liberian Peace Council LURD Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy MARWOPNET Mano River Women’s Peace Network MDD major depressive disorder vii MODEL Movement for Democracy in Liberia MOJA Movement for Justice in Africa NGO non-governmental organization NPFL National Patriotic Front of Liberia NTGL National Transitional Government of Liberia OAU Organization of African Unity PAL Progressive Alliance of Liberia PGIs practical gender interests PLO Palestinian Liberation Organization PPP Progressive People’s Party PRC People’s Redemption Council PTSD Post Traumatic Stress Disorder RAA Rape Amendment Act RUF Revolutionary United Front SELF Special Emergency Life Food Programme SIGI Sisterhood is Global Institute SIGI Social Institutions and Gender Index SLA Southern Lebanese Army SGIs strategic gender interests SSNP Syrian Social Nationalist Party SWAPO South West African's People Organization TGF traumatic gynecologic fistula TRC Truth and Reconciliation Commission viii TWP True Whig Party UAR United Arab Republic ULIMO United Liberation Movement of Liberia UNAID Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS UNDP United Nations Development Program UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund UNIFEM United Nations Development Fund for Women UNIFIL United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon UNMIL United Nations Mission in Liberia UNOMIL United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia WANEP West African Network for Peace-building WILL Women in Liberian Liberty WILPF World International League for Peace and Freedom WIPNET Women in Peacebuilding Network WLUML Women Living under Muslim Laws YWCA Young Women's Christian Association ix Chapter 1: Statement of the Problem Introduction Scholars have long debated whether war and its aftermath bring an opportunity to further women’s equality in political, economic, and social standing (Bop, 2002; Meintjes, 2002; Turshen, 2002). Within the camp that argues that wars do bring changes which hasten female liberation, the debate has centered over whether it is due to women’s direct participation in fighting, or whether such progress is due to women entering the workforce (Enloe, 1993). This thesis seeks to add to this debate by considering motherist and feminist movements, in order to determine whether the approach of mobilization affects women’s rights following wars. 1.1 The Research Question and Sub-Questions Isabel Casimiro, Joy Kwesiga, Alice Mungwa, and Aili Mari Tripp insist that postwar situations in several countries, including Liberia, have opened up new opportunities for women (Casimiro, Kwesiga, Mungwa, and Tripp, 2009). Indeed, Funmi Olonishakin began stressing as early as 1995 the positive changes to the status of Liberian women due to the civil war (Olonishakin, 1995). Liberia has received ample media attention for its postwar president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa’s first democratically elected female head of state. Her election to the presidency is chiefly credited to her large female base which campaigned on her behalf (Adams, 2008). Furthermore, Liberian women continue to experience positive changes in the postwar milieu (Bhatia, 2011). Yet Lebanese women did not achieve the same level of success as their Liberian counterparts immediately following the end of Lebanon’s civil war in 1990. This thesis seeks to understand why Lebanese women failed to make significant gains towards equality directly following the Lebanese civil war in which women’s groups were active. The Lebanese case will be analyzed alongside Liberia to ask: Is a largely motherist approach more helpful in obtaining women’s rights than a mainly feminist approach? The sub-questions