Women, Agency, and the State in Guinea This book examines how women in Guinea articulate themselves politically within and outside institutional politics. It documents the everyday practices that local female actors adopt to deal with the continuous economic, political, and social insecurities that emerge in times of political transformations. Carole Ammann argues that women’s political articulations in Muslim Guinea do not primarily take place within women’s associations or institu- tional politics such as political parties; but instead women’s silent forms of politics manifest in their daily agency, that is, when they make a living, study, marry, meet friends, raise their children, and do household chores. The book also analyses the relationship between the female population and the local authorities, and discusses when and why women’s claim making enjoys legiti- macy in the eyes of other men and women, as well as representatives of ‘tra- ditional’ authorities and the local government. Paying particular attention to intersectional perspectives, this book will be of interest to scholars of African studies, social anthropology, political anthropology, the anthropology of gender, urban anthropology, gender stu- dies, and Islamic studies. Carole Ammann is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Amster- dam, the Netherlands. Routledge Studies on Gender and Sexuality in Africa 1. The Tunisian Women’s Rights Movement From Nascent Activism to Influential Power-broking Jane D. Tchaicha and Khédija Arfaoui 2. Disability and Sexuality in Zimbabwe Voices from the Periphery Christine Peta 3. Love, Sex and Teenage Sexual Cultures in South Africa 16 Turning 17 Deevia Bhana 4. African Women, ICT and Neoliberal Politics The Challenge of Gendered Digital Divides to People-Centered Governance Assata Zerai 5. Widow Inheritance and Contested Citizenship in Kenya Building Nations Awino Okech 6. Women, Agency, and the State in Guinea Silent Politics Carole Ammann Women, Agency, and the State in Guinea Silent Politics Carole Ammann First published 2020 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2020 Carole Ammann The right of Carole Ammann to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Ammann, Carole, author. Title: Women, agency, and the state in Guinea : silent politics / Carole Ammann. Identifiers: LCCN 2019049291 (print) | LCCN 2019049292 (ebook) | ISBN 9780367189594 (hardback) | ISBN 9780429199547 (ebook) | ISBN 9780429578663 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9780429574443 (mobi) | ISBN 9780429576553 (epub) Classification: LCC HQ1236.5.G92 A46 2020 (print) | LCC HQ1236.5.G92 (ebook) | DDC 305.42096652--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019049291 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019049292 ISBN: 978-0-367-18959-4 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-429-19954-7 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Taylor & Francis Books For Kaspar, Nyah, and Enna Contents List of Figures viii Acknowledgments ix Notes on Names, Style, and Published Articles xi List of Abbreviations and Acronyms xiii Introduction: Women’s Political Articulations 1 1 Gendered Conceptions throughout Guinean History 27 2 Contested Presidential Elections in 2010 51 3 Expectations of the New President 78 4 The Guinean State Doing Gender 106 5 Women’s Limited Impacts on Institutional Politics 125 6 Everyday Politics 153 7 Struggling for Recognition: Interactions with Local Authorities 179 Conclusion: Women’s Silent Politics 204 Index 216 Figures I(1) Kankan’s Dibida Market 3 I(2) A Typical Café in Kankan 16 2.1 Election Board in the Fouta Djallon 59 2.2 Supporting Banner for the Syli National in Kankan 68 3.1 Poster of the ‘Train of Change’ 87 6.1 Women Refuelling their Motorcycles in the City Centre 156 6.2 Young Women at Mariam Bah’s Wedding 164 7.1 Women Selling their Commodities 191 7.2 Women Selling on the Road next to Dibida Market 195 Acknowledgments One of the most beautiful privileges in doing anthropology is its social char- acter, first and foremost during fieldwork. I owe a lot to many Guineans – men and women, young and elderly – who generously permitted me to gain insight into the joys and difficulties of their everyday life. The research parti- cipants have told me their stories and experiences, given me their points of view, patiently answered my many questions, and allowed me to spend time with them. Without them, this book would not have been possible. I espe- cially thank the two research collaborators Djénabou Dramé and Thierno Abdoul Sow who have done an incredible work. I would also like to express my immense gratitude to the Fofana family for their big-hearted hospitality, the delicious food, and their general contribution to my well-being while staying at their home. I thank my friends for sharing adventures, sharing food and drinks, for dancing, playing games, watching soccer, discussing, and remaining silent: Bouah Sangaré, Daouda Traoré, Djénabou Dramé, Kadiatou Diallo, the members of the association Kankan Ville Verte, Mamadou Tounkara, Mamy Traoré, Mohamed Gbondouno, Sory Kourouma, Tenin Diawara, and Thierno Abdoul Sow. I also want to thank Amadou Doumbouya, Andrea Hodler, Chantal Zimmermann, Corinne Heim, Dominik Holl, Jay Straker, Katharina Zürcher, Laura Pestalozzi, Lucy Koechlin, Marion Bernet, Mat- thias Knecht, Michelle Engeler, Rahel Müller, and Sophia Völksen for the discussions and the unforgettable Sundays at the river side. Special thanks go to my PhD supervisors Till Förster and Dorothea Schulz. I would also like to thank my colleagues for the fruitful collaborations during joint writing projects. I am grateful for the comments on presentations, proposals, draft chapters, articles, and the general support I received throughout this research from people at the Institute of Social Anthropology at the University of Basel and beyond: Aïdas Sanogo, Alexander Vorbrugg, Andrea Buhl, Andrea Kaiser-Grolimund, Andrea Kaufmann, Anna Christen, Balz Alter, Barbara Heer, Bobby Luthra Sinha, Brigit Obrist, Filomena Mazumbar, Fiona Siegenthaler, Franziska Jenni, Frederik Unseld, Jana Gerold, Jennifer Giroux, Johannes Knierzinger, Kathrin Heitz-Tokpa, Kerstin Bauer, Lotte Nielsen, Lucy Koechlin, Mamane Amadou, Maren Larsen, x Acknowledgments Mohamed Saliou Camara, Michelle Engeler, Miriam Giroux, Piet van Euwijk, Rita Kesselring, Sabine Schultz, Sandra Burri, Sandra Staudacher, Silke Oldenburg, Susann Ludwig, Till Förster, and Tina Lou Tra. Special thanks goes to Gernot Biersack for the language editing. This research was made possible thanks to grants from several research foundations: Firstly, the grant by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) for the project ‘The Work of State Imageries: How Imageries of Gov- ernance and the State Constitute Everyday Practice in Conflict Affected West Africa’ (No. 124528) led by Till Föster, which this research has been part of for fifteen months; secondly, the one-year scholarship by the Research Fund Junior Researchers from the University of Basel; thirdly, a fifteen-month scholarship by the SNSF Marie Heim-Vögtlin Grant. I was able to conduct extended fieldwork in Guinea thanks to the Freiwillige Akademische Gesellschaft, and the Josef und Olga Tomcsik-Stiftung. Special thanks also goes to Susan Thieme and Marina Richter, as well as my colleagues at the Institute of Geography at the University of Bern who hosted me during the revision process. I especially thank Regina, Ruedi, and Noëmi Ammann for being proud of me and for being there. In particular, I want to thank Kaspar Padel for being at my side during this long journey. And thank you Nyah and Enna for giving me endless joy and energy. You are simply wonderful. This book has been published with the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation. Notes on Names, Style, and Published Articles I have changed all research participants’ names to protect their privacy and to ensure anonymity. However, there are some exceptions to this rule: The two research collaborators, Thierno Abdoul Sow and Djénabou Dramé, had asked to be cited by their proper names. I did not change the names of persons who can easily be identified due to their position, such as the mayor. If not noted otherwise, the data has been gathered in Kankan. I have translated the research participants’ statements into Eng- lish myself. I use double quotation marks when referring to academic lit- erature or an extract from an interview. I use single quotation marks when referring to informal conversations, naturally occurring talks, field notes, and sediment knowledge. Elements of this book have been published in earlier versions. Bits of Chapter 1 and Chapter 5 went into my overview on Guinean women in poli- tics in the Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures (EWIC).1 Parts of Chapter 2 have already been published in a joint article with Andrea Kauf- mann in Mande Studies.2 Elements of Chapter 6 have already appeared as a book section in the edited volume on University Graduates in Urban Africa.3 Other parts of Chapter 6 have been published in an article in the Journal of Culture and African Women Studies (JENdA).4 Lastly, bits of Chapter 7 went into an article published in Stichproben – the Vienna Journal of African Studies.5 Notes 1 Ammann, Carole. 2018. “Political Parties and Participation: Guinea.” In Encyclo- pedia of Women & Islamic Cultures (EWIC), edited by Suad Joseph.