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If Our Men Won't Fight, We Will “If our men won’t ourmen won’t “If This study is a gender based confl ict analysis of the armed con- fl ict in northern Mali. It consists of interviews with people in Mali, at both the national and local level. The overwhelming result is that its respondents are in unanimous agreement that the root fi causes of the violent confl ict in Mali are marginalization, discrimi- ght, wewill” nation and an absent government. A fact that has been exploited by the violent Islamists, through their provision of services such as health care and employment. Islamist groups have also gained support from local populations in situations of pervasive vio- lence, including sexual and gender-based violence, and they have offered to restore security in exchange for local support. Marginality serves as a place of resistance for many groups, also northern women since many of them have grievances that are linked to their limited access to public services and human rights. For these women, marginality is a site of resistance that moti- vates them to mobilise men to take up arms against an unwilling government. “If our men won’t fi ght, we will” A Gendered Analysis of the Armed Confl ict in Northern Mali Helené Lackenbauer, Magdalena Tham Lindell and Gabriella Ingerstad FOI-R--4121--SE ISSN1650-1942 November 2015 www.foi.se Helené Lackenbauer, Magdalena Tham Lindell and Gabriella Ingerstad "If our men won't fight, we will" A Gendered Analysis of the Armed Conflict in Northern Mali Bild/Cover: (Helené Lackenbauer) Titel ”If our men won’t fight, we will” Title “Om våra män inte vill strida gör vi det” Rapportnr/Report no FOI-R--4121—SE Månad/Month November Utgivningsår/Year 2015 Antal sidor/Pages 77 ISSN 1650-1942 Kund/Customer Utrikes- & Försvarsdepartementen Forskningsområde 8. Säkerhetspolitik FoT-område Projektnr/Project no B12512 Godkänd av/Approved by Maria Lignell Jakobsson Ansvarig avdelning Försvarsanalys Detta verk är skyddat enligt lagen (1960:729) om upphovsrätt till litterära och konstnärliga verk. All form av kopiering, översättning eller bearbetning utan medgivande är förbjuden This work is protected under the Act on Copyright in Literary and Artistic Works (SFS 1960:729). Any form of reproduction, translation or modification without permission is prohibited. FOI-R--4121—SE Sammanfattning Konflikten i norra Mali har utvecklats avsevärt sedan den inleddes 2012. Enligt denna studie är många i Mali ense om att de grundläggande konfliktorsakerna är marginalisering och diskriminering av stora befolkningsgrupper. Konflikten får näring av den stratifierade samhällsstrukturen som skär genom hela samhället och alla grupper. Den skär genom geografiska platser, kön, etniska grupper, generationer och klasser, och skapar hierarkier mellan de som dominerar och de som är dominerade. Marginaliseringen är dock inte bara ett tillstånd av diskriminering och fattigdom, utan det är också en plats där motståndet mot regeringen gror. Detta gäller även bland kvinnorna i norr. Många av dem upplever svårigheter som är kopplade till en begränsad tillgång till samhällsservice, t.ex. sjukvård, elektricitet och vatten, i kombination med att deras mänskliga rättigheter kränks. Marginaliseringen skapar ett motstånd hos dessa kvinnor vilket bl.a. motiverar dem att mobilisera sina män att ta till vapen mot regeringen, som de anser inte bistår befolkningen i norr. Marginaliseringen och regeringens frånvaro i norra Mali har skapat ett vakuum som islamisterna har utnyttjat under lång tid. De har hjälpt den fattiga befolkningen med hälso- och sjukvård och även skapat sysselsättning. Dessutom har de utnyttjat stratifieringen och avsaknaden av social mobilitet i det maliska samhället och blivit ett alternativ för fattiga män och kvinnor. Islamistiska grupper har också fått stöd från den lokalbefolkning som utsatts för våld och övergrepp, inklusive sexuellt och könsbaserat våld, av andra väpnade fraktioner. Islamisterna har erbjudit sig att återställa säkerheten i utbyte mot lokalbefolkningens stöd. Den strikta hierarkin mellan män och kvinnor i Mali begränsar kvinnors deltagande i offentligt beslutsfattande. Detta betyder dock inte att kvinnor inte har möjlighet att påverka konfliktdynamiken och våldsanvändningen. Denna studie visar att trots att kvinnor inte kan delta i det offentliga beslutfattandet har de makt att bidra till både väpnad konflikt och fred. Därför är det väsentligt att inkludera dem i fredsförhandlingar för att uppnå en hållbar fred. Nyckelord: Genus, konfliktanalys, gender, marginalisering, terrorism, väpnad konflikt, fred, islamisering, Afrika, afrikansk säkerhet, Mali, Västafrika, Sahel 3 FOI-R--4121—SE Summary The armed conflict in northern Mali has developed significantly since it broke out in 2012. The overwhelming result of this study is that its respondents are in unanimous agreement that the root causes of the violent conflict in Mali are marginalization and discrimination. The conflict is nurtured by the pervasive stratification between almost all groups in the society. The cleavages run between geographic locations, genders, ethnic groups, generations and classes, and enables hierarchies between those that dominate and those that are dominated. Marginality serves as a place of resistance for many groups, also northern women since many of them have grievances that are linked to their limited access to public services and human rights. For these women, marginality is a site of resistance that motivates them to mobilise men to take up arms against an unwilling government. The Islamists have exploited the vacuum left behind by the absent government, through their provision of services such as health care and employment. They have also used the stratification between social classes to gain the support of impoverished communities and offer some sort of social mobility to both poor women and men. Islamist groups have also gained support from local populations in situations of pervasive violence, including sexual and gender-based violence, and they have offered to restore security in exchange for local support. The strict stratification between men and women in Mali confines and constricts women’s participation to the private sphere. Being denied a place in the public sphere does not need to signify that women do not have the power to impact the conflict dynamics and the use of violence. This study reveals that women with limited participation in the public sphere can have power to instigate violent conflict, as well as contribute to peace. Thus it is important to include them in peace talks aiming at sustainable peace. Keywords: Gender, conflict analysis, marginalisation, armed conflict, radicalisation, terrorism, Africa, African security, Mali, West Africa, Sahel, gender 4 FOI-R--4121—SE Table of Contents Table of Contents 5 Acronyms 7 Map of Ethnic Groups in Mali 9 1 Introduction 11 1.1 What is a gendered conflict analysis? ............................................. 12 1.2 The aim of the study ........................................................................ 13 1.3 The scope and limitations of the study ............................................ 14 1.4 Sources and data collection ............................................................ 14 1.5 Research method and design ......................................................... 15 1.5.1 The analytical framework ............................................................ 16 2 Conflict Developments since 2012 21 3 Analysing Structures 23 3.1 Social and demographic factors ...................................................... 23 3.2 Political factors ................................................................................ 29 3.3 Economic equality factors ............................................................... 32 4 Analysing Actors 34 4.1 The Government of Mali .................................................................. 34 4.2 The Coordination ............................................................................. 37 4.3 The Platform .................................................................................... 43 4.4 Armed Islamists ............................................................................... 46 4.5 Relations between actors ................................................................ 51 5 Analysing Conflict Dynamics 55 5.1 Societal and socio-demographic factors ......................................... 55 5.2 Political and governance factors ..................................................... 59 5.3 Security factors ................................................................................ 62 5 FOI-R--4121—SE 5.4 Economic factors ............................................................................. 64 6 Conclusions and Recommendations 67 References 73 6 FOI-R--4121—SE Acronyms AFISMA African-led International Support Mission to Mali ATT Amadou Toumani Touré AQIM Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb CMA La Coordination des mouvements de l'Azawad CMFPR Coordination des mouvements et fronts patriotiques de résistance CPA Coalition du peuple de l’Azawad DHS Demographic and Health Survey ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States FNLA Front de libération nationale de l’Azawad FOI Totalförsvarets forskningsinstitut/ Swedish Defence Research Agency GATIA Groupe autodéfense touareg Imghad et alliés GSPC Groupe salafiste pour la prédication et le combat/ Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat HCCT Haut Conseil des Collectivités du Mali/ High Council of Regional Authorities HCRL High Council of Religious Leaders HCUA Haut conseil
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