A Fight Left Unfinished A Case Study on the Female Fighters of the EPLF and Female Emancipation. J.M.L. Wasmus ANR 509429 Figure 1. Equality Through Struggle Bachelor’s Thesis Liberal Arts and Sciences Faculty of Humanities, Tilburg University Supervisor: prof. dr. A.L. Smeulers Second Reader: E. Mulder May 1st, 2017 A Fight left Unfinished. A Case Study on the Female Fighters of the EPLF and Female Emancipation. By J.M.L. Wasmus Abstract This research paper addresses the underreported role of women as fighters in conflict. The aim of this thesis is to explore the influence of the role of female fighters on the emancipation of women both during and after the war and within the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) and Eritrean society. It addresses an empirical gape in both the academic world and policy development on women in conflict. During the 30 year war with Ethiopia the female fighters in Eritrea challenged the traditional gender roles and fought both for a liberated Eritrea and for female emancipation. Drawn from secondary literature on both the EPLF’s female fighters and female fighters in general, this research project explicates the female fighters’ motives and experiences as well as the challenges they faced when returning from war. Key words: EPLF, Female Emancipation, Female Fighters, Gender and Conflict 1 Content Content ...................................................................................................................................................... 2 List of acronyms ........................................................................................................................................ 4 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 5 1.1 Motivation ....................................................................................................................................... 5 1.2 Research question ........................................................................................................................... 6 1.3 Research objectives ......................................................................................................................... 7 1.4 Structure .......................................................................................................................................... 7 1.5 Data and research method .............................................................................................................. 7 2. Contextual background ..................................................................................................................... 9 2.1 The 30 year struggle for independence .......................................................................................... 9 2.2 War development .......................................................................................................................... 10 2.3 The role of religion in the conflict ................................................................................................. 10 2.4 Women’s participation in the conflict ........................................................................................... 11 2.5 The position of women in Eritrean society ................................................................................... 12 2.6 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 13 3. The women in the EPLF ................................................................................................................... 15 3.1 Motives to fight ............................................................................................................................. 16 3.1.1 Political Ideology and gender equality ................................................................................... 16 3.1.2 Other motives ......................................................................................................................... 17 3.2 Motives to recruit .......................................................................................................................... 19 3.2.1 Ideology .................................................................................................................................. 19 3.2.2 Need for manpower ............................................................................................................... 19 3.2.3 Strategic advantages .............................................................................................................. 20 3.2.4 Symbolic value ........................................................................................................................ 20 3.3 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 21 4. Female emancipation during the war ............................................................................................. 23 4.1 Relationships, family and womanhood ......................................................................................... 23 4.1.1 Relationships .......................................................................................................................... 23 4.1.2 Family ..................................................................................................................................... 25 4.1.3 Womanhood ........................................................................................................................... 26 4.2 Access to Education ....................................................................................................................... 26 4.3 Career, Politics and landownership reforms ................................................................................. 27 2 4.3.1 Career and Politics .................................................................................................................. 27 4.3.2 Landownership reforms ......................................................................................................... 29 4.4 Status and agency .......................................................................................................................... 29 4.4.1 Status ...................................................................................................................................... 29 4.4.2 Agency .................................................................................................................................... 29 4.5 EPLF policy failure .......................................................................................................................... 29 4.6 Limitations of EPLF’s gender emancipation .................................................................................. 30 4.7 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 30 5. Life after the war ............................................................................................................................. 31 5.1 Demobilization .............................................................................................................................. 31 5.2 Relations, family and womanhood ................................................................................................ 33 5.3 Education, career and politics ....................................................................................................... 35 5.3.1 Education and career ............................................................................................................. 35 5.3.2 Politics .................................................................................................................................... 36 5.4 Reforms ......................................................................................................................................... 37 5.5 Status ............................................................................................................................................. 38 5.6 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 38 6. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 39 7. Discussion ........................................................................................................................................ 41 Limitations ........................................................................................................................................... 41 Recommendations .............................................................................................................................. 41 Reference List .......................................................................................................................................... 43 Appendices .............................................................................................................................................. 46 Appendix A: Political Map of Eritrea ................................................................................................... 46 Appendix B: NDP objectives ...............................................................................................................