Gender Politics of the Namibian Liberation Struggle.

Print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"Women's contributions against apartheid under the auspices of the Namibian liberation movement SWAPO and their personal experiences in exile take center stage in this study. Male and female leadership structures in exile are analysed whilst the sexual politics in the refugee camps and the public imagery of female representation in SWAPO's nationalism receive special attention. The party's public pronouncements of women empowerment and gender equality are compared to the actual implementations of gender politics during and after the liberation struggle"--Back cover

Cover; Title page; Copyright page; Contents; Basel Namibia Studies Series; Preface; Acknowledgements; Introduction; Researching gender politics; Structure of the book; Methodology and notes on sources; Oral sources; Primary sources; Secondary sources; Themes and debates; Oral sources; Women and the war of liberation; Women and the military; The roles and status of African women in pre- and colonial societies; Female bodies: Sites of violence; A comparative glance at the question of sexual abuse and sexuality in the situation of war; Camp experiences: Inclusions and exclusions.

Feminism vs. liberation/emancipation of women in African national liberation movementsThe aftermath: Women after the liberation struggle; 1. "There can be no national liberation without 29 the full participation of women": The role and position of women in the liberation struggle; The people's war; Periodisation of the liberation struggle: The political environment; 1970-1978; 1979-1979; Mobilisation inside the country: Rallying women, women at rallies; "Who do they think SWAPOs are?": Provision of assistance to SWAPO; "Beware of your political preferences": Consequences.

"A woman's place is in the struggle": The role played by women in exileThe establishment of the SWAPO Women's Council; Mobilization in exile; Platforms and Media; International conferences and networking; Meetings in the settlements; 10 December and 8 March; "The Namibian woman"; Sisterhood and Solidarity; The role of women in the settlements/camps; Caring of the young ones; Nursing; Food production; Manufacturing and studying; Sisters in arms: Women in the military wing; Summary; 2. Idealised struggle? Public and Visual Representations of Women.

Heroines and Legends: (Re- )presenting the women leaders and icons of the struggleKakurukaze Mungunda; Meekulu Putuse Appolus; Dr Libertina Inaviposa Amathila; Pendukeni Kaulinge; Penny Hilite Hashoongo; Angela Yvone Davis; Inclusion and exclusion; "This is what we stand for": Public declarations by SWAPO's male and female leadership; Liberated zones; The politics of gendered bodies and symbolic representations; Mothers of the nation; The face of repression; Floggings; Kassinga Massacre; Rape -- A strategy for repression; Rauna Nambinga; Lucia Hamutenya; Ida Jimmy.

The visual liberation of womenThe legacy of the war; Victims, perpetrators or actors?; Summary; 3. Women and the SWAPO Refugee Camps; The history of the camps; Arrival at a camp; Structures and infrastructures; A normal day in a camp; Normality against all odds; Threats and challenges; Attacks; Lack of basic necessities; Access to positions of leadership and control; Helplessness and despair; Reminiscences: The good old days; Comradeship; "SWAPO was our mother and our father"; "We left those issues here and found them when we got back to Namibia"; Summary; 4. Sexual Politics in the Camps.

English.

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