Eleven Year Civil War Feminist Analysis

A feminist perspective on conflict and war in Sierra Leone’s Eleven Year Civil War is useful because its sheds some light onto the hardships and struggles that both old and young women went through during certain times when war and conflict played a major role in their lives. A gendered view on war shows that during times of conflict most of the women take on roles of “male” and “female” when forced into combat. Women’s experiences in this war troubled country show to what extend women are willing to go to protect themselves and those who surround them when it comes time to make a decision of life or death. And lastly, how, during times of conflict, women are the primary targets of kidnapping, rape and abuse.

Many women and young girls are …show more content…
In 2002, Physicians for Human Rights (2002) conducted a survey of female heads of households in communities of displaced persons in Sierra Leone. The organization calculated that as many as 215,000 to 257,000 Sierra Leonean women and girls may have been subjected to sexual violence during the conflict period. During this time period a vast number of these women and girls were repeatedly raped and forced into sexual slavery (Denov & Maclure, 2006). One of the girls conducted in an interview done by the Canadian Research team states that “I was raped the moment they captured me by an older man and I bled and bled. They gave me some medicine, but I could not walk. The man who raped me later carried me on his back. The same day other girls were raped too. They would just rape you and leave you. It happened to me so many times, I can’t even count. Then we were forced to work for them” Denov, 326). Many women and children are abducted and forced into hard labor as well as servants. While the boys and young men are made to be further soldiers, the girls and young women are mostly use as maids and as sex slaves. Despite the occurrence of wartime sexual violence throughout history, the problem was long ignored by historians, journalists and dismissed by military and political leaders because it was considered as a ‘private crime’ or the ‘unfortunate behaviour’ of renegade soldiers (Seifert, 1996). It is not uncommon for these types of situations to occur during war. Nonetheless, the growing acknowledgement of the problem has been frequently undermined. On the other hand, the increased recognition that’s within Sierra Leone’s security, does not necessarily ensure the security of the citizens living in Sierra Leone. However, despite the lack of acknowledgment in the protection of the victims during this war,