Issue

Vol. 46 No. 3 (2021): Africa Development

3 - Weaponised and Displaced Women in Mass Atrocities and the RtoP

https://doi.org/10.57054/ad.v46i3.1200
Cecilia Idika-Kalu
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1810-4564

Corresponding Author(s) : Cecilia Idika-Kalu

cecilia_idikakalu@student.uml.edu

Africa Development, Vol. 46 No. 3 (2021): Africa Development

Abstract

Terror groups, like al-Shabaab and Boko Haram, have emerged in recent years
as key drivers of conflict in some African countries, generating mass casualties
from routine suicide bomb attacks. The strategies of these groups include
the increasing mobilisation and deployment of women in suicide bombing
operations. At the same time, women have been among the most victimised
by the activities of the terror groups, both as direct targets of attacks and
as internally displaced people. The focus of this study is to discuss the twin
dynamic by which women are both agents and victims of the terror groups.
The study seeks to explore what existing knowledge tells us about possible
future trends in the ‘weaponisation’ of women and mass atrocities. It also
considers the place of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) tools in stemming the
tide of the weaponisation of women. The nexus of gender, suicide bombing
and displacement and what these mean for R2P are the sub-components of
the analysis that underpins the article.

Keywords

R2P Boko Haram conflict, gender Terrorism Nigeria
[1]
Idika-Kalu, C. 2021. 3 - Weaponised and Displaced Women in Mass Atrocities and the RtoP. Africa Development. 46, 3 (Feb. 2021). DOI:https://doi.org/10.57054/ad.v46i3.1200.
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Author Biography

Cecilia Idika-Kalu

Graduate Lecturer, College of Fine Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences, University of
Massachusetts, Lowell, USA. Email: cecilia_idikakalu@student.uml.edu

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