WAR AND GENDER: SOCIO-ECONOMIC REFLECTIONS ON THE SIERRA LEONEAN CIVIL WAR
WAR AND GENDER: SOCIO-ECONOMIC REFLECTIONS ON THE SIERRA LEONEAN CIVIL WAR

Summary/Abstract: The Sierra Leonean Civil War (1991 – 2002) war was brutal and dastardly on both sides. It left an untold hardship and humiliation on all the segments of society. Oftentimes, society views wars as men’s affair. In Sierra Leone, the war had its horrendous effects on women - wives, mothers, breadwinners and concubines to the soldiers. Sexual slavery, forced marriages and rape were consequences of the war as over 257,000 women were sexually assaulted by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). Rape as an aspect of genocide was used by the soldiers to impregnate women in order to weaken and eliminate the opposing side. The victims faced with physical and psychological trauma and social ostracism. Using the qualitative method of historical inquiry applied to extant primary and secondary sources such as official documents, newspapers and magazine articles, this paper analyses the experiences of women in Sierra Leone civil war and interrogates how these experiences tampered with the pristine life and existence of the women. The paper will also make extrapolations from theories on gender-based violence to elucidate on the relationship between gender roles in civil conflicts.

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