Female Child Soldiering, Gender Violence, and Feminist Theologies

"This courageous and interdisciplinary book disturbs and provokes the readers by putting the plight of female child soldiers at the center of theological, ethical, and pastoral inquires. The atrocities inflicted on girls because of war, violence, rape, poverty, and global racism are discussed with cultural sensitivity and astute moral insights. This book issues a clarion call for action, commitment, and solidarity. I highly recommend it." -Kwok Pui-lan, author of Postcolonial Imagination and Feminist Theology (2005) "This unusual volume helps us understand the way that child soldiers who are girls and young women are exploited in war, on one hand, and resist and exercise agency through their soldiering, on the other. These well-written essays will leave the reader both sobered and surprised-and with much to ponder! I commend this book to anyone concerned about the role of children in violence and peace." -Pamela D. Couture, Jane and Geoffrey Martin Chair in Church and Community, Emmanuel College of Victoria University in the University of Toronto "An excellent showcase of transnational feminist collaborative scholarship! Through multilayered, multidisciplinary and multi-context-based analyses of female child soldering, the book educates readers both the complexity of the issue which requires transnational feminist interrogation and hidden militarization policies of the US, a critical blind spot in many North American feminist theologies. The book advances current feminist theories of power and resistance to an embodied ethical and moral engagement of solidarity." -Boyung Lee, Professor of Practical Theology, Iliff School of Theology, USA This book examines the phenomenon of female child soldiering from various theological perspectives. It is an interdisciplinary work that brings Christian feminist theologies into dialogue to analyze the complex ethical, geopolitical, social, and theological issues involved in the militarization of girls and women and gender-based violence. With contributions from a range of interdisciplinary and multicultural authors, this book offers reflections and perspectives that coalesce as a comprehensive overview of feminist theological insights into child soldiering. Front Matter ....Pages i-xi Violence, Power, Resistance and Resilience: An Introduction (Susan Willhauck)....Pages 1-12 Human Rights, Dignity, and Female Child Soldiers: A Theological Approach (Beverly Eileen Mitchell)....Pages 13-26 Sexual Violence in Conflict: Understanding the Experience of Child Soldiers (Shelly Whitman)....Pages 27-42 Confronting US Moral Hypocrisy on Child Soldiers, Inventing Antiracist Solidarity (Traci C. West)....Pages 43-58 “I’d Rather Die than Wrestle”: Gender, Spirituality, and Agency Amongst the Luba Mai-Mai (Georgette I. Mulunda Ledgister)....Pages 59-74 Education in Resistance to Child Soldiering: A Latina Liberation Theology Perspective (Débora B. A. Junker)....Pages 75-91 “Some Girls Are So Vicious that Even the Boys Fear Them”: Girls and Gangs in Jamaica (Marjorie Lewis, Dianne McIntosh, Anna Kasafi Perkins)....Pages 93-107 Factory Girls and ‘Comfort’ Girls: A Feminist Theo-Ethical Reflection on Korean Girl Soldiers in Japanese Empire (Keun-Joo Christine Pae)....Pages 109-122 Battling a ‘War within a War’: Challenges of Being Female in Africa (Mary Nyangweso)....Pages 123-144 Pastoral Care in the Trauma of Gender Violence (Mazvita Machinga)....Pages 145-161 Divine Fortitude: A Reflection on the Incarnation of the Black Female Child Soldier (Evelyn L. Parker)....Pages 163-178 Back Matter ....Pages 179-186