The Making Of Elite Women: Revolution And Nation Building In Eritrea (Afrika-Studiecentrum Series)

This book is a thorough study about the upcoming of elite women in Eritrea, encompassing the time of the armed struggle for liberation as well as its aftermath up to the tenth anniversary of Eritrean independence in 2001 and beyond. It is a multi-disciplinary study, combining a comprehensive analysis of Eritrean history, society and political developments with extensive case study research into the lives of different groups of elite women. Modernisation processes created by the Eritrean revolution fostered an environment in which women are regarded as equal and encouraged to occupy positions of leadership. At the same time, the revolution’s hegemonic ideology does not envisage women opting out of its version of modernity, thus new avenues open up only for those who subscribe to the revolution’s narrative of progress. Furthermore, it is argued that while the Eritrean revolution played a decisive role in opening up possibilities for women’s emancipation, a failure to implement democratic structures of governance puts the revolution’s societal achievements at risk - its legacy might well rest with possibilities of personal liberation in individual lives. List of appendices......Page 7 Acknowledgements......Page 8 Glossary of foreign words......Page 10 List of acronyms......Page 11 INTRODUCTION......Page 15 1 SOCIAL CHANGE AND THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN A REVOLUTIONARY SOCIETY – THE CONTEXT......Page 19 The concept of revolution......Page 22 Women and revolution in the developing world – A history of unfulfilled promises?......Page 30 2 WITHIN THE ERITREAN REVOLUTION: NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE AND WOMEN'S LIBERATION – CONFLICTING OBJECTIVES OR COMPLEMENTARY AGENDA?......Page 39 Eritrean society and nationalist politics up to 1970......Page 40 The EPLF and its national democratic revolution......Page 51 Within the Eritrean revolution: National independence and women’s liberation......Page 59 Methodological choices......Page 72 Data sources......Page 76 4 OF FREEDOM FIGHTERS AND UNIVERSITY GRADUATES: THE STRUGGLE AS WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY – SOME HISTORIES......Page 84 Opening one: In the field and beyond......Page 85 Opening two: The road via education......Page 101 5 THE JOURNEY THROUGH SCHOOLING – SUCCESSES AND TRIBULATIONS OF YOUNG WOMEN IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS......Page 134 The exceptions – Stories of fulfilled ambitions......Page 137 From Tsabra to Barentu: Encounters with tomorrow's elite?......Page 147 The view from Asmara......Page 166 After the struggle ... still fighting for the revolution?......Page 169 Different careers, different feelings?......Page 176 In search of a role model......Page 180 Education for an emancipated future?!......Page 187 7 WOMEN IN THE ELITE II: AMBITIONS FOR THE FUTURE – THE UNIVERSITY EXPERIENCE AND PERSONAL EMANCIPATION......Page 195 "Our future is trapped" – The individual versus the nation......Page 197 "I want a good job" – Ambitions for what kind of future?......Page 204 8 THE STORY SO FAR – CONCLUSION......Page 217 Epilogue......Page 235 Appendices......Page 243 Bibliography......Page 289 Index......Page 311 Extrait de la couverture : "This book contains a thorough study of the upcoming of the elite women in Eritrea, encompassing the time of the armed struggle for liberation and its aftermath, up to the tenth anniversary of Eritrean independance in 2001 and beyond. The study is multi-disciplinary, combining a comprehensive analysis of Eritrean history, society and political developments with extensive case study research of the lives of different groups of elite women. Modernisation processes created by the Eritrean revolution, fostered and environment in which women are regarded as equal and are encouraged to occupy positions of leadership. At the same time, the revolution's hegemonic ideology does not envisage women opting out of its version of modernity, thus new avenues open up only for those subscribing to the revolution's narrative of progress. Futhermore, it is argued that while the Eritrean revolution played a decisive role in opening up possibilities for women's emancipation, a failure to implement democratic structures of governance puts the revolution's societal achievements at risk - its legacy might well rest with possibilities of personal liberation in individual lives." This book captures the intriguing stories of different generations of women within the Eritrean nation building process. Theoretical analyses of political and social change are combined with extensive field research to provide a comprehensive picture of modernisation processes in Eritrea.