The Plight of African Women in Civil War Situations
In most cases, women are viewed as victims, and rarely do they play the role of perpetrators in African wars. Hence, whilst the public life of politics which cuts across ethnic groups that comprises war-making decisions is being dictated by men, women are involved in many other roles during difficult times of war. During the Civil War, women especially face a host of new duties and responsibilities. They are forced to endure long-distance walks in search of safe grounds for their children and face exploitations in different ways which are not favorable. It is believed that women and girls stand a great chance of survival during war, however, they comprise the most vulnerable group in civil war situations. This essay, therefore, gives us an insight on the plight of African women in the civil war as reflected in Emmanuel Dongala's Johnny Mad Dog novel.
Dongala’s novel Johnny Mad Dog vividly describes to us the ethnic war situation in West Africa through a narration of the events by the sixteen-year-old boy who joined the militia called Johnny and the sixteen-year-old girl called Laokole who are forced to leave home with their mother and brother where we draw the plight of women during civil wars. During the civil war, women are left in a sorry condition as most of them lose their husbands and children, who are killed during the war. Laokole narrates how the last looting wave lead to the killing of her loving father who could provide for the family, the mother was then left behind as a widow to take care of the children. Women as well are beaten up and we see this through Laokole’s mother who was crippled by the militia who killed her Husband, therefore women are not just left to live up with the trauma of post-war but are sometimes injured and left with a great deal of pain of losing family members.
Women were captured and taken to the leader of the militia ‘Giap’ who mistreated them. He would douse their eyes with pepper sauce and would tear their clothes off and watch them as he laughs at those women as they rub their eyes while rolling on the ground with burning eyes. Women were not spared as well from the killing just like men they were also killed as a result of the civil war. The pregnant women were killed together with their children, Johnny narrates in the novel about a photo of people attacked by mayi-dogo bandits ‘These thugs captured pregnant women and dismembered them alive; they crushed babies to death...’. Women would also die in the process of fleeing for safety, being exhausted, and lacking food, we are told of a crippled woman who was carried by the humanitarians in the HRC camp having died. During the civil war, African women lost their lives as well, Laokole narrates how the rocket brought down the house of Tamila the fried to her mother who had hosted many people who were in the run including Laokole’s mother. Tamila and Laokole’s mother were found dead in the same bed after the house bricks fall on them.
Women lost their valuable property during war situations. Johnny narrates to us how they could search for women and steal the little money they had. Women would get injured in the event, ‘I ripped an earlobe snatching some pretty earrings off a woman so that I could give them to my Lovelita’. They could also lose expensive belongings such as cars, Tamila lost her second-hand car during the first looting and in the second looting, she lost her house which was brought down by the fighters, and consequently her life. Mr. Ibara’s wife was robbed of her very expensive jewelry and the imported page. Women, therefore, faced a hard time having to part with their belongings.
In addition to women having to part ways with their belongings, they were also exploited of their money. Laokole had to pay too much money to have her mother ride on a bicycle luggage rack. The man asked Laokole to pay ten thousand CFA francs but after he heard she had fifteen thousand, he demanded for all the money threatening not to have her mother ride on his bicycle if she could not give him the amount. He later took one thousand more to ride for the three hundred meters left for them to get to their destination which was a total act of exploitation.
Host of new duties and responsibilities. Women are seen running with their children and food tied on their backs. Laokole the sixteen-year-old girl who dreamt of being an engineer after school is not schooling anymore, she is now fleeing the city together with her crippled mother and brother. She is worried of the well-being of her mother and brother and not her education during this time when people are killing one another. Tamila has new responsibilities of providing food and a place to sleep for the refugees who stopped by her house to seek refuge. Women could join the perpetrators in fighting and looting, in the team of Johnny Mad Dog was one woman named Lovelita who decided to work with the militia. In other regions as well in Africa women participated in civil war just as Lovelita, this was evident during the genocide in Rwanda, a large portion of Rwandans (men and women) participated in the genocide.
Moreover, among the plight of African women in civil was situations was rape. As reflected in Dongala’s novel Johnny Mad Dog, women were captured and raped, and later they were killed. One of the main goals of the fighters was to have all the women they wanted. Johnny Mad Dog vividly describes a scenario where they had to rape the wife of Mr. Ibara an intellectual who was a high school teacher for failing to identify with their tribe. The three fighters abused the woman and went away. They left the woman with her husband in a very sorry state. In most cases, in civil war situations, African women fall victims of rape. Laokole narrates of a woman who was raped several times by the soldier in front of her daughter and she was not spared as well. Despite the fact that she was twelve the soldier went ahead and raped her.
Another unfortunate situation which befalls African women was sexual abuse during the civil wars. Women who were taken advantage of with or without consent were left with sexual trauma during civil wars in Africa. Sex in wartime is not limited to rape because it can also include voluntary participation or trading sex for money or food. In Dongala’s Johnny Mad Dog novel, a woman narrates of shame and humiliation she had endured, she said that she had to sell her body for sex in exchange of four tablets of chloroquine to save the life of her child who was dying out of Malaria. Another woman shared her experience in the camp that she had to sleep twice with a man so she could be given a card and now since she had no money to pay for the card she felt for the trap and she agreed to have no other option. The pay for food in the camp by offering sex to the staff. The humiliation they endured left them with so much pain and trauma.
In conclusion, the plight of African women in civil war situations gives us insight on what African women had to endure. All the sufferings and humiliations they endured in the process as well as their role in civil war situations. Rape and killing of women were viewed as normal things by the fighters. They even had it in mind as part of their mission to have all the women they wanted at that time. The civil war which emerged from political interests and ethnicity lead to women suffering the most during and after the war. Although one would argue that they had a higher chance of surviving civil wars, since they did not participate directly in the war, they were the most vulnerable group.
