Project description
The experiences of women politicians in Africa
Gender equality remains unfinished business in every country of the world, according to the United Nations. Closing the gender gap for women and girls in all spheres of life is particularly urgent in Africa, where post-conflict periods often result in patriarchal gender hierarchies being restored or reinforced, in part through scripts written primarily by men. As such, women are relegated to supporting positions. On the topic of women in African politics, much of the research to date has focused on increasing women’s political participation. The EU-funded WOMPOL-AFRICA project will study the experiences of women politicians. It will shed light on the sites of meaning production in relation to the struggle over meaning and women’s political legitimacy.
Objective
In post-conflict periods in Africa, as a result of women’s limited access to means of meaning production, and various forms of censorship, patriarchal gender hierarchies are often restored and reinforced in part through scripts written primarily by men, and women are relegated to supporting actors, whose roles reflect masculinist notions of women’s proper 'place'. This impacts on women’s claim to political legitimacy since, in many African countries, political parties and leaders often justify their political authority morally by emphasizing their roles in liberating their nations from, for example, colonialism and dictators. Much of the current research on the topic of women in African politics tends to focus on increasing women’s political participation through quota systems and other formal mechanisms, or examining the relationship between women’s political influence and gender discrimination in society and social institutions. There is minimal focus on the experiences of women politicians and the precarious positions they often find themselves in their struggles for political legitimacy. Focusing on four African women politicians, my proposed study, WOMPOL-AFRICA, will fill this gap by examining how representations in various sites of meaning production, of the women’s roles and experiences, impact their claims to political legitimacy. The sites of meaning production to be examined include history books, news media, documentaries, biographical films, published biographies and recorded interviews. My main aim is to explore the insights that these sites of meaning production offer in relation to the struggle over meaning and women’s political legitimacy. The project intersects multiple disciplines, including history, postcolonial, political, cultural, gender and feminist studies. Research results therefore promise strong potential for dissemination, communication and exploitation across academic and development and international institutions in the EU and abroad.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- social sciences sociology governance
- humanities history and archaeology history
- social sciences sociology social issues social inequalities
- humanities arts modern and contemporary art cinematography
You need to log in or register to use this function
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme -
H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2020
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
1202 Geneve
Switzerland
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.