Gendered responses to the disengagement and reintegration of female defectors are needed to respo... more Gendered responses to the disengagement and reintegration of female defectors are needed to respond to trends that indicate increasing female radicalisation and growth in the recruitment of women into terrorist networks. The development of successful gender-sensitive amnesty policies and reintegration programmes is crucial, not only to prevent recidivism and re-engagement among female defectors, but also to mitigate the risk of further female radicalisation and recruitment at community level. This article, based on research conducted with female Al-Shabaab defectors in Kenya, explores women's gendered motives for joining the Al-Shabaab network, their experiences within it and their reasons for quitting in order to inform an evidence-based reintegration process. It identifies the gendered nuances involved in recruitment, disengagement and deradicalisation, and it also considers gender-specific aspects of reintegration, highlighting the need to focus on gendered needs, norms and t...
While violence is often targeted at and experienced by bodies with different identities or appear... more While violence is often targeted at and experienced by bodies with different identities or appearance, studies of violence in social sciences research often neglect the body as a data source and site of analysis. This article makes an original contribution to the literature on visual methods in general and arts-based approaches specifically, by focusing on the understudied and underutilised method of body mapping. It is novel in developing techniques for using body mapping as a tool for seeing violent extremism in international politics. The approach here enables researchers to engage with a potentially difficult topic and interrogate the nuances of how violent extremism is understood, experienced and resisted at a local community level. In so doing, it produces a rich, original data set of 20 body maps, interviews and focus group discussions with 10 men and 10 women from Muslim communities from around the coast in Kenya created during two 5-day intensive body mapping workshops held...
Body Maps of Resistance is collection of personal stories and body map paintings created by twent... more Body Maps of Resistance is collection of personal stories and body map paintings created by twenty participants from around the Kenyan coast during two body mapping workshops held in November 2019 in Mombasa. The body mapping workshops were organised as part of a study on Gender and Resistance to Violent Extremism in Kenya funded by a British Academy 'Tackling UK International Challenges' award. This book explores how men and women at the level of local communities perceive, experience, and resist violent extremism in their everyday lives. The book aims to give voice to silenced narratives on communities' everyday resistance to violent extremism. The body maps and stories in this volume, reveal complex everyday struggles against violence, discrimination and marginalisation. The paintings and stories are personal narratives that offer a window into the lives of the participants in our study and should not be used to generalise about communities living on the coast in Kenya.
The Refugee Studies Centre Working Paper Series is intended to aid the rapid distribution of work... more The Refugee Studies Centre Working Paper Series is intended to aid the rapid distribution of work in progress, research findings and special lectures by researchers and associates of the RSC. Papers aim to stimulate discussion among the worldwide community of scholars, policymakers and practitioners. They are distributed free of charge in PDF format via the RSC website. Bound hard copies of the working papers may also be purchased from the Centre. The opinions expressed in the papers are solely those of the author/s who retain the copyright. They should not be attributed to the project funders or the Refugee Studies Centre, the Oxford Department of International Development or the University of Oxford. Comments on individual Working Papers are welcomed, and should be directed to the author/s. Further details may be found at the RSC website (www.rsc.ox.ac.uk). RSC WORKING PAPER SERIES NO. 66 3 This paper considers the end of internal displacement in Sri Lanka with particular emphasis...
While the drama of the complicated 2017 General election in Kenya unfolded and the clash between ... more While the drama of the complicated 2017 General election in Kenya unfolded and the clash between the patriarchs dominated the headlines, women were once again relegated to a secondary position in the public conversation. ‘Flower girls’. ‘Someone’s Wife’. These are some of the terms used to describe Kenyan women in politics - as simply accompanying and supporting men rather than having complex identities and public lives of their own. Yet Kenyan women were present and active, pushing against layers of structural and physical gendered violence to claim space in the political arena. This collection captures some of the stories and experiences of women participating in the heated 2017 general election in Kenya in order to shed light on the nuances and complexities facing women who choose to enter electoral politics. From stories of rural women using traditional social networks to access political power, to young urban women defying expectations and confronting an electorate that was conditioned to ignore them, these stories not only highlight the problems that women face but also the ingenious ways they navigate the spaces that do exist. Kenyan women are present and active in politics and this book works to see and understand where they are
The Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) discourse in Kenya reflects the larger Global War on Terro... more The Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) discourse in Kenya reflects the larger Global War on Terror (GWOT) policy framework. Donor-driven governmental approaches support the top-down efforts to counter violent extremism. CVE initiatives now emerging in response to the rise of homegrown violent extremism in Kenya, in contrast, seek to encourage more community participation in the campaign to limit the activities of Al-Shabaab. This article examines existing countering violent extremism (CVE) initiatives in order to elucidate the effectiveness and shortcomings of CVE interventions. The findings are based on an ethnographic study in the coastal region of Kenya comprising of 249 in-depth interviews with key informants, observations and eight focus group discussions. The article maps existing CVE projects across Kenya’s coast including the prevention framework of primary, secondary and tertiary interventions as modelled on preventative public health approaches. Assessment of existing CVE ...
Refugees and asylum seekers come from various parts of the neighbouring countries of Kenya and be... more Refugees and asylum seekers come from various parts of the neighbouring countries of Kenya and belong to different communities. They exhibit a myriad of mental health issues, such as trauma, as a result of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in relation to pre-war contexts, the conflict itself, experiences of flight and refugee camp settings. These complexities connected to the myriad of issues of SGBV make it necessary to address mental health care needs of refugees, who often come from unfamiliar terrains, and thus often challenge health care professionals as trauma issues in differing transcultural contexts need to be addressed. Based on a qualitative research study of two datasets of in-depth interviews with women and girl refugees in Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps, the paper presents the context of trauma faced by women and refugees of SGBV, and the ways in which they resolve trauma and health issues using social networks and professional health care services. The findings...
Refugees and asylum seekers come from various parts of the neighbouring countries of Kenya and be... more Refugees and asylum seekers come from various parts of the neighbouring countries of Kenya and belong to different communities. They exhibit a myriad of mental health issues, such as trauma, as a result of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in relation to pre-war contexts, the conflict itself, experiences of flight and refugee camp settings. These complexities connected to the myriad of issues of SGBV make it necessary to address mental health care needs of refugees, who often come from unfamiliar terrains, and thus often challenge health care professionals as trauma issues in differing transcultural contexts need to be addressed. Based on a qualitative research study of two datasets of in-depth interviews with women and girl refugees in Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps, the paper presents the context of trauma faced by women and refugees of SGBV, and the ways in which they resolve trauma and health issues using social networks and professional health care services. The findings of the study show that there are many ways in which refugee women and girls resolve trauma. Most often, women and girls try to resolve it through the use of social networks in the form of cultural and indigenous methods in order to find healing for mental trauma. Health and social work professionals are more focused on culturally relevant trauma informed systems and the utilization of informal networks to resolve trauma. The study emphasizes the need for an exploration of cultural interpretations of trauma and the need for flexible and adaptive approaches by professionals for interpreting and treating mental trauma and health care.
Experiences in Researching Conflict and Violence, 2018
Unlike previous volumes on the subject of ‘doing’ conflict fieldwork, this book does not delineat... more Unlike previous volumes on the subject of ‘doing’ conflict fieldwork, this book does not delineate a clear ‘how to’ toolset for undertaking conflict related research but rather requires the contributors to cast a critical eye on their own research praxis. It brings together scholars working in/on conflict, and through personal accounts of their experiences working in spaces of conflict, explores the role of emotion, violence, uncertainty, identity and positionality within the process of doing research as well as the complexity of methodological choices. This volume thus seeks to go beyond academic-centric conversations about how we can achieve rigour or handle our data collection and rather it aims to draw out the broader implications of such research efforts. By doing so it presents a more nuanced and grounded view of conflict research that is unapologetic and unafraid to demystify and declare the messiness that is inherent in the process of research in/on violence and the potentia...
Page 1. WORKING PAPER SERIES NO. 66 Ending internal displacement: The long-term IDPs in Sri Lanka... more Page 1. WORKING PAPER SERIES NO. 66 Ending internal displacement: The long-term IDPs in Sri Lanka Fathima Azmiya Badurdeen azmiyab@gmail.com November 2010 Refugee Studies Centre Oxford Department of International Development University of Oxford Page 2. ...
The presence of women and girls within the Al-Shabaab is viewed as a security threat within the c... more The presence of women and girls within the Al-Shabaab is viewed as a security threat within the changing dynamics of recruitment in Kenya. Recruitment of women and girls may be attributed to the needs of the Al-Shabaab terrorist organization where they have specificities on recruiting them in their prominent roles in the Al-Shabaab camps and their missions. This article investigates the recruitment process of women into the Al-Shabaab from the Coastal Region of Kenya. Specifically, the article probes the ‘how’, ‘why’ and ‘who’ of the recruitment process for the Al-Shabaab, discussing the ‘recruited’ and the ‘recruiter’ in the recruitment process. Utilizing biographic narratives and an integrated framework – rational choice theory and victimhood approach, the article explores the process of involuntary recruitment of women and girls by the Al-Shabaab using women recruiters. The findings draw on in-depth interviews with women identified as returnees from Al-Shabaab, and thirty-seven k...
Gendered responses to the disengagement and reintegration of female defectors are needed to respo... more Gendered responses to the disengagement and reintegration of female defectors are needed to respond to trends that indicate increasing female radicalisation and growth in the recruitment of women into terrorist networks. The development of successful gender-sensitive amnesty policies and reintegration programmes is crucial, not only to prevent recidivism and re-engagement among female defectors, but also to mitigate the risk of further female radicalisation and recruitment at community level. This article, based on research conducted with female Al-Shabaab defectors in Kenya, explores women's gendered motives for joining the Al-Shabaab network, their experiences within it and their reasons for quitting in order to inform an evidence-based reintegration process. It identifies the gendered nuances involved in recruitment, disengagement and deradicalisation, and it also considers gender-specific aspects of reintegration, highlighting the need to focus on gendered needs, norms and t...
While violence is often targeted at and experienced by bodies with different identities or appear... more While violence is often targeted at and experienced by bodies with different identities or appearance, studies of violence in social sciences research often neglect the body as a data source and site of analysis. This article makes an original contribution to the literature on visual methods in general and arts-based approaches specifically, by focusing on the understudied and underutilised method of body mapping. It is novel in developing techniques for using body mapping as a tool for seeing violent extremism in international politics. The approach here enables researchers to engage with a potentially difficult topic and interrogate the nuances of how violent extremism is understood, experienced and resisted at a local community level. In so doing, it produces a rich, original data set of 20 body maps, interviews and focus group discussions with 10 men and 10 women from Muslim communities from around the coast in Kenya created during two 5-day intensive body mapping workshops held...
Body Maps of Resistance is collection of personal stories and body map paintings created by twent... more Body Maps of Resistance is collection of personal stories and body map paintings created by twenty participants from around the Kenyan coast during two body mapping workshops held in November 2019 in Mombasa. The body mapping workshops were organised as part of a study on Gender and Resistance to Violent Extremism in Kenya funded by a British Academy 'Tackling UK International Challenges' award. This book explores how men and women at the level of local communities perceive, experience, and resist violent extremism in their everyday lives. The book aims to give voice to silenced narratives on communities' everyday resistance to violent extremism. The body maps and stories in this volume, reveal complex everyday struggles against violence, discrimination and marginalisation. The paintings and stories are personal narratives that offer a window into the lives of the participants in our study and should not be used to generalise about communities living on the coast in Kenya.
The Refugee Studies Centre Working Paper Series is intended to aid the rapid distribution of work... more The Refugee Studies Centre Working Paper Series is intended to aid the rapid distribution of work in progress, research findings and special lectures by researchers and associates of the RSC. Papers aim to stimulate discussion among the worldwide community of scholars, policymakers and practitioners. They are distributed free of charge in PDF format via the RSC website. Bound hard copies of the working papers may also be purchased from the Centre. The opinions expressed in the papers are solely those of the author/s who retain the copyright. They should not be attributed to the project funders or the Refugee Studies Centre, the Oxford Department of International Development or the University of Oxford. Comments on individual Working Papers are welcomed, and should be directed to the author/s. Further details may be found at the RSC website (www.rsc.ox.ac.uk). RSC WORKING PAPER SERIES NO. 66 3 This paper considers the end of internal displacement in Sri Lanka with particular emphasis...
While the drama of the complicated 2017 General election in Kenya unfolded and the clash between ... more While the drama of the complicated 2017 General election in Kenya unfolded and the clash between the patriarchs dominated the headlines, women were once again relegated to a secondary position in the public conversation. ‘Flower girls’. ‘Someone’s Wife’. These are some of the terms used to describe Kenyan women in politics - as simply accompanying and supporting men rather than having complex identities and public lives of their own. Yet Kenyan women were present and active, pushing against layers of structural and physical gendered violence to claim space in the political arena. This collection captures some of the stories and experiences of women participating in the heated 2017 general election in Kenya in order to shed light on the nuances and complexities facing women who choose to enter electoral politics. From stories of rural women using traditional social networks to access political power, to young urban women defying expectations and confronting an electorate that was conditioned to ignore them, these stories not only highlight the problems that women face but also the ingenious ways they navigate the spaces that do exist. Kenyan women are present and active in politics and this book works to see and understand where they are
The Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) discourse in Kenya reflects the larger Global War on Terro... more The Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) discourse in Kenya reflects the larger Global War on Terror (GWOT) policy framework. Donor-driven governmental approaches support the top-down efforts to counter violent extremism. CVE initiatives now emerging in response to the rise of homegrown violent extremism in Kenya, in contrast, seek to encourage more community participation in the campaign to limit the activities of Al-Shabaab. This article examines existing countering violent extremism (CVE) initiatives in order to elucidate the effectiveness and shortcomings of CVE interventions. The findings are based on an ethnographic study in the coastal region of Kenya comprising of 249 in-depth interviews with key informants, observations and eight focus group discussions. The article maps existing CVE projects across Kenya’s coast including the prevention framework of primary, secondary and tertiary interventions as modelled on preventative public health approaches. Assessment of existing CVE ...
Refugees and asylum seekers come from various parts of the neighbouring countries of Kenya and be... more Refugees and asylum seekers come from various parts of the neighbouring countries of Kenya and belong to different communities. They exhibit a myriad of mental health issues, such as trauma, as a result of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in relation to pre-war contexts, the conflict itself, experiences of flight and refugee camp settings. These complexities connected to the myriad of issues of SGBV make it necessary to address mental health care needs of refugees, who often come from unfamiliar terrains, and thus often challenge health care professionals as trauma issues in differing transcultural contexts need to be addressed. Based on a qualitative research study of two datasets of in-depth interviews with women and girl refugees in Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps, the paper presents the context of trauma faced by women and refugees of SGBV, and the ways in which they resolve trauma and health issues using social networks and professional health care services. The findings...
Refugees and asylum seekers come from various parts of the neighbouring countries of Kenya and be... more Refugees and asylum seekers come from various parts of the neighbouring countries of Kenya and belong to different communities. They exhibit a myriad of mental health issues, such as trauma, as a result of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in relation to pre-war contexts, the conflict itself, experiences of flight and refugee camp settings. These complexities connected to the myriad of issues of SGBV make it necessary to address mental health care needs of refugees, who often come from unfamiliar terrains, and thus often challenge health care professionals as trauma issues in differing transcultural contexts need to be addressed. Based on a qualitative research study of two datasets of in-depth interviews with women and girl refugees in Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps, the paper presents the context of trauma faced by women and refugees of SGBV, and the ways in which they resolve trauma and health issues using social networks and professional health care services. The findings of the study show that there are many ways in which refugee women and girls resolve trauma. Most often, women and girls try to resolve it through the use of social networks in the form of cultural and indigenous methods in order to find healing for mental trauma. Health and social work professionals are more focused on culturally relevant trauma informed systems and the utilization of informal networks to resolve trauma. The study emphasizes the need for an exploration of cultural interpretations of trauma and the need for flexible and adaptive approaches by professionals for interpreting and treating mental trauma and health care.
Experiences in Researching Conflict and Violence, 2018
Unlike previous volumes on the subject of ‘doing’ conflict fieldwork, this book does not delineat... more Unlike previous volumes on the subject of ‘doing’ conflict fieldwork, this book does not delineate a clear ‘how to’ toolset for undertaking conflict related research but rather requires the contributors to cast a critical eye on their own research praxis. It brings together scholars working in/on conflict, and through personal accounts of their experiences working in spaces of conflict, explores the role of emotion, violence, uncertainty, identity and positionality within the process of doing research as well as the complexity of methodological choices. This volume thus seeks to go beyond academic-centric conversations about how we can achieve rigour or handle our data collection and rather it aims to draw out the broader implications of such research efforts. By doing so it presents a more nuanced and grounded view of conflict research that is unapologetic and unafraid to demystify and declare the messiness that is inherent in the process of research in/on violence and the potentia...
Page 1. WORKING PAPER SERIES NO. 66 Ending internal displacement: The long-term IDPs in Sri Lanka... more Page 1. WORKING PAPER SERIES NO. 66 Ending internal displacement: The long-term IDPs in Sri Lanka Fathima Azmiya Badurdeen azmiyab@gmail.com November 2010 Refugee Studies Centre Oxford Department of International Development University of Oxford Page 2. ...
The presence of women and girls within the Al-Shabaab is viewed as a security threat within the c... more The presence of women and girls within the Al-Shabaab is viewed as a security threat within the changing dynamics of recruitment in Kenya. Recruitment of women and girls may be attributed to the needs of the Al-Shabaab terrorist organization where they have specificities on recruiting them in their prominent roles in the Al-Shabaab camps and their missions. This article investigates the recruitment process of women into the Al-Shabaab from the Coastal Region of Kenya. Specifically, the article probes the ‘how’, ‘why’ and ‘who’ of the recruitment process for the Al-Shabaab, discussing the ‘recruited’ and the ‘recruiter’ in the recruitment process. Utilizing biographic narratives and an integrated framework – rational choice theory and victimhood approach, the article explores the process of involuntary recruitment of women and girls by the Al-Shabaab using women recruiters. The findings draw on in-depth interviews with women identified as returnees from Al-Shabaab, and thirty-seven k...
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