‘Empowerment’ of adolescent girls and young women in Kinshasa: research about girls, by girls

In mid-2015, a team of 15 Congolese ‘girl researchers’ were recruited, trained, and mentored by the UK’s Department for International Development-funded La Pépinière programme. They conducted peer-to-peer research to explore the experiences, perceptions, and aspirations of adolescent girls and young women in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, in relation to their economic and social empowerment. In this fragile urban context, societal and personal expectations of girls and young women are high and they must carefully navigate precarious circumstances to survive economically and socially, and maintain their reputation as ‘good girls’. While it is always important to ensure that development programmes are grounded in women and girls’ own realities and aspirations, this is especially the case in fragile contexts where the risks are often magnified. The participatory engagement described here is a way to understand these realities and inform programmes to facilitate women and girls’ own journeys of empowerment

No. 1: Migration and Development in Africa: An Overview

Migration is clearly a major issue across Africa. Indeed, migration – both within countries and across borders – can be seen as an integral part of labour markets and livelihoods across much of the continent for at least the last century. Over time, and in different places, migration has taken a number of different forms. It has cut across class and skill boundaries, and exists in widely different geographical and demographic contexts. Migration represents an important livelihood strategy for poor households seeking to diversify their sources of income, but is also characteristic of the better off, and indeed of many African elites. In practice, however, the link between migration and poverty is often viewed more negatively. It is assumed across much of the continent that it is poverty that forces poor people to migrate, rather than migration being a potential route out of poverty. The poor are also generally seen as those worst affected by conflict-induced migration, itself a prominent feature in Africa. The movement of skilled and/or wealthy Africans is also generally viewed negatively (e.g. there is long-standing concern on the African continent with the impact of the ‘brain drain’ of African professionals). Only slowly, and in relatively few quarters, is understanding emerging of the potentially positive role that migration itself can play in reducing poverty, or of the possibilities for ‘mobilisation’ of the African diaspora in the fight against poverty. Meanwhile, public policy remains a long way from building effectively on such understanding. The aim of this study is to synthesise existing research on migration in Africa, and its relationship to development policy. The report focuses on the relationship between migration, poverty and pro-poor development policy. Pro-poor policy is taken here to mean policies that are context-specific, listen and react to poor people’s voices, and/or seek to assist poor people to become less vulnerable and build up their income and assets. Government health and education policies might not be considered intrinsically pro-poor, but become so where they are targeted at widening access to health and education services, and especially basic health and education services (e.g. primary care, vaccination campaigns, primary schooling), or at responding to the specific needs of the poor. Pro-poor policies might also seek to identify and support poor people’s livelihoods, through the promotion of social protection mechanisms (ranging from pensions, health insurance, maternity benefit and unemployment benefits to food aid and other social assistance) or enhancement and enforcement of poor people’s rights. In turn, our focus is not only on the policies of developing country governments, but also on those of non-government and intergovernmental organisations, and of donor nations. In terms of migration, the study covers both international and internal migration. In the sections that follow, issues are dealt with first in relation to sub-Saharan Africa as a whole, and then in detail for three regions – West Africa, East Africa and Southern Africa. The sections on Africa as a whole, and on West and East Africa were completed by researchers at the Sussex Centre for Migration Research at the University of Sussex, whilst the section on Southern Africa was written by researchers at the Southern African Migration Project

Safe and Inclusive Cities Program : formative mid-term evaluation report

The program currently supports 15 teams across 16 countries and 40 cities in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Latin America. The teams use a diversity of research methods to explore a variety of themes related to urban violence. This report is a mid-term formative evaluation of the Safe and Inclusive Cities Program. Specific evaluation processes included a document review, key informant interviews, an online survey, observations and participation in the mid-term workshop, as well as learning cases developed through extended group sessions with selected project grantees. The approach is to see how programmatic diversity can be supported as a continued strength

The ‘doing’ and ‘undoing’ of male household decision-making and economic authority in Rwanda and its implications for gender transformative programming

This paper explores two key norms that can underpin intimate partner violence (IPV) in Rwanda: men’s role as economic provider and decision-making authority in the household. It describes the political, legal and socio-economic factors affecting these norms and how they create opportunities and barriers to ‘undoing’ restrictive gender norms. The findings are drawn from an evaluation of Inadshyikirwa, an IPV prevention programme operating in Rwanda. Across 3 intervention sectors, 24 focus groups were conducted with unmarried and married men and women residing in intervention communities. 30 interviews with couples and 9 interviews with opinion leaders were conducted before they completed programme trainings designed to shift gender norms underlying IPV. The data indicates a strong awareness of and accountability to Rwandan laws and policies supporting women’s economic empowerment and decision-making, yet also persisting traditional notions of men as household heads and primary breadwinners. Transgression of these norms could be accommodated in some circumstances, especially those involving economic necessity. The data also identified an increasing recognition of the value of a more equitable partnership model. This paper highlights the importance of carefully assessing cracks in the existing gender order that can be exploited to support gender equality and non-violence

Everyday ethnicities: Identity and reconciliation among Rwandan youth

Drawing on ethnographic research with young Rwandans in Kigali, this paper explores the role of the "ethnic" categories "Hutu," "Tutsi" and "Twa" in their everyday relations and relationships. Through exploring their narratives, practices and social interactions, the paper demonstrates thatdespite current state policies that seek to de-emphasize "ethnic" identitiesethnicity remains salient in contemporary Rwanda. Although many young Rwandans continue to forge inter-ethnic ties, there is a persistent desire to know the ethnic identity of significant others and to categorize them on an ongoing basis. Exploring the complexities, contradictions and uncertainties of these processes of categorization, this paper investigates the relationship between "conceptual" categories and "concrete" persons in contemporary Rwanda. As such, it raises fundamental questions about what young Rwandans understand "Hutu," "Tutsi" and "Twa" to mean and the role of "ethnic" categories, stereotypes and anomalies in structuring their social worlds. The evidence presented suggests that current approaches to reconciliation do not sufficiently address the "ethnic" logic that persists in Rwanda and may instead be entrenching it, increasing the risk that any recurrence of violence would once again have "ethnic" targets and be as extensive and brutal as in 1994

Young Rwandans' Narratives of the Past (and Present)

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Everyday Ethnicities : Identity and Reconciliation among Youth in Post-Genocide Rwanda

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Rwanda's ‘Hutsi’: intersections of ethnicity and violence in the lives of youth of ‘mixed’ heritage

This article looks at young Rwandans of ‘mixed’ Hutu–Tutsi heritage, exploring how their mixed identity shaped their experiences during the 1994 genocide and how it influences their everyday experiences of categorization and belonging in contemporary Rwanda. It reveals the complex position of these young ‘Hutsi’ and the significant constraints they face in exercising identity choices in a context with a history of ethnic violence and where state policies have outlawed ethnicity. This article argues that the experiences, narratives and performances of these young Rwandans simultaneously challenge and reinforce the binary ‘ethnic logic’ that persists in contemporary Rwanda. Yet it suggests that providing space for Rwanda's ‘Hutsi’ and their diverse experiences could help to de-essentialize the categories ‘Hutu’ and ‘Tutsi’ and reduce the risks of future violence