'The Other Half on Gender' in Sierra Leone's Civil Conflict: A Critical Response to John Idriss Lahai's "Fused in Combat"

Abstract

This article responds to John Idriss Lahai's article " 'Fused in Combat': Unsettling the Gendered Hierarchies and Women's Roles in the Fighting Forces in the Sierra Leone's Civil War," published above in this issue of ARAS, and suggests that a more detailed account of male privilege and oppression is needed when exploring gender relations in combat. It is argued that when analysing gender relations in 'the camp' the focus should not be on how women's actions led to their suffering abuse. Rather, the focus should remain on men's actions as abusers. The explanation of sexual violence in Sierra Leone's civil war is critically explored from a pro-feminist perspective. To do this a clear account of masculinity is needed that can fully understand how gender relations are constructed