Title: Refugee women in the Sahrawi camps: towards gender equality

Authors: Carolina Jiménez Sánchez

Addresses: Facultad de Derecho, University of Málaga, Bulevar Louis Pasteur, 26. 29071, Málaga, Spain

Abstract: This paper examines the different roles women acquire during their experience in post-war refugee settlements. It focuses on the consequences of these new roles in the context of the Sahrawi conflict. The core of the paper addresses the particular form of management of the Tindouf Refugee Camps, which are run by the Polisario Front with the participation of the National Union of Sahrawi Women (UNMS), among others. Is the involvement of Sahrawi women in the administration of the camps making a difference in comparison with other refugee camps? Is any kind of gender dimension being implemented? The paper concludes by taking into account the fragility of the concept of peace, and observing whether the parties have adopted a gender dimension in the reconstruction and peace strategies.

Keywords: Western Sahara conflict; female empowerment; Africa; self-determination; refugees; peace processes; refugee women; Sahrawi camps; gender equality; women roles; post-war refugee settlements; refugee camps; camp administration.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGSDS.2016.079892

International Journal of Gender Studies in Developing Societies, 2016 Vol.1 No.4, pp.317 - 326

Received: 10 Nov 2015
Accepted: 29 Feb 2016
Published online: 20 Oct 2016 *

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