Women in Land Struggles: The Implications of Female Activism and Emotional Resistance for Gender Equity

TitleWomen in Land Struggles: The Implications of Female Activism and Emotional Resistance for Gender Equity
Annotated RecordAnnotated
Year of Publication2019
AuthorsHennings A
Paginationi-iv, 1-17
Place PublishedBerlin
Key themesAccessToJustice, CivilSociety-Donors, Gender
Abstract

Despite deeply engrained images of female domesticity and conventional gender norms, women are increasingly joining land struggles in Cambodia. Based on extensive ethnographic fieldwork, my findings suggest that land rights activism in Cambodia has undergone a gendered re-framing process. Reasoning that women tend to use non-violent means of contestation and are less prone to violent responses from security personnel, nongovernmental organizations push women affected by land grabs and eviction to the frontline of protests. Moreover, female activists are encouraged to publicly display emotions such as sorrow and pain, in sharp contrast with the notion of feminine modesty. I critically question the women-to-the-front strategy and, drawing on Sara Ahmed's politics of emotions, show the adverse risks for female activists. Following that, I argue that the instrumentalization of female bodies and emotions in land rights protests perpetuates gender disparities instead of strengthening female agency in Cambodian society or opening up political space for women.
URLhttps://core.ac.uk/reader/225124713
Availability

Available for download
Countries

Cambodia
Document Type

Working Paper

Annotations

Overall relevance: 

The article highlights Cambodian women’s increasing activism against land grabs and eviction, despite their lower status and ingrained cultural images of women as domestically bound, passive, modest and apolitical. The paper addresses two main misconceptions underlying the promotion of women’s empowerment in land rights protests by civil society organizations (CSOs). First, it questions the assumption that women are less exposed to violence from security personnel, showing instead that male and female land defenders alike face harassment, direct violence, and detention. Second, the strategy of using public displays of emotions by female activists, while attracting public attention and garnering sympathy from outsiders, has the effect of instrumentalizing women’s bodies and ultimately reinforces pre-existing gender norms and inequalities. The paper contributes to understanding the gendered impacts of global land grabs, and women’s political responses to land deals specifically. By highlighting the risks and long-term repercussions for female activists resisting land grabs, the paper sheds critical light on gendered strategies of CSOs in reframing land struggles and empowering women.

Key Themes: 
  • Dispute resolution and access to justice - In the absence of impartial institutions that can adequately deal with land conflicts, Cambodia’s rural and urban poor facing dispossession and eviction resort to a variety of strategies, including staging protests and demonstrations. These tactics, however, pose risks for communities as the state can respond violently. In response, NGOs and affected communities have realigned their strategies and gender has become increasingly important in framing contestation against unjust land deals. Increased female activism in land disputes has provided women in Cambodia with a political platform to express their views in a cultural context where men usually speak on their behalf, as well as to take on new leadership roles. However, this has not translated into changing notions of womanhood. Women are still perceived as weak and emotional, limiting their political influence. Meanwhile, women land activists are exposed to physical and emotional harm. The article concludes that while female activism is significant, overcoming entrenched gender norms requires both women’s and men’s efforts to access justice from land grabbing.
  • Civil society and donor engagement in land issues - Shrinking civil society space and increasingly confrontational clashes between security forces and land rights activists has prompted NGOs and affected communities to employ a two-fold strategy in reframing land struggles: women appearing at the front of protests, and the politicization of women’s emotions as a form of resistance. While women have personal motivations for getting involved in land disputes, NGOs have been instrumental in drawing women affected by land conflicts or eviction into contesting land acquisitions. Donor-funded NGOs have collaborated with women to raise awareness on land issues and train them on advocacy with the aim of empowering them to speak up and be confident, providing knowledge, and legal training. While these trends in internal aid towards gender equality and women’s empowerment are well intentioned, the article highlights potential risks of interventions contributing to strategies that use women as “human shields” while failing to challenge the subordinate position of women in Cambodian society. Moreover, women activists are often branded as puppets orchestrated by international NGOs which further denies women’s individual agency.
  • Gender and land - The tradition of gender inequality and a wider culture of submission of women is deeply rooted in Cambodian culture. According to the Khmer code for women (Chbap Srei), women are supposed to be subordinate and passive. This is reflected in the comparatively low numbers of female activist in Cambodia. Union leaders in factories, for example, are all men, despite the dominance of female employees. In the context of land conflicts and contested eviction, however, female land activists are at the forefront, reshaping the struggle against land grabs and dispossession. As women are disproportionately affected, it is seen as legitimate for them to stand up to protect their homes and ensure the future for their children. Increasingly, male and female community members have started to see land conflict-related protests as “women’s work.” Despite the growing role of women campaigning in land disputes, however, women still have limited access to political power, which remains closely associated with masculinity. Female representatives often lose influence once land conflicts are settled, and many face long-term social stigma for being strong and outspoken.
Research basis: 

The study is based on ethnographic field research conducted in Cambodia between April 2016 and October 2017. A total of 110 interviews and four focus group discussions were held with a range of actors, including community members and leaders, activists, lawyers, company representatives, civil society organizations, plantation workers, union representatives and ministry officials, in Phnom Penh and in ten provinces. The land conflicts included Economic Land Concessions, Social Land Concessions, land grabs by the military or tycoons, infrastructure projects and urban evictions, and cover different stages of conflict, mobilization, and eviction. This study also draws on existing studies, media coverage, and documentation of land conflicts. (Provided by Keo Chanra and Mao Theara)