Lutte ou appropriation créative du genre ? Luttes des femmes pour la femme face aux interventions dans la gouvernance des ressources naturelles en RDC

Mulumeoderhwa Polepole, Patient
(2024) Colloque international : Anthropologie politique des rapports de genre — Location: UCLouvain (Louvain-la-Neuve) (8.February.2024)

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Abstract
(en) Recent literature acknowledges that access to natural resources is often a key aspect of societal transformation processes. The literature also notes that struggles for access to these resources can be depoliticised, particularly for indigenous peoples, women, and youth. This depoliticisation can render the demands of these actors inaudible and alter their meaning. Legal pluralism, complex territorial and identity claims, and state and non-state actors' interventions have worsened this situation over time. The community relies on customary land systems and ecosystem services from surrounding forests for their livelihoods, with many residents and small-scale farmers being the primary beneficiaries. Non-state actors, such as NGOs, development cooperation institutions, conservation organizations, and the World Bank, often intervene to mitigate or eradicate systemic disparities and injustices. Their aim is to reduce human pressure on natural resources, preserve biodiversity, and ensure the sustainability of the global environment. However, the exclusion of women from access to land and environmental degradation are often attributed to 'backward' traditions. These traditions perpetuate the exclusion of women from natural resources and may harm the 'common good of humanity'. It is important to note that these are subjective evaluations and should be clearly marked as such. These traditions may exclude women from accessing natural resources and harm the 'common good of humanity'. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the state's decline and multiple crises, including economic, political, and security-related issues, have led to increased international interventions in the customary arena over the past three decades. The aim of this proposal is to enhance the comprehension of how structural, economic, and political changes in customary environments have impacted the approach of peasant women towards claiming their access to natural resources. This research is based on the experiences of decentralised land security programmes implemented by ZOA, IFDP, UN-Habitat, SFCG, APC, and ASOP, as well as the experiences of the Forest-Dependent Communities Support Project implemented under the World Bank's Special Mechanism for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities. This study, conducted within a feminist anthropological approach in South Kivu, aims to answer three questions. Firstly, how does exposure to these projects/programs affect women's representations and claims regarding their access to land and/or forest products? Secondly, how does this translate into new practices of access and security? Finally, what are the implications of these changes for gender relations and power dynamics in the region?
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Mulumeoderhwa Polepole, P. (2024). Lutte ou appropriation créative du genre ? Luttes des femmes pour la femme face aux interventions dans la gouvernance des ressources naturelles en RDC. Colloque international : Anthropologie politique des rapports de genre, UCLouvain (Louvain-la-Neuve). https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/269495