being the wrong one, both the brother and my husband would threaten me.” 24
I
n addition, in engaging in other remunerated business, women remain under the guardianship of men. These guardianship policies have grave implications for women’s ability to achieve economic independence and a sense of well-being and opportunity. The conflict only makes this limitation of women’s potential more formidable, but there is no guarantee that an end to conflict alone will enable economic and social mobility for women as is shown by the recent history of the CPA period. Thus, it is not hyperbolic to state that women in Nuba remain on the “losing end” of negotiations for influence, independence, and autonomy. They remain obligated to carry out traditional care work, as well as assume responsibilities previously given to others. It remains problematically unclear whether or not this has led to any payoff in terms of women’s ability to act without a male guardian, to make “big” decisions, or to gain more political or social status than traditional Nuba gender roles would allow. Equally troubling is the percentage of women’s work that remains unremunerated. Whereas traditional male contributions to the war effort represent one of the only sources of remunerated labour in the region, the types of contributions made by women remain unremunerated. This is a hallmark of inequality in Nuba, and, given that the conflict is poised to continue, this “cornered” position of women will continue to become increasingly tight.
Agriculture Rearing
&
Livestock
In the pre-war context, farming was a viable and persistent livelihood strategy practiced by almost everyone in the community. Every family engaged in both larger scale crop farming in the fields, which produced both of food and cash crops and smaller scale backyard farming which focused on food production only. Allocations of land were typically made via a traditional system involving either inheritance or the delegation of a parcel of land to a particular person by a Sheikh, or traditional leader. 25 Importantly, notions of ownership were characterised by those most effectively using the land: labour such as clearing, tapping Acacia trees, etc. often distinguished persons as the rightful owners of land, with this designation formalised with consent from a Sheikh. 26 Thus, on one hand, because ownership of land was granted partially on the basis of capacity to use it, there was a certain openness and access to women in traditional Nuban culture. On the other hand, the role played by patriarchal inheritance structures and male dominated decision making by Sheikhs meant gender biases were very much built into the system. With the intentional and targeted destruction of Nuban farm land, as well as the mills and food stores, fertile land is increasingly scarce commodity, and thus, it is worth exploring how the conflict has influenced women’s access to both agricultural land as well as the profits generated by their work on it.
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