Peacebuilding is frequently viewed in terms of
post-conflict societal reconstruction without consideration of
cultural context and gender. Using a feminist participatory
methodology, this study investigated South African women's
understandings of peacebuilding and how these are mediated by
gender and context. Sixteen women engaged in dialogue over 2
days. Thematic analysis of the recorded dialogue provided
insight into how the 16 South African women leaders understand
their efforts to build a more peaceful society. The findings
pointed to gender- and context-specific aspects of
peacebuilding. Most of participants' peacebuilding activities
occurred outside of the aegis of national governmental
institutions and their peacebuilding priorities focused less
upon structural rebuilding and more on processes, people, and
relationships. One of the important priorities was the
prevention of violence toward women. Whether these findings
are gender-specific and contextually unique are topics for
future research.
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