Browsing by Subject "post-colonial state"

This thesis aims at analyzing the prospects of delivering transitional gender justice in Mali. Basing on (post-colonial) feminist accounts on transitional justice, this thesis critically analyzes the European Union support for Malian transitional justice process from the perspective of women's rights and gender justice promotion. Supported with empirical data collected in Mali among local civil society organizations and other actors working around transitional justice and human rights, this thesis argues for a holistic and transformational approach to promoting women’s rights within the transitional justice process in Mali. This transformational approach to gender justice takes into consideration the legal realm connected to transitional justice process together with the broader socio-political processes, which establish the foundations for more equitable gender relations in transitional contexts. This case study is a contribution to feminist discussions on transitional justice. Moreover, it aims at a critical scrutiny of European Union's approaches to promote women's rights through transitional justice processes in Sub-Saharan Africa. The thesis takes as its starting point the EU Policy Framework on support to transitional justice and its pledge on gender-sensitive approach to transitional justice. This policy approach follows an increasing concern among academics, practitioners and activists, who have aimed at pointing to gender biases inherent in dominant discourses of and approaches to transitional justice in fragile contexts. The European Union has a multifaceted role in supporting Malian transitional process. The results of the thesis indicate that the current European Union’s action in Mali in relation to transitional justice and gender justice focuses on strengthening the national formal justice system and supporting security sector reform by, for example, infrastructure support and training judicial and security personnel. These results suggest that through its support to the Malian transitional justice the EU is committed to the liberal state- and peacebuilding framework, where women’s rights enhancement and civil society inclusion do play a role, but where the shortcomings of the postcolonial state to deliver gender justice are not fully acknowledged. The results suggest that support for local civil society and conducting awareness-raising initiatives in communities may provide solutions in relation to delivering transitional gender justice and enforcing women’s rights in crisis-torn Mali. Embracing critical notions on the post-colonial state and its shortcomings in relation to women’s rights enforcement in a transitional context, this thesis argues that the EU’s approach to supporting transitional justice in Mali might partly fall short of its broader goals relating to gender justice promotion. These results are more broadly important in the Sub-Saharan African context, where the legacies of colonialism still have a major impact on state- and peacebuilding efforts that are informing transitional justice initiatives and international actors’ interventions regarding transitional peace and statebuilding processes. This thesis is thus a unique contribution to feminist discussions around transitional justice and the European Union support to transitional justice in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the prospects of enforcing women’s rights in Mali.