Abstract
This Testify article features a conversation about the emancipatory potentials and pitfalls of girls empowerment as practiced, experienced, and judged by Sierra Leonean activists. We – two scholars and four activists – discussed views on and experiences of girls empowerment approaches that have been interpreted in critical scholarly literature as a form of neoliberal responsibilization. Also within this critical literature, there is often the notion that these approaches may yet create openings for emancipatory agency and counter-conduct. However, it remains unclear whether this happens and to what extent. Our conversation centres activists’ views on the academic critique of girls empowerment and raises a number of questions, including: Why do many feminist activists in Sierra Leone embrace girls empowerment approaches? What do they see in them? How do they interpret and practice them? Where do they see potentials and pitfalls? And what is the role of donors?
Highlights
International Politics Reviews (2021) 9:353–374. This Testify article features a conversation about the emancipatory potentials and pitfalls of girls empowerment as practiced, experienced, and judged by Sierra Leonean activists
We discussed views on and experiences of girls empowerment approaches that have been interpreted in critical scholarly literature as a form of neoliberal responsibilization creating “informed powerlessness” (Bessa, 2019) or “pseudo-empowerment” (Menzel, 2019)
Known for her community service, peacebuilding, and gender activism, Mariatu is the co-founder and executive director of Strong Women, Strong Girls Sierra Leone, a non-profit mentorship initiative that strengthens the socioeconomic status of women and girls
Summary
This Testify article features a conversation about the emancipatory potentials and pitfalls of girls empowerment as practiced, experienced, and judged by Sierra Leonean activists. Our conversation centres Sierra Leonean activists’ views on the academic critique of girls empowerment and these open questions In this way, we together explore the meaning of “girls empowerment” in Sierra Leone. Denney et al, 2016, 14–16) Both Aisha and Anne have remained sceptical of these empowerment activities, agreeing that they pay too little attention to girls’ (and women’s) structural and material conditions that will most likely continue to hold them down even if they change their attitudes and behaviours. They agree that it makes sense that donors/so-called development partners favour girls empowerment approaches, given that they are relatively cheap and in line with established gender priorities (see Bessa, 2019: 1949). We plan to keep in touch and continue the conversation
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