Title: Navigating obstacles, opportunities and reforms: Women’s lives and livelihoods in artisanal mining communities in eastern DRC

Description: For more than two decades, the exploitation and trade of minerals has fuelled armed conflict and fostered a climate of insecurity that has led to the deaths of thousands of people in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (Katanga, Ituri, Maniema, North and South Kivu). This has been seen as a consequence of prolonged socioeconomic and political instability since the late 1980s and 1990s, when a civil war led to the collapse of the Zairian state and there were civil wars in neighbouring countries.

Starting from the concept of agency, and taking an actor-oriented approach, the thesis concludes with three key points about how the reform initiatives affect the positions of woman: 1) The research has demonstrated that the socio political situation in the DRC has given rise to different types of gender discourses at international level which in addition to local culture and believe have impacted on the access of women to the mineral exploitation. 2) The research discovered that women in mining have different needs and different ways of dealing with their situations: they are agents who make decisions based on either strategic opportunity or survival.3). Finally, the research demonstrated that the reform process is likely to increase particular forms of marginalisation in the mining labour regimes. They may also allow for the creation of power dynamics based on new social networks that discriminate against those who were already vulnerable. Nevertheless, the research witnesses cases of women, who have benefited from the presence of the reform initiatives to improve their conditions and create more opportunities.

Supervisors: Hilhorst, Prof. dr. D.J.M. ; Haar, Dr. G. van der ; Cuvelier, Dr. J.G.R.

Key Publications:

• M. Bashwira (2017). Navigating obstacles, opportunities and reforms: Women’s lives and livelihoods in artisanal mining communities in eastern DRC. PhD Theses. Wageningen University
• D. Hilhorst, J. Cuvelier, M. Bashwira, J. Diemel, C. Iguma Wakenge (2016). Down to earth. Governance dynamics and social change in artisanal and small-scale mining in DRC.
• J. Cuvelier, M. Bashwira (2016). Women, Conflict and Public Authority in Congo. Rift Valley.
• D. Hilhorst, M. Bashwira (2014). The Women’s Movement in South Kivu, DRC: A civil society analysis. Occasional Paper. Wageningen University.
• M.R. Bashwira, J. C, D. J. M. Hilhorst, G. van der Haar (2013): Not only a man’s world: Women’s involvement in artisanal mining in eastern DRC Resources Policy pp. 1 – 8

More information:  https://library.wur.nl/WebQuery/wda/2214220

Current information: https://creged.org/fr/