Women's leadership in camps for internally displaced people in Darfur, western Sudan: Fid-Bau Portal

Women's leadership in camps for internally displaced people in Darfur, western Sudan

De La Puente, Devanna

This paper explores the nature and extent of women's participation in the internally displaced person (IDP) camps in Darfur. Community leaders and committees always play a key role in the implementation of humanitarian assi stance in Darfur; but women, the majority of the population in the camps, are often underrepresented in community participation and leadership. This is due to the influence of traditional patriarchal structures and compounded by the approach of some service providers and other institutions which often rely on existing and customary structures. This fails to acknowledge or promote the real and potential role of female leadership and equal participation and often reinforces exclusion based on gender. The paper analyses the potential offered by conflict to transform traditional gender roles and emphasizes the importance of ensuring that humanitarian response international NGOs acknowledge the often ignored role of traditional female community leaders and support women's leadership opportunities more broadly. The paper concludes by highlighting the positive impact of women's wider role in the community and the potential for long-term change this brings.