Re-valuing Revolution: Women's Rights Activism in Swaziland and Potentials for Transformative Non-violence

The patriarchal systems, stories, and powers that govern our world have made women extremely vulnerable to the threat of physical, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual violence. Despite efforts of millions of people working to end this attack, personal violation is a daily reality for many women a...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Ouellet, Julie Xuan
Other Authors: Miles, Angela
Language:en_ca
Published: 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1807/33670
Description
Summary:The patriarchal systems, stories, and powers that govern our world have made women extremely vulnerable to the threat of physical, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual violence. Despite efforts of millions of people working to end this attack, personal violation is a daily reality for many women and one that I believe will not change until efforts to end violence against women begin to address the very roots of dominant culture. This research will explore the personal experiences of five women’s rights activists in Swaziland who are engaged in a transformative practice to end violence against women. Through in depth open-ended interviews, I look at the ways each activist’s life journey reflects her changing understanding of formative values. Following this, I consider ways in which this personal development has led each woman to a deeply transformative, rather than simply a reactive, response to violence against women.