Beyond the battlefield : women and the nation in twentieth-century Angola / Selina S. Makana.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Makana, Selina S., 1980- Author.

Series:

War and militarism in African history

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Women--Angola--Social conditions--20th century.

Women.

Women--Angola--20th century.

Women--Angola--History.

Physical Description:

263 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Athens, Ohio : Ohio University Press, [2026]

Summary:

"Beyond the Battlefield offers a critical reappraisal of Angola's nationalist history by centering the experiences and political agency of women during the country's transition from Portuguese colonial rule to independence. Challenging dominant masculinist narratives that equate anticolonial resistance with armed combat, this study introduces maternalist nationalism as a theoretical framework to illuminate how women engaged in nation building through often-overlooked forms of labor and activism. While men were largely visible on the battlefield, women fought a parallel struggle on the home front-mobilizing care work, reproductive labor, and political engagement in ways that were essential to the liberation movement and the postindependence state. Drawing on archival sources and women's testimonies, Makana explores how patriotic motherhood-a concept defined as the fusion of nationalist politics with gendered expectations of women's roles-enabled women to see themselves as vital contributors to the nation's future. This study contributes to scholarship in African history, gender studies, and postcolonial theory by offering a nuanced account of the intersections among militarism, nationalism, and gender. It invites readers to reconsider the frameworks through which political subjectivity and historical memory are constructed. Beyond the Battlefield is an essential resource for scholars and students interested in the gendered dimensions of colonialism, war, and state formation in modern Africa"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction: Maternalist Nationalism: Piercing the Masculinist Rendering of the Nation

"With Infants on Their Backs": Women and Colonial Labor

"A Luta Precisou de Maes": Maternalist Discourse and the Fight for National Independence

AKs, Camo, and Lipstick: Militant Women and the Liberation War

"A Battle Yet to Be Won": The Postcolonial Woman and the Politics of Empowerment

The Female Body as a Battlefield: Women and the In/Visible Violence of War

"Our Children Are Still in Danger": Precarity in Peacetime and a Battle for Survival

Epilogue: Engendering the Future of Angolan Politics

Appendix: Methods and Sources.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version Makana, Selina S., 1980- Beyond the battlefield

ISBN:

9780821426739

0821426737

9780821426722

0821426729

OCLC:

1546078932