WOMEN'S ROLE IN THE LIBERATION STRUGGLE

The struggle for independence in Angola was characterised by the involvement of three distinct parties with different political ideologies and external alliances but fighting for the same objective: the freedom of Angola and of its people from Portuguese colonial power. All three parties had, and still have a women's wing and/or organisation attached to their leadership. This article only looks at the women's organisation of the The Organisation of Angolan Women (OMA) is the women's wing of the MPLA, the main liberation movement and political power to date. OMA was born in 1962, just one year after the beginning of the organised armed struggle by the MPLA against the Portuguese colonial power. Women's involvement in the struggle for independence was a response to the ideals of the MPLA to fight for the 'equality of all Angolans, regardless of ethnicity, religion, regional origin and sex' (OMA, 1984:13).

OMA's participation in the struggle was very active from the beginning: it responded to the MPLA's call to organise the people of Angola in support of the struggle. Women were involved in the military alongside men in the bases and among the population. Women were easily mobilised and trained to become fighters, nurses and political educators: OMA participated in the food production for the guerrilla army, organised literacy campaigns and basic health care, and carried arms and food over long distance (Akesson, 1992:20).

OMA's role was also crucial in backing-up the guerrilla forces, from outside Angola. For instance: OMA's base in Tanzania wrote radio programs which were broadcast to Angola, prepared publications for distribution abroad including an OMA bulletin produced in Portuguese and English, and generally worked to make the Angolan people's struggle known throughout the world and to mobilise international humanitarian aid for the people in the liberated areas, particularly the women and children (OMA, 1984:15).

Holmes (OMA, 1984:16) describes women's involvement and participation in the struggle as being: a testing ground where all who took part were called upon to make their utmost effort and develop their talents and abilities. Women were involved in the military alongside men in the bases and among the population main political power, the MPLA, due to the lack of reliable and updated data on the others, UNITA and the National Front for the independence and post-independence Liberation of Angola (FNLA).

OMA's leadership in the pre-periods has mostly comprised educated women who had a strong link with the mainstream political leadership of the MPLA

WOMEN'S EMANCIPATION

By independence, OMA had gained enough popular support to have delegates in every province. OMA's supporters, although the leadership remained educated, were ordinary women from all cultural and ethnic back- grounds, the majority of whom had been trained as activists. Their activities involved political activism and community work, such as organising literacy campaigns as an extension to the MPLAs efforts to mobilise people on all fronts.

It is estimated that OMA had 1.8 million registered members in 1983. Although OMA was the only women's organisation that covered the whole country, it must be remembered, that:

it was organised as a wing of the ruling party, with its leading cadres on the public administration wage list (Pehrsson et al, forthcoming: 13).

At independence, the political rewards for women were not commensurate with their contribution to the liberation struggle. Women were not invited to occupy official positions in government. At the end of the 80s women comprised only 10 percent of the party leadership. Yet the 80s can be characterised as glorious years for the OMA. Indeed, during those years OMA played a decisive role not only as a mass organisation but as a policy- driven organisation dedicated to unite and fight for women's legal status and economic rights to be integrated into mainstream policies. Some of the achievements of the OMA were the introduction of Family Law and family planning, it also provided legal assistance to women and encouraged debate and discussion on subjects such as customary marriage and abortion which were considered taboo (Akesson, 1992). As a result of OMA's activism the MPLA took these issues seriously and they were included in the Angolan Con- stitution. Although OMA played an effective role in introducing these reforms, the reality is that the majority of women are still fighting for their rights to be respected. Two examples are inheritance and child support, which are still neglected, despite the fact the Angolan Con- stitution respects wornen's rights. Indeed, machismo, rooted in African traditional values and the Latino masculinist ethos, inherited from the Portuguese, has not made it any easier for women to challenge the modus operandi of Angolan society.

WOMEN'S INFORMAL EFFORTS TO END VIOLENCE

The heterogeneity of Angolan women is por- trayed in the ways women use their survival strategies to face their reality and an ongoing emergency situation. Indeed, Angola has become a country of cruel contrast and wide disparities, that can be observed at all levels of society. While it has some of the wealthiest reserves of diamonds and oil, its people have been reduced to poverty and desperation.

Women use a variety of means to survive: the reality of an urban women differs greatly from the reality of a rural women. The war is mainly taking place in the interior of the country, therefore resources for survival are dependent on the context in which women live. Women's use of social capital and

survival strategies, for example, depend on what their immediate environment offers them.

Class is crucial in the analysis of the Angolan armed conflict. Poorer and rural- based women have their sons taken away,

and are the first who suffer from the direct impact of the armed attacks. For instance, victims of the conflict such as women with disabilities, are in a very vulnerable situation. They are at the mercy of their next of kin and humanitarian aid, if and when available, for survival. This group has been forgotten.

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