From Ritual to Recovery: Spirituality As A Tool For Recovery Among Women Recovering From War Related Trauma in Sierra Leone

During the 1991-2001 civil war in Sierra Leone, women's bodies were repeatedly used as a weapon to terrorize and oppress civilian communities. Attempting to recover from trauma in Sierra Leone is a gendered, collective and social experience as many women were violated within the same time period by familiar community members. While academic research and humanitarian aid has brought attention to the traditional recovery techniques, my thesis considers the gendered spiritual recovery methods women use during and after conflict. The research highlights the commonly used techniques, distinct spiritual expressions, activities, and social outlets employed by Sierra Leonean women in order to initiate healing. This thesis will argue that women in Sierra Leone are on the pathway to transformational healing from war- related violence by utilizing three distinct modes for spiritually induced recovery; ritual, social navigation, and personal power. The data is based on interviews with women who lived in Sierra Leone during the war and excerpts from war narratives. We learn that even in post-conflict women's spiritual activities are vital to their resiliency and capacity to regain normalcy in their lives. The research will establish a foundation and a gendered reference point for Sierra Leone's spiritual recovery and the tools that women use to reclaim their identity during and after the impact of war related trauma.

Author

• Leigh, Sariane Elain

Language

• en

Keyword

• trauma
• Women's Studies
• Spirituality
• counseling
• recovery
• Sierra Leone

Date created

• 2009

Type of Work

• Master's Thesis

License

• All rights reserved

Rights statement

• In Copyright

GW Unit

• Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies

Degree

• M.A.

Advisor

• Moshenberg, Daniel

Committee Member(s)

• Blyden, Nemata

Persistent URL

•  https://scholarspace.library.gwu.edu/etd/m039k5136