Impact of war on women: Iyorwuese Hagher’s <i>Lamp of Peace</i>

Abstract

Africa as a continent has been ravaged by wars that have brought untold hardship and retardation to development. Militarization and war places various demands on both males and females. This study concentrates on how females have been used as sex slaves and have now become vulnerable to rape and outright fighting in the wars. Extenuating the effects of war with its irreparable losses and psychological trauma in recent times has been the focus of governments, nongovernmental organizations and philanthropists. The devastation caused by the conflicts, the destruction to communities and the suffering of women and girls cannot be over emphasized. Recent years have seen many regions of Africa involved in wars and internal or external conflicts. From Liberia to Sierra Leone; Angola, The Democratic Republic of Congo to Rwanda; Burundi, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire to Sudan, the story is a sad and saddening one. Therefore, this article discusses the effects of armed conflicts on women and girls, using Iyorwuese Hagher’s Lamp of Peace as a textual reference. It employs the literary method to consider the response of Iyorwuese Hagher as a playwright regarding the outcry against war atrocities against women. The paper argues that glaring gaps still exist regarding the protection of women and girls during armed conflicts. As such, women and girls deserve special attention that focuses on protection as they are both victims of abuse and actors in reconstruction.

Keywords: War, Atrocities on women, Protection and rehabilitation, Lamp of Peace, Africa