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In several African states, postconflict contexts provide opportunities for the expansion of women's political representation. Little is known, however, about the opportunities for enhancing women's participation in politics during ongoing conflicts. We examine the relationship between conflict and women's political representation in Cameroon, which has experienced conflict in its anglophone regions since 2017. The government has responded to the challenge by introducing several new institutions. Analysis of women's political representation and responses to an online survey demonstrates that while conflict has disrupted gender relations and contributed to the growth of women's movements, the new institutions have not created significant advances for women. The ongoing conflict has provided few opportunities for women activists to embed gender equity commitments in new institutions.
Introduction
Postconflict African states have been leaders in women's political representation. In Burundi, Liberia, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, and elsewhere, the end of conflict is associated with gains in women's rights and women's inclusion in politics. Conflict disrupts gender relations and contributes to the emergence of peace movements, often led by women, and the end of conflict provides opportunities to press for broader changes through peace agreements, constitutional reforms, and legislative changes (Tripp 2015). Numerous studies (Burnet 2008; Hughes 2009; Hughes and Tripp 2015; Tripp 2015, 2016) have established a positive relationship between the end of conflict and gains in women's rights and women's representation, but focused on whether ongoing conflicts can provide opportunities to expand women's access to political power. We examine the relationship between conflict and women's political representation in Cameroon, a country that has experienced conflict in its two anglophone regions since 2017.
The Cameroonian government's response to protests organized by anglophone lawyers and educators in October 2016 led to the emergence of civil conflict in 2017. The conflict between the government and several dispersed and disorganized anglophone armed groups contributed to the deaths of an estimated six thousand civilians (International Crisis Group 2022) and led to the displacement of more than nine hundred thousand internally displaced persons and eighty thousand refugees (OCHA 2022). It affected all aspects of the lives of Cameroonians in the country's Englishspeaking regions, the Northwest and the Southwest. An estimated seven hundred thousand children were out of school in these regions as armed groups enforced a...