Russia-Ukraine war and gender inequality in Africa: any hope for African women?

Abstract

While African women are gradually recovering from the severe effects of COVID-19, the Russia-Ukraine war has further obstructed this recovery by widening the inequality gap through sanctions, which have further severely contributed to the rising prices of food and crude oil. African women have a record of complementing the efforts of their spouses in the procurement of basic household needs and other valuables. However, despite this assistance, they have largely been relegated to the background and their efforts are hardly recognized. Indeed, extant studies on the Russia-Ukraine war have been too focused on the effect of the war on the African economy, food security, diplomatic relations, and trade. This has created the limitation of examining the effect of the Russia-Ukraine war from the lens of gender inequality. This article, through the qualitative method, bridges this gap by advancing knowledge on how the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war widens the gap between African women and men. It finds that as the war intensifies, more African women are likely to be affected by the aftermath of sanctions imposed by the West. In addition, as food prices increase, more African men are likely to abandon their household responsibilities to their wives. It concludes that more African women are likely to resort to negative coping strategies to fend for their families because of the Russia-Ukraine war.