Beyond the Battlefield: Women and the Nation in Twentieth-Century Angola [Hardcover]

Beyond the Battlefieldoffers a critical reappraisal of Angolas nationalist history by centering the experiences and political agency of women during the countrys transition from Portuguese colonial rule to independence. Challenging dominant masculinist narratives that equate anticolonial resistance with armed combat, this study introducesmaternalist nationalismas a theoretical framework to illuminate how women engaged in nation building through often-overlooked forms of labor and activism.

While men were largely visible on the battlefield, women fought a parallel struggle on the home frontmobilizing care work, reproductive labor, and political engagement in ways that were essential to the liberation movement and the postindependence state. Drawing on archival sources and womens testimonies, Makana explores howpatriotic motherhooda concept defined as the fusion of nationalist politics with gendered expectations of womens rolesenabled women to see themselves as vital contributors to the nations future.

This study contributes to scholarship in African history, gender studies, and postcolonial theory by offering a nuanced account of the intersections among militarism, nationalism, and gender. It invites readers to reconsider the frameworks through which political subjectivity and historical memory are constructed.Beyond the Battlefieldis an essential resource for scholars and students interested in the gendered dimensions of colonialism, war, and state formation in modern Africa.