LES FEMMES INCARCEREES DANS LA PRISON CENTRALE DE MAKALA, STATUT MINORITAIRE ET MINORISE.

Details

Supervisors

Martinus, Claire

Faculty

Faculté de philosophie, arts et lettres

Degree label

Master de spécialisation en études de genre

Abstract

enMakala Prison, located in Kinshasa, DRC, strikingly illustrates the invisibility of incarcerated women. This correctional institution, historically designed for the incarceration of men, suffers from structural and organizational dysfunction that perpetuates patriarchal logic. Women’s incarceration is marginalized there. Incarcerated women experience intersecting oppressions at the intersection of gender, social status, and power relations. This invisibility has resulted in mass and gang rapes within this flagship prison of the Congolese capital. In the absence of gender-sensitive public policies, the violence committed there has become systemic, normalized by institutional inertia. Through an intersectional analysis and a feminist approach, we aim to shed light on these hidden realities by examining the life stories of women incarcerated at Makala Central Prison. Our critical approach allows us not only to deconstruct androcentric prison norms but also to expose the invisibility of gender in Congolese prison policies, which reinforce the logic of patriarchal domination within the prison.