“The utmost strength I can bear”: Strategies and psychological costs of mothering within political violence

Abstract

Though certainly not women's only site of identity or set of responsibilities in conflict settings, motherhood represents a distinct challenge within political violence. Yet, given the paucity of research on the topic, we still are operating without a clear understanding of how political violence jeopardizes maternal well-being and care-taking practices. Drawing on feminist perspectives on mothering, in the analyses presented here, the authors use content analysis to explore mothering and political violence from five focus groups with women in Palestine. Results demonstrate the considerable suffering mothers and children endure in war; the work mothers do to promote children’s well-being in this context; and how these efforts exhaust the psychological resources of mothers. Findings enhance a relatively small body of knowledge about the lived experiences of mothers within conflict settings, and point to the importance of tending to the strategies and needs of mothers who navigate political violence with and for their children.