Women in War-torn Societies: a Study of Households in Luanda’s Peri-urban Areas

Mainstream literature on conflict has focused mainly on its impact on macro-economic and social spheres. Relatively little attention has been paid to social and economic transformation at the micro-level, such as that of households and household headship in particular.
Given the need to gain a greater understanding of how households go about guaranteeing their survival, this study looks at how households are structured, and how livelihoods are secured, with particular reference to Luanda’s peri-urban areas. Special attention is given in this study to female-headed households, due to the debate around the issue of their social and economic vulnerability and the fact that little is known about female headship in war-torn societies.