may face violent conflict while others are in recovery or yet untouched by violent conflict. Governance is a continuum of processes, resources, standards and actors that can provide the framework of engagement for these varied scenarios. In the majority of African democratic institutions and processes of peacebuilding, women’s underrepresentation is manifest, this being a function of structural inequalities that in themselves carry the kernel for conflict. While women as a social group may not automatically resort to violence to protest structural exclusion, they can take sides in conflicts, driven by dissatisfaction over gender discrimination and broader governance injustices. It has also been suggested that gendered grievances and narratives can be stoked to fire up collective action around political ideology or radical objectives.93 The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Conflict Prevention Framework flags patriarchy and gender as part of the structural causes of violent conflict, referring to them as ‘cultural aggravators’, factors that can spawn discrimination in society and perpetuate violence. It also identifies gender inequality as a ‘time bomb’ and ‘a source of latent’ violence. Women peacebuilding entities and individuals have devised various strategies to mediate, negotiate and deflect outbreaks of conflict. However, in the outbreak of hostilities that confront the state, formal peace processes of engaging belligerents omit women’s peacebuilding efforts, even when these efforts have demonstrable success. The sometimes clandestine nature of peace processes leads to mystery and ‘untested hypotheses’94 which may include the viability of male dominated leadership. A global study on the implementation of Resolution 1325 commissioned by the UN Secretary General found concrete evidence of a 40 case study research project illustrating that the strong presence and participation by women’s collectives resulted in positive peace processes including influencing commencement, continuation and conclusion of negotiations and building consensus positions.95 93 PAX ‘Gender, Peace & Security’. Available at https://www.paxforpeace.nl/our-work/themes/gender-peacesecurity 94 Paffenholz, T. 2015 ‘Results on Women and Gender’ Briefing Paper. Centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding. Geneva: The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies 95 Preventing Conflict Transforming Justice Securing Peace: A global study on the implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325’ 2015 UN Women. See also Paffenholz et al. ‘Making Women Count: Assessing Women’s Inclusion and Influence on the Quality and Sustainability of Peace Negotiations and Implementation.’ 37