Social accountability initiatives have become widespread in many spheres of life in the context of Africa, especially in conflict affected areas. Such initiatives are seen as a solution for improving people’s access to education, to health care, etc. At the same time, gender equality signifies involvement of both men and women in terms of equal contribution, enablement and visibility in private as well as in public life, including in decision making. Using the case of the Tuungaane II plus project implemented by the International Rescue Committee (IRC), this paper aims to understand whether and how women in comparison to men have been empowered in their ability to hold their leaders accountable, and how this has translated into more accountability in their everyday lives. The study is based on fieldwork conducted in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2017 using qualitative methods, focusing in particular on the “soft” components of the community-driven reconstruction programme which consisted of Community Score Card processes, trainings, workshops and facilitation of public meetings between members on health and school committees and their respective constituencies. The findings show that despite male and female representation on school parents committees and health facility committees, women have been relegated to traditional and trivial tasks. Furthermore, accountability mechanism seem to have reproduced the traditional division of labour while low levels of education and traditional norms explain why women were reluctant to take a public role. Finally, we found that although they were a minority on committees, informal recognition of certain women of influence in a community meant that they could demand accountability from service providers. Thus, women who had more work experience, more recognition, and who received more trainings were able to make a difference. We conclude that social accountability interventions in education and health sectors within community-driven reconstruction programs followed the roles and attributions given to men and women according to the local culture, and that church and chieftaincy institutions remain powerful institutions at the village level. We recommend that capacity building in the area of social accountability and gender should include not just trainings and workshops based on the soft component of such programmes and infrastructure rebuilding such as schools and health centres based on their hard component; but that they should also reconsider existing institutions’ roles in these interventions. Working with such institutions in a more intentional and strategic way (rather than only informally or not at all) would contribute to progress in terms of gender equality and sustainability of development interventions in the context of rural Africa.
Key words: DRC, social accountability, power, gender, education, health