Arms to fight arms to protect. Women speak out about conflict.

Abstract

This book is a compilation of testimonies collected from women in developing countries whose lives have been disrupted by war. These testimonies are representative of 200 such accounts gathered from 12 countries. The extracts contained in the book were chosen on the basis of their individual interest and to illustrate the range of themes and experiences. As an introduction the increasingly brutal consequences of war for civilians especially women and children are noted and the intention of the project which is to provide a forum for individual voices of women is discussed. The introduction then provides an overview of some of the common and contrasting themes which run through the womens testimonies including womens participation; women as supporters and perpetrators of violence; sexual violence and exploitation; the status of women; womens roles duties and family responsibilities; life as a refugee; and coping with the aftermath of war. Finally the authors point out the benefits of empowering women to participate in full political decision-making. The testimonies are grouped according to the country or region which saw the conflict. In each case a short commentary is provided to describe the relevant history of the region or country. The areas represented are Liberia Somaliland Tigray Uganda India Sri Lanka Viet Nam El Salvador Nicaragua Croatia and Bosnia and Lebanon.

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