19.1 (Spring 1995) Women and War

Introduction to Women and War

The 20th century may well be recognized in history as one of the most conflict-troubled times of the modern world. Compared to preceding centuries, more wars are taking place, and these wars last longer and are more devastating. Approximately one-third of the world's countries are presently engaged in some form of warfare, a figure that has held constant since World War II, and tens of millions of lives have been lost to war in the last fifty years.

"I Never Realized We Were So Strong": A Course on Women in Diaspora

So began Calixta Gabriel, a 32-year old Kaqchikel woman from the northwest region of Guatemala. Her three brothers were assassinated in the 1980s, her family lands destroyed, and her parents forced into a military-designed "model village." She herself sought refugee in the United States in the 1980s. Calixta Gabriel had been a social worker, catechist and teacher of literacy and Mayan cultural in her village of 13,000 and a coordinator of a Catholic radio program in Kaqchikel, her native language.

"They Took our Milk and Blood": Palestinian Women & War

"They took our milk and blood and left us here!" shouted Um Ali at the mention of the peace accord between Palestinians and Israel. She is the mother of six sons, five of whom along with her husband were lined up and shot by rightist Christian militiamen in 1982 at Chatila Camp, a Palestinian refugee camp on the outskirts of Bejrut. They allowed her to keep her youngest son but both were forced to witness the killings. She was railing against the recent peace accords, which leave out the refugees in Lebanon, in a way that underscores her notion of women's contribution to the struggle.

Ruffling a Few Patriarchal Hairs: Women's Experiences of War in Northern Ireland

Ruffling a Few Patriarchal Hairs: Women's Experiences of War in Northern. Ireland

Coercion and Torture in Former Yugoslavia

Sexual coercion, torture, and rape have occurred as tactics of terror in many wars. Rape was a weapon of terror as the German Hun marched through Belgium in World War I, and gang rape was part of the orchestrated riots of Kristallnacht at the beginning of the Nazi campaign against the Jews.

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