The Contribution of Women to Peace and Reconciliation
The Contribution of Women to Peace and Reconciliation
The Contribution of Women to Peace and Reconciliation
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downfall. <strong>The</strong> Antifascist <strong>Women</strong>’s Front was dissolved in 1953, <strong>and</strong><br />
transformed in<strong>to</strong> a women’s association which was <strong>to</strong> deal exclusively<br />
with the education <strong>of</strong> women in the countryside. It was a way <strong>to</strong> keep<br />
potential woman competi<strong>to</strong>rs out <strong>of</strong> socially respected positions, <strong>and</strong><br />
force them back in<strong>to</strong> the household, where they should care for their<br />
new image, complete with make-up <strong>and</strong> beautiful homes. Even socialist<br />
ideology could not bypass patriarchal values. <strong>The</strong> initial democratization<br />
was throttled again.<br />
<strong>The</strong> legal foundation <strong>of</strong> women’s rights <strong>and</strong> the conviction that education<br />
is decisive for a better life could not, however, be taken away again.<br />
Thus, many women completed their education. Although housework,<br />
<strong>and</strong> hence the double burden, remained exclusively their responsibility,<br />
many women climbed <strong>to</strong> the highest levels in politics, the economy <strong>and</strong><br />
culture. Before the war <strong>of</strong> the 1990s, women were amongst the best<br />
journalists, writers <strong>and</strong> politicians.<br />
In the new war, women were completely pushed out <strong>of</strong> these positions.<br />
<strong>The</strong> war was waged against them, they were not only expelled, shot<br />
<strong>and</strong> <strong>to</strong>rtured, they were also raped on a massive scale. <strong>The</strong> rapists explained<br />
that they actually wanted <strong>to</strong> humiliate their husb<strong>and</strong>s by violating<br />
their women, so that they would never again return <strong>to</strong> their homes. <strong>The</strong><br />
“ethnic cleansing” was <strong>to</strong> be achieved by means <strong>of</strong> violence against<br />
women. <strong>The</strong> women were permanently damaged, but so were their children<br />
<strong>and</strong> their families, their very lives.<br />
Nevertheless, it was primarily the women who healed the wounds<br />
again, cared for the refugees, the traumatized children, women <strong>and</strong><br />
men, <strong>and</strong> built up a social supply system for the population. <strong>The</strong>y were<br />
the ones who made the first contacts <strong>to</strong> the “others”, <strong>and</strong> thus initiated<br />
the peace process. <strong>The</strong>y were now forced <strong>to</strong> regain their rights in their<br />
families <strong>and</strong> in society, against the new ideology coloured by nationalism<br />
<strong>and</strong> religion. This time, for the first time in human his<strong>to</strong>ry, the raped<br />
women have talked about their experiences frankly in front <strong>of</strong> cameras,<br />
<strong>and</strong> have made contacts with women from other parts <strong>of</strong> the world.<br />
Thanks <strong>to</strong> the great commitment <strong>of</strong> an international women’s network<br />
<strong>and</strong> the courage <strong>of</strong> individual women who were willing <strong>to</strong> speak about<br />
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