Title: War, women, and power : from violence to mobilization in Rwanda and Bosnia-Herzegovina /
Authors: Berry, Marie E., 1983-
Year: 2018
Subjects: Women and war Rwanda.; Women and war Bosnia and Herzegovina.; Yugoslav War, 1991-1995 Bosnia and Herzegovina; Women Political activity Rwanda.; Women Political activity Bosnia and Herzegovina.; Social change Rwanda.; Social change Bosnia and Herzegovina.; Social change; Women and war; Women Political activity; Rwanda History; Rwanda History; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Rwanda
Abstract: Rwanda and Bosnia both experienced mass violence in the early 1990s. Less than ten years later, Rwandans surprisingly elected the world's highest level of women to parliament. In Bosnia, women launched thousands of community organizations that became spaces for informal political participation. The political mobilization of women in both countries complicates the popular image of women as merely the victims and spoils of war. Through a close examination of these cases, Marie E. Berry unpacks the puzzling relationship between war and women's political mobilization. Drawing from over 260 interviews with women in both countries, she argues that war can reconfigure gendered power relations by precipitating demographic, economic, and cultural shifts. In the aftermath, however, many of the gains women made were set back. This book offers an entirely new view of women and war and includes concrete suggestions for policy makers, development organizations, and activists supporting women's rights.--Publisher's summary.