This is a familiar sight. In every Eritrean home I've entered, there is at least one of these reminders of the human cost of conflict. A lone soldier stands guard in an acacia tree at Egri Mikhal. I really don't know much about politics,'' says Demet, who, by Eritrean custom, is known by her given name rather than her family name. She has lived under British, Italian, Ethiopian, and Eritrean rule.
Demonstrators hoist the Eritrean flag during a peace march in downtown Asmara.
They were wounded, killed, and gave birth in the field. In some ways, they were able to use the equal status garnered on the battlefield to liberate themselves from the repressive traditions of their predominantly patriarchal society. Prior to independence, family members arranged their daughters' marriages - frequently when the girls were in early adolescence. Women's low status was captured in proverbs and folk songs that compared them with donkeys. They were even forbidden to own property.