The trauma of a woman's words of war
Authors: Ayesha Ahmad
Journal: The Lancet Public Health (2019)

War is a silencing shroud. In Afghanistan, the Taliban banned women from writing and reciting poetry, limiting spaces for women's voices; but for Afghan women, poetry is a sword1Doucet L Dangerous ‘truth’: the Kabul women's poetry club.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24608666Date: 2013Date accessed: July 15, 2019Google Scholar and women have fought to fulfil their rich literary heritage. Nadia Anjuman, a poet from Herat, Afghanistan, revealed the oppression of Afghan women through her words, which are now her legacy following her murder in 2005, for supposedly bringing disgrace on her family through her poetry.2Gall C Afghan poet dies after beating by husband.https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/08/world/asia/afghan-poet-dies-after-beating-by-husband.htmlDate: 2005Date accessed: July 15, 2019Google Scholar Women as storytellers of suffering are the epitome for understanding the lived spaces of war. Yet, even academic research reinforces the silencing of a woman's words in war.3van Ommeren M Mental health conditions in conflict situations are much more widespread than we thought.https://www.who.int/news-room/commentaries/detail/mental-health-conditions-in-conflict-situations-are-much-more-widespread-than-we-thoughtDate: 2019Date accessed: July 15, 2019Google Scholar Stories become part of medical apparatus and pathologised. Lives are reduced to prevalence figures, which are then translated into reports such as the WHO's recent urgent call to address mental health needs in conflict.3van Ommeren M Mental health conditions in conflict situations are much more widespread than we thought.https://www.who.int/news-room/commentaries/detail/mental-health-conditions-in-conflict-situations-are-much-more-widespread-than-we-thoughtDate: 2019Date accessed: July 15, 2019Google Scholar Health responses focus on generating adequate data for the consequences of conflict. Yet, where are the stories of women who are suffering; why are these storytellers absent? We need brave researchers to receive such stories and share the suffering that is being endured as a way to deconstruct silencing, especially to health professionals. Words and silence are weaponised in war, meaning that a woman's story is silenced because of what she has the power to reveal, but she is never silent; stories are living breathing vessels of the self and surrounding world. We need to create spaces for women's stories of suffering to understand the traumas of war. Storytelling is an integral part of healing.4Mannell J Ahmad L Ahmad A Narrative storytelling as mental health support for women experiencing gender-based violence in Afghanistan.Soc Sci Med. 2018; 214: 91-98Crossref PubMed Scopus (12) Google Scholar We have developed a therapeutic intervention for trauma using storytelling to support the mental health of women who have experienced gender-based violence. As researchers, we must see beyond the structures of silencing because no woman is voiceless; and voices cannot be given, only listened to. Women need to tell their own stories. Then, the trauma of a woman's words of war will be found. I thank L Ahmad for her help with studying, listening to, and honouring women suffering in war. I declare no competing interests.