What Women Do in Wartime : Gender and Conflict in Africa

This is the first book to describe and analyze the experience of women in African civil wars. A mixture of reportage, testimony and scholarship, the book includes contributions from women in Chad, Liberia, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa and Sudan. The political context of these conflicts is outlined in an introduction to each chapter. The book profiles women's responses to war, as combatants as well as victims, and describes the groups women organize in the aftermath.

Examining rape and other forms of gendered political violence in African civil wars, this extraordinary volume is also about women taking action for change. It is set to become required reading for students and academics of women's, peace and African studies.

“This remarkable book should be compulsory reading for anyone wanting to understand more about conflict and its impact on women and society as a whole. Comprehensive, readable and well referenced.” —Health and Policy Planning

“/i>'Describes and analyses the experience of women in African civil wars. The images which emerge are both powerful and disturbing. The book serves as an insistent testimony of the personal suffering, tragedy and degradation of warfare.” —International Affairs

“The testimony provided in this book is vitally important. Turshen and Twagiramariya are to be commended for forcing the unthinkable into our awareness.” —Review of African Political Economy

“An important and exciting contribution to the writing of women's narratives of war. It drives home the need to bring women into the decision-making process, be it for war-waging or sustainable peace-making.” —Seminar