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United States Institute of Peace

Praise for "Women and War"

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“Women and War" offers a state-of-the-art look at how war affects women and women affect war—and peace. The collection surveys the burgeoning literature on gender and armed conflict, adding original research showing the yawning gap between international commitments (like U.N. Resolution 1325) and the brutal realities facing women amid war. It does so with a nuanced view of the differential impacts of war on women’s bodies, social circumstances, and economic chances. Fully recognizing the agency of women and their contributions to peacemaking, peacekeeping, and postwar economic development, this book doesn’t shy away from identifying flawed international approaches and persistent obstacles that block women’s potential roles in peace and economic recovery. Kuehnast, Oudraat, and Hernes have given practitioners, scholars, and students an indispensable new resource.”
—Charles T. Call, American University

 

“News headlines indicate that the victimization of women in war is often a deliberate policy of the belligerents and even a by-product of the well-intentioned stabilization efforts of outsiders. Yet this phenomenon remains understudied by the academic community and not well understood by policymakers who seek to limit the consequences of conflicts. This policy-oriented book aims to help fill the academic gap with informative chapters that move beyond the anecdotal to provide foundational data on the victimization of women. It traces the efforts—slow and halting at the operational levels—of the member states of the United Nations to put forward the rights of women. It offers a well-thought-out agenda for action premised on the proposition that being gender-neutral discriminates against women. This volume should be read not only by those concerned with the victimization of women in war and peace processes but also by those who do not yet fully appreciate the depth of the problem.”
—Don Daniel, Georgetown University

 

“I have met too many survivors of sexual violence in the Congo, Darfur, Bosnia, Kosovo, Uganda, Colombia, and elsewhere. For too long we have tolerated that a conspiracy of silence surrounds mass rape of women in war. This colossal injustice is as old as war itself, but it is only now starting to be addressed. Women and War from USIP and PRIO should get more of us who can live without fear and shame to wake up, be outraged, and act for change.”
—Jan Egeland, director of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs and former U.N. Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs

 

“Women and War should be on the desk of every mediator, peacekeeper, and policymaker working in the international peace and conflict arena. The book uses empirical evidence to cut its way through stereotypes of women as victims of war, taking us on a vivid journey of women’s actual experiences, ranging from the rape camps of Kosovo to the surprising effects of a gender-neutral peace in Angola. The authors shed light on the triumphs and failures of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1325 and provide a road map for the full participation of women at all stages of peacebuilding. The book is sure to make readers question deep-seated assumptions about the roles of women, and will change how we all think about war, peace, and justice.”
—Melanie Greenberg, president, Cypress Fund for Peace and Security and Co-President, Women in International Security

 

“Women and War provides a long-neglected analysis of the role of women in conflict not only in their absence from the decision-making process but also in the impact of conflict on women and the broader society. In the case of the latter, the book makes a compelling case that unlike past tendencies to regard women as passive, women often assume leadership roles within their families as well as their communities to the point of active combatants. For scholars, this book breaks ground with respect to the critical role of women and is an essential book for students as well.”
—Gale Mattox, Georgetown University and U.S. Naval Academy

 

“Women and War illuminates the toll that war takes on women and the role that women’s empowerment can play in reducing the horrors of war. This well-designed volume combines incisive analysis and rich factual detail with practical take-home lessons.”
—Jack Snyder, Belfer Professor of International Relations, Columbia University

 

“Women and War makes a truly noteworthy contribution to our understanding of gender’s sculpting impact on conflict. In clear and passionate prose, the authors spotlight the various impacts and yawning gaps in how Resolution 1325 is being interpreted and applied a decade after its adoption. Superb considerations of sexual violence and the economic challenges confronting women in postwar worlds set Resolution 1325 into essential context. Anyone aiming to grasp the commanding imprint of gender on war and peacebuilding will find Women and War essential reading.”
—Marc Sommers, The Fletcher School, Tufts University

 

“Peace agreements typically fall apart when they fail to resolve the issues that caused the conflict in the first place—including ethnic tensions, inequality, and injustice. Women face these problems everyday so they should be the ones who bring these issues to the negotiating table and find practical solutions. I believe that this book, which explores important themes such as women’s security, peacebuilding by women, and violence against women, is highly relevant as we mark the tenth anniversary of U.N. Security Council resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security.”
—Jonas Gahr Støre, Norwegian foreign minister

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