War, Women, and Power: From Violence to Mobilization in Rwanda and Bosnia-Herzegovina [Paperback]

While dominant narratives emphasize war's destructive effects, this book demonstrates how war can open up unexpected opportunities for women's political mobilization.Just ten years after the war and genocide in their country, Rwandans elected the world's highest level of women to parliament. Marie E. Berry relates the remarkable ascent of women to their experience of violence. Analyzing conflict and its aftermath in Rwanda and Bosnia, she explores how women resist and survive during war.Just ten years after the war and genocide in their country, Rwandans elected the world's highest level of women to parliament. Marie E. Berry relates the remarkable ascent of women to their experience of violence. Analyzing conflict and its aftermath in Rwanda and Bosnia, she explores how women resist and survive during war.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.1. From violence to mobilization: war, women, and power; 2. Historical roots of mass violence in Rwanda; 3. War and structural shifts in Rwanda; 4. Women's political mobilization ls&