WUNRN
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Who are Women in Black?
Women in
Black… is a world-wide network of women committed to peace with justice and
actively opposed to injustice, war, militarism and other forms of violence. As
women experiencing these things in different ways in different regions of the
world, we support each other’s movements. An important focus is challenging the
militarist policies of our own governments. We are not an organisation, but a
means of communicating and a formula for action.
WiB vigils
Any group of
women anywhere in the world at any time may organize a Women in Black vigil
against any manifestation of violence, militarism or war. Women in Black (WiB)
actions are generally women only. Our actions often take the form of women
wearing black, standing in a public place in silent, non-violent vigils at
regular times and intervals, carrying placards and handing out leaflets.
Other non-violent
actions
We use
non-violent and non-aggressive forms of action. In addition to vigils Women in
Black groups use many other forms of non-violent direct action such as sitting
down to block a road, entering military bases and other forbidden zones,
refusing to comply with orders, and “bearing witness”. Wearing black in some
cultures signifies mourning, and feminist actions dressed in black convert
women’s traditional passive mourning for the dead in war into a powerful
refusal of the logic of war.
A worldwide movement
It is
impossible to know exactly how many Women in Black groups exist, how many women
they include and how many actions have been held. When Women in Black in
Israel/Palestine, as part of a coalition of Women for a Just Peace, called for
vigils in June 2001 against the Occupation of Palestinian lands, at least 150
WiB groups across the world responded. Countries reporting vigils included:
Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, England, France,
Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Maldive Islands, Mexico, Netherlands, Northern
Ireland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the USA. The organisers
estimate that altogether 10,000 women may have been involved.
International women’s
solidarity
International
Women in Black conferences and encounters have been held in Jerusalem, Beijing,
Serbia, and Brussels. Another is planned for Italy in 2003. In 2001 Women in
Black was awarded the Millennium Peace Prize for Women by the United Nations
Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and International Alert. Women in Black in
Israel/Palestine and former Yugoslavia were also nominated for the Nobel Peace
Prize and the Right Livelihood Award.
A feminist perspective
Women in Black
groups do not have a constitution or a manifesto – but our perspective is clear
from our actions and words. It is evident for instance that we have a feminist
understanding: that male violence against women in domestic life and in the
community, in times of peace and in times of war, are interrelated. Violence is
used as a means of controlling women. In some regions, men who share this
analysis support and help WiB, and WiB are supporting men who refuse to fight.
Women’s different
experience of war
Women-only
peace activism does not suggest that women, any more than men, are ‘natural
born peace-makers’. But women often inhabit different cultures from men, and
are disproportionately involved in caring work. We know what justice and
oppression mean, because we experience them as women. Most women have a
different experience of war from that of most men. All women in war fear rape.
Women are the majority of refugees. A feminist view sees masculine cultures as
specially prone to violence, and so feminist women tend to have a particular
perspective on security and something unique to say about war.
Women's different and
varied voices
WiB includes
women of many ethnic and national backgrounds, co-operating across these (and
other) differences in the interests of justice and peace. We work for a world
where difference does not mean inequality, oppression or exclusion. Women’s
voices are often drowned out in mixed actions of men and women. When we act
alone what women say is really heard.
Choosing our own forms
of action
Sometimes even
peace demonstrations get violent, and as women alone we can choose forms of
action we feel comfortable with, non-violent and expressive. Demonstrating
together can give us a sense of the richness and scope of our varied
experiences, and solidarity and purpose as women. Women in regions differently
situated in relation to armed conflicts, including those that perpetrate
violence and those that are victims of it, can lend support to each other.
Together we can educate, inform and influence public opinion, and so try to
make war an unthinkable option.
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