The aftermath: Women in post conflict transformation

THE AFTERMATH: What happens to women in the aftermath of war and internal armed conflict? Are gender and inter-generational relations transformed during the process of post-war reconstruction? This book assets that there is no aftermath for women - a truce does not bring an end to gendered violence. It shows how the post-war period is too late for women to transform patriarchal gender relations;the foundations for change must be build during conflict. The first part of this book asks how transitions from war to peace and form authoritarian to democratic regimes can be used as opportunities to move beyond the reconstruction of pre-war institutions to year social transformation. It presents an honest accounting of what women lose and gain in wartime and how they organise, as well as an analysis of why they fall to consolidate their gains. It explores they many dimensions of violence against women before during and after war. It reflects on how war change identities, on the myths that men and women invent about each other in wartime, and on the problems of reconciliation and women's solidarity: and it focuses specifically on shifts in gender relations in the context of post-conflict reconstruction and transformation. Finally, the contributors consider the relation for the state to society in the aftermath, searching for a vision of the transformed society. The evidence presented in the second part of this book documents the varied nature of war and the many post-war situation, including Haitian and Balkan examples, Asian cases, and experiences in different African conflict zones. The contributors analyze what women endure and what they construct during and after conflict, what bonds of solidarity they create in building peace.