The Aftermath: Women in Post-Conflict Transformation (review)

In discussions of the social changes effected by war, bitter arguments have centred on the changes to the status of women in postwar periods. The editors of this book revisit this issue in a collection of essays derived from a workshop, a conference and a meeting of the African Women's Anti-War Coalition.

The collection is structurally divided into two main sections. The first presents a number of overarching themes analysing issues, including what women actually gain during periods of war, shifts in gender relations and why women fail to maximise the gains made during this period. Based on discussions and workshops, these chapters raise a number of important issues, among which women's failure to consolidate wartime gains, their additional responsibilities in wartime, how these responsibilities inform postwar society and the changing socially constructed identities of women both during and after periods of conflict. Unfortunately, none of the discussions are located within, or related to, the existing historiography of women's changing roles and identity in wartime. Indeed, although the collection contains a substantial bibliography, there are few references to indicate how this has informed any of the arguments presented.

The second and more useful section of the book presents accounts from a number of postconflict locations, including Haiti, Mozambique, Eritrea, and Nigeria. Much of the evidence presented is based on the authors' own research findings. Sondra Hale's chapter on Eritrea and Tina Sideris's contribution, dealing with the gender-based violence towards Mozambican women refugees, are based largely on oral testimonies. A number of these later chapters do contextualise the situation of women against the general economic and political climates of the countries concerned. Indeed Myriam Merlet, in her essay "Between Love, Anger and Madness" dealing with women's organisations in Haiti, asserts that "location and context are important" (p. 160).

Unfortunately, the editors have neither attempted to draw these case studies together nor to identify any overall trends. As a result, the collection has an uncoordinated feel and an excellent opportunity has been missed to move discussions around the effects of war on women's lives forward into a contemporary period of conflict. That having been said, this volume does contain much detailed and empirical research on the roles of women in modern conflicts and in their immediate aftermath. Hopefully, this evidence will now be utilised by other scholars to inform the wider debates on women, war and social change.