Resources

The International Federation for Research in Women’s History/ Federation Internationale pour le Recherche en Histoire des Femmes, in conjunction with the International Committee of Historical Sciences, invites proposals for its conference in Oslo, Norway, August/September 2000 on the theme: Conflict and Cooperation in Sites of Cultural Co-existence: Perspectives from Women’s History. Contact: Mischa Peters, Project Manager Multimedia, Utrecht University, Institute of Media and Re/Presentation, Women’s Studies in the Arts, Kromme Nieuwegracht 29, 3512 HD Utrecht, The Netherlands; Tel:

31 30 253-6018 (fax 253-6167); +email: mischa.peters@let.uu.nl; website: http://www.let.uu.nl/womens studies.

A Take Action Kit and poster, for the 1998 global campaign to celebrate and demand women’s human rights, is now available from Center for Women’s Global Leadership, 61 Clifton Avenue, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8535, USA.Tel.

1 732 932 8782; fax +1 732 932 1180; +email: cwg1@igc.apc.org; website: http://www.rcisutgers.edu/~cwgl/humanrights

What Women Do in Wartime: Gender and Conflict in Africa (£13.95/US $19.95, 1998, 180 pages), edited by Meredith Turshen and Clotilde Twagiramariya, is an comprehensive collection of essays that look at women’s experiences of armed conflict in South Africa, Mozambique, Rwanda, Chad, Liberia, Sudan and Namibia. The writers include ex-combatants, refugees, researchers and political activists, and their topics range from the case for a gendered approach to women’s testimony before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to war rape. An excellent opening essay by editor Turshen provides a useful framework with which to look at the militarization of African women’s lives. Zed Books, 7 Cynthia St., London N1 9JF, UK.

Am Anfang war die Wut (In the Beginning There was Rage) (1997, DM 34, 240 pages) by Erica Fischer, is the story of Monika Hauser and Medica Mondiale, founded in response to the systematic rape of women during the war in Bosnia. Medica Mondiale is an innovative and inspiring example of international solidarity for traumatized women. Felix Fechenbach Kooperative, Heidensche Strasse 3, 32791 Lage, Germany. Fax +49 5232 68114.

In July 1995, during the war in Bosnia, the UN-protected enclave around Srebrenica was attacked by Serb troops. Thousands of Srebrenican Muslims were killed. The fate of over a thousand men who were marched away by Serbian troops is still unknown. The failure of the UN-mandated Dutch battalion (DUTCHBAT) to protect the enclave created a scandal. Women of Srebrenica, based in Tuzla, Bosnia, is an organization of survivors who are demanding to know the fate of their male relatives. They want mass graves to be opened and corpses identified. They are working for on-going support for traumatized survivors and care for refugees. The solidarity group Workgroup Netherlands-Srebrenica brought Women of Srebrenica members to the Netherlands to talk with Dutch politicians, peace groups and former DUTCHBAT soldiers, in an attempt to aid in the healing of both sides. The group published a book in Dutch and English Srebrenica July 1995 in which 85 women survivors tell their stories. They are collecting money to enable refugee school children from Tinja, near Srebrenica, to go on a school holiday. Contact: Werkgroep Nederland Srebrenica, c/o Schimmelpennincldcade 30, 3813 AE Amersfoort, The Netherlands.

Violence Against Women: A Block to development (1995, 79 pages) is the report of the 1995 International Worker’s Aid Information Campaign “Say No to Violence Against Women”, in Norway. Included is an explanation of the campaign, its goals, a global overview of violence against women (including wartime violence) and examples of women’s strategies against violence from Palestine, Norway, Turkey, Iraq, Bosnia and elsewhere. Norwegian people’s Aid, PO Box 8844, Youngstorget, N-0028, Oslo, Norway. Tel. +47 2203 7700; fax +47 2220 0877.