Women in Black

WIB proposes that 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 women can educate, inform and influence public opinion, and so try to make war an unthinkable option. The Women in Black strategy is made up of non-violent vigils and actions, organised by and including women.

• WiB vigils - any group of women anywhere in the world at any time may organise a Women in Black vigil against any manifestation of violence, militarism or war. Women in Black actions are generally women only. WiB includes women of many ethnic and national backgrounds, co-operating across these (and other) differences in the interests of justice and peace. According to WIB, women’s voices are often drowned out in mixed actions of men and women, and when women act alone what women say is really heard. WIB 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 - 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 feminist perspective - Women in Black groups do not have a constitution or a manifesto. They 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.

In August 2005 WIB organised a conference around 'Women Resist War and Occupation' in Israel. To accomodate women who would not be able to attend in person, WIB organised an Online Women in Black International Conference which made available online many of the sessions of the conference via digital video and audio files. It also included examples from a political exhibition of posters, brochures, and other political materials. A Conference Blog was set up for the conference where women attending the conference posted short thoughts, and women anywhere in the world could write responses and converse with each other. As well, people wanting to send a message to the conference could send an email which was printed and displayed at the conference.

The WIB website provides information about the movement, as well as information about vigils around the world and how to start a vigil.

Women, Conflict

“Women in Black” was inspired by earlier movements of women who demonstrated on the streets, making a public space for women to be heard - particularly Black Sash, in South Africa, and the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo, seeking the ‘disappeared’ in the political repression in Argentina. It is not known 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.

According to the Women in Black (WiB) website, 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. 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.