Books on Crisis and women

The past few weeks while reading on wars and crisis, I wondered wonder how in modern times we are protected during such times of crisis. (Not that we should have such crisis at all ).  In particular, it made me wonder how the long hand of the law (but then of course, times of war is times of no law; yet we try….. ) and the umbrella of civilised society protect women and the numerous ways in which women can be affected by conflicts and crisis. These are interesting books that I had a chance to browse through and even read which I felt could be very informative for everyone.

1. Women and war: Hailed as a book which should be on the desk of every peacemaker and policy maker working in the international arena and printed in 2011 by United States Institute of peace, Women and war, is a publication that describes rape in Kosovo and gender neutral peace in Angola. It looks into how women can be affected by conflict and the actions taken by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). It writes about those rules of international humanitarian law which provide specific protection for women in war. The ongoing work of the ICRC is beneficial to women affected by armed conflict shown here in the areas of emergency relief distribution, support for families with missing relatives, protection, health care and economic assistance.

2. Antenatal guidelines for primary health care for women in crisis conditions: This provides basic information to field staff regarding crisis conditions and plays an important role in reducing suffering of women in such situations where there is lack of facilities and resources in times of need.

3.Women facing war:  This book tells the story of eleven women with their own individual stories of how their lives have been affected by war. Coping with displacement, physical and sexual violence, missing relatives, widowhood, detention... challenges and difficulties that these and thousands of other women must face in their daily lives.

4. Born of war: Protection of children born of sexual violence survivors in conflict zones: This book examines the human rights of children born of war time rape and sexual violence and exploitation and looks into the impact of armed conflict on these children’s survival and day to day lives.

5. Women and the first world war ( seminar study in history ): This is the work on the contributions of women in the first world war and is a very interesting read and very informative, giving us perspectives of the massive effect of war on all facets of human life.

Anusmita Baruah