Women in Black

Women in Black ( Hebrew נשים בשחור) is an anti-war movement of women with an estimated 10,000 activists around the world. The first group was founded in 1968 in Jerusalem .

history

Women in Black at a protest in New Paltz, New York

Women in Black at a protest in Paris Square, Jerusalem , with the characteristic stop signs that read "Stop the Occupation" in three languages

Women in Black can be seen as a response to having experienced serious human rights violations by Israeli soldiers in the occupied territories . The women held a vigil in central Jerusalem every Friday during which they wore black dresses to express mourning for all victims of the conflict. Originally, the group did not have a name but was quickly identified with the black dresses, which also helped create distinctive and hard-to-ignore demonstrations.

The initiative quickly spread to other places in Israel, where women stood weekly in central squares of cities or at important intersections. It was decided early on that the movement should have no formal program other than resisting the occupation. Local groups were autonomous in deciding on issues such as whether or not men should participate, and there were many political differences between groups. At the height of the Intifada there were thirty vigils in various locations across Israel. After the start of the Oslo Peace Process in 1993, when peace seemed to be within reach, the numbers dwindled, but rose again after hopes were dashed by new outbreaks of violence.

The first vigils in other countries were held in solidarity with the Israeli group, but soon took up other social and political issues as well. Particularly noteworthy was the Women in Black group in the former Yugoslavia , which opposed rampant nationalism, hatred, and bloodshed in the 1990s, and often encountered violence on the part of nationalists.

Women in Black in India fight back against Hindu fundamentalism and the violence it brought against women. In Italy, Women in Black protest against war and organized crime. In Australia, Women in Black take a stand against domestic violence.

While each group is free to pursue its own goals and activities, the women are in regular contact via email and the Internet and hold annual international conferences. The most common strategy is to stand together in public places at regular intervals, often in silence, except when pedestrians ask questions that sometimes turn into discussions.

controversy

In one case, a group of Women in Black in the USA was accused of mocking and disrespecting American soldiers. In Athens, Georgia , during a protest, an unidentified person, allegedly not a member of the military but wearing a uniform with pacifist buttons on it, along with Women in Black signs.

Women in Black in Austin, Texas, said they would hold weekly vigils against the bombing of Afghanistan by the US military after the 9/11 attacks .

Awards

In 2001 the movement was awarded the Millennium Peace Prize for Women from the United Nations Development Fund for Women . In the same year the Women in Black groups in Israel and Serbia were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize .

bibliography

• Gary L. Anderson Kathryn G. Herr: Encyclopedia of activism and social justice . SAGE Publications, Thousand Oaks 2007, ISBN 9781452265650 , pp. 1477-9.
• Chava Frankfort-Nachmias Erella Shadmi: Sappho in the Holy Land: lesbian existence and dilemmas in contemporary Israel . State University of New York Press, Albany 2005, ISBN 9780791463185 , pp. 191-210.
• Website
• UK branch website
• Women in Black documents Israeli Left Archive
• Twenty years' anniversary of the Women in Black Women's News

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Melanie S. Rich, Kalpana Misra: Jewish feminism in Israel: some contemporary perspectives , Brandeis University Press, Hanover, NH 2003, ISBN 978-1584653257 , page 114
2. ↑ Dale donors, Cheri Kramarae: Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women: Global Women's Issues and Knowledge . Ed .: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-96315-6 , pp. 1517 ( google.co.il ).
3. ↑ Marguerite Waller, Jennifer Rycenga: Frontline Feminisms: Women, War, and Resistance . Ed .: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-95454-3 ( google.tn ).
4. ↑ Charles A. Jones, Jr .: Peace protesters must respect US soldiers ( Memento of the original from March 1, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Athens Banner-Herald, October 3, 2007 
5. ^ Women in Black . In: Mary Zeiss Stange, Carol K. Oyster, Jane E. Sloan (Eds.): Encyclopedia of Women in Today's World . ISBN 978-1-4129-7685-5 , pp. 1561 ( google.co.il ).