Women in Black Serbia are a women’s feminist antimilitarist peace organisation.
They were created in 1991 by a group of feminist activists who were involved against the rise of nationalism and militarism before the war broke out in former Yugoslavia. They have since then organized around 2.500 peaceful actions on the street in the form of protests, performances and campaigns. They consist of women, but also men of different generational and ethnic backgrounds, educational levels, social status, lifestyles and sexual choices. The entire program of Women in Black is permeated by feminist theory and feminist activism.
Their objectives:
Actions :
Their main actions are silent protests and vigils wearing black clothes. They protest in silence because « there are no words to express the tragedy that war provokes ». They wear black as a symbol of grief for all known and unknown sacrifices of wars, such as the killing of people, the demolition of towns and nature, the destruction of relationships, and the devaluing of others only because they belong to another nation, faith, or political persuasion.
Antimilitarism :
« Antimilitarism and non-violence are our spiritual orientation and our political choice. We reject military power and the production of arms for the killing of people, of human working nature, and for the domination of one sex, nation, or state over another.
We speak out for recognition of difference, reciprocity, respect for nature, and for development in accordance with the needs of the civil population, and not the civil and military oligarchy and their national interests.
(…)
The participation of women in the army, military institutions, or arms training—whether voluntary or obligatory—displays neither sexual equality nor military democratization. We advocate not only for a society without soldiers (male or female), but also for a society without the militaristic (soldierly) values which produce war, discrimination, violence, and aggression. » (Women in Black Serbia)
WOMEN IN BLACK – a worldwide movement
Women in Black is a world-wide network of women committed to peace with justice and actively opposed to injustice, war, militarism and other forms of violence. The movement exists in many countries on five different continents. As women experiencing war and other forms of violence in different ways and in different regions of the world, they support each other’s movements. An important focus is challenging the militarist policies of their own governments. They are not an organisation, but a means of communicating and a formula for action.
Women in Black 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.
Women-only peace activism does not suggest that women, any more than men, are “natural born peace-makers”. However, women often experience different cultural realities than men and are disproportionately engaged in caregiving roles. Most women have a different experience of war from that of most men. All women in war fear rape. Women – often with their children – are the majority of refugees. From a feminist perspective, masculine cultures are seen as particularly prone to violence, leading feminist women to have distinct views on security and a unique perspective on war.
In 2001 Women in Black was awarded the Millennium Peace Prize for Women by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and International Alert. Women in Black in Israel/Palestine and Serbia were also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and the Right Livelihood Award.
Sources:
https://zeneucrnom.org/en/about
Pictures :
https://zeneucrnom.org/en/photo-gallery/photographs/1706-feminism
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