BROOKLYN COLLEGE–“Women’s wars are not men’s wars.” In Cynthia Enloe’s new book “Twelve Feminist Lessons of War,” the internationally renowned author dives into why, during wartime, women possess unique disadvantages and will continue to do so unless there is equitable change.
Brooklyn College’s Department of Women’s and Gender Studies, the Institute of Gender, Law, and Transformative Peace Initiative at CUNY School of Law, BC’s Women’s Center and other groups hosted Enloe on Oct. 30 to discuss her newest release. Enloe, a political theorist, feminist scholar and professor, has studied women around the globe and their roles in becoming “resistors” to the structural force of patriarchy.
“Twelve Feminist Lessons of War” draws specifically on the experiences of feminists in Ukraine, Myanmar, Somalia, Vietnam, Rwanda, Algeria, Syria and Northern Ireland during wartime. The book examines the disparities women face and how they are often made invisible during times of conflict. To resist is for women to continue advocating for women’s rights in war, Enloe explained, adding that it was essential that she drew on the experiences of the women who spoke with her as she wrote the book.
