Photo Essay: Women and conflict

During this year’s 16 Days of Activism, we reflect on the many ways that women continue to be affected by conflict and violence. In post-conflict situations, war-related violence against women often continues in subtle ways. Landmines are a continuing problem for many post-conflict African countries, and women are often at increased risk due to their role in traditional society.

In Mozambique, although large strides have been made in clearing the mines since the end of the civil war in 1994, many rural communities still deal with the threat on a daily basis. Rural women have largely been left to their own devices to cope with the effects of landmines on their lives and families. This photo story looks at some of the ways that rural women, their families and communities are affected.

Tonya Muchano works with Community Media for Development Productions and specialises in producing entertainment-education programming, particularly for radio. This article is part of a special series on the 16 Days of Activism for the Gender Links Opinion and Commentary Service that offers fresh views on everyday news. For the research quoted in this article and more information on the Sixteen Day campaign go to www.genderlinks.org.za.

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Download : 3. Women in rural areas are particularly vulnerable
Download : 5. One serious problem is that mine fields are not always properly marked
Download : 6Women are the backbone the community in rural areas
Download : 7.Women speak out about landmines during a digital story workshop
Download : 10.Fransicso lost his leg while walking in the bush.
Download : 11.Emotional scars run deep.
Download : 12.Communicating landmine awareness messages