Movement for the Abolition of War

Mothers, daughters, wives

The song by Australian songwriter, Judy Small says so much about this subject. In “Mothers, daughters, wives” she writes about the generation of women who saw their fathers called up to fight in WWI, their husbands in WWII, and their children in the Vietnam war, and shrewdly questions the traditional roles played by women in time of war.

The refrain is the same after each verse:

The first time it was fathers, the last time it was sons,

And in between, your husbands marched away with drums and guns,

And you never thought to question, you just went on with your lives,

‘cause all they taught you who to be was mothers, daughters, wives.

The last includes the exclamation: But, we are learning! This could be the leitmotif for this little address. Women in the peace movement and generally are becoming more aware of their potential role in anti-militarism.

 

Quaker Tapestry exhibited in Kendal

One of the tapestry panels shows a male CO facing a conscription board during WWI while at the side there are three women proffering white feathers. In the 2009 book Conscientious objection: resisting militarized society, Cynthia Enloe refers to the panel and asks where are the women peacemakers in this depiction. To answer this question leads to an investigation of women’s relationships to men, to ideas of manliness and to soldiering and militaristic cultures in general.

The young British man stands alone in the panel. But this is an inadequate portrayal of the narrative. It does not show how the social dynamics of any young man’s CO appeal would operate. We need to ask with whom this young man would have discussed this decision to ask for CO status. Which other women are offstage in the Quaker Tapestry. Reading the testimonies of COs, it is quite clear that wives and mothers are involved and often play a more significant role than fathers.

We must also remember that the families and friends of COs were also often vilified and experienced the social exclusion and financial hardship that conscientious objection often incurred. Maybe we should also remember these at today’s event.

 

Other artwork

While talking about the tapestry may I also refer to the special witness of ordinary women around the world who have sewed their emotions and experiences into quilts and arpilleras, and other art works.  

Last November, the MAW organised an exhibition of quilts at various venues in London, entitled “The human cost of war”. It was curated by Roberta Bacic and comprised 22 quilts and arpilleras made by women in Chile and a number of European countries. Many of these tell of how their lives were affected when their husbands and sons were taken away to be tortured or killed because they spoken out against militarism or military dictatorships.

Sue Gilmurray wrote a song “The women sew” specifically for the exhibition which explains beautifully the motivation behind this quilt making. One refrain goes:

When you live your life in the grip of fear

of the bomb and gun that are always near,

when they come at night and disturb your sleep

when they take the men and the women weep.

 

Then the women sew and their stitches speak

against violent power shutting justice out;

with a grip on rage that they won’t let go,

see their fingers fight as the women sew. 

Then perhaps forgiveness and reconciliation can come, but that is a complex issue.

 

Examples of women’s action in support of conscientious objection

And, of course, women have taken a strong lead in campaigning against recruitment. Good examples are the Women’s Peace Army in Australia which campaigned successfully against conscription for oversees service in 1916/17. Then there is The End Conscription Campaign (resistance to apartheid militarism) in South Africa.

In Russia today, a nationwide group of women who call themselves, “The Mothers of Soldiers” has caused much anxiety in the government as its members have not only exposed the military’s physical abuse of young male conscripts. They also hold seminars to teach women how to gain exemption for their sons when they receive their military service notices.

All this is so important because it projects an alternative narrative to militarism and male attitudes to war. Government military strategists and planners are always worried about women: can they be relied upon to uphold a militarized standard of acceptable masculinity.

Then there are the stories some told so beautifully in the newly published book by WRI: Women conscientious objectors: an anthology. WRI decided to publish this book in order to give a voice to the women who declare themselves to be COs.

 

The feminist perspective

A CO movement in any country might be even more prone to privileging masculinity and leaving patriarchal movement tendencies unquestioned than other forms of peace movement organizing. After all only two countries have compulsory military service for women. It is men as individuals, therefore, who have to take the risk of applying for CO status. Men who take this risk are likely to be seen – by both men and women – as the heroes of the movement. Furthermore, those who have the greatest stake in correcting any state policy’s flaws or injustices are, not surprisingly, seen to be the natural leaders of any movement challenging that policy.

In Turkey today, a small group of feminist women who have been particularly active in the CO movement supporting men in prison have begun to explore how they can pry apart conscientious objection from the privileging of masculinity. They have crafted a declaration that a woman not subject to a state’s military conscription can personally make which enables her to declare herself to be a conscientious objector. 

This is a political innovation: to declare oneself a conscientious objector even though one is not called upon by the state to soldier. The feminist conscientious objector declares: I shall defy every secret and obvious form of militarism and show solidarity with anyone who defies militarism. As much as militarism is determined to affect my life, I am determined to continue my struggle. I reject.

Women in France have done something similar. 

On the other side of the globe, in Paraguay and Columbia, we find parallels to Turkey. Women are declaring themselves conscientious objectors, arguing that a militaristic society affects women as well as men – it is a system of economic, social and cultural oppression.

Israel and Eritrea are the only countries which conscript women. Both have recently been involved with wars and both have introduced military service for women in the name of gender equality. But there are many differences between them. In Eritrea, there is not recognition of conscientious objection at all, forcing all objectors to leave the country. The WRI book includes harrowing stories of two women COs.

In Israel, pacifists can obtain exemption from military service because of their beliefs and, although marginalised, conscientious objectors raise a voice in the public debate. It has, however, becoming more difficult for women to gain exemption and women objectors are beginning to face the same hard conditions as men.

 

And finally nearer to home

Female conscientious objectors actually faced conscription in Britain during WWII. Some of these women were called absolutists, what we today would call total objectors, since they refused to accept alternative service. Mitzi Bales has an excellent chapter in the new WRI book telling some of their stories. She ends this with the following words.

Unknown women COs carried the banner for peace in their time, along with the women whose names and stories are known. They can all be acknowledged in our thoughts for their strength and principled stand against war.