This report arose out of a workshop held in Thailand in February 1993, which included participants from Oxfam UK and Ireland, from the Gender and Development Unit, staff in Asia and the Middle East and from sister organizations. The report aims to present the discussions at the workshop in a form which should be of interest and practical use to development workers, both in the field and in planning and policy, who are seeking practical and theoretical insights into the problems of integrating a gender perspective into conflict-related work. The impact of conflict on women and gender relations are analysed, and appropriate research and planning tools, gender-sensitive programme implementation and training needs for staff and partners are assessed. There are several case studies from different countries where conflict is affecting the lives of men and women, and the work of NGOs.

Somalia came to the world's attention in 1992 when television and newspapers began to report on the terrifyingly violent war and the famine that resulted. Half a million Somalis died that year, and over a million fled the country. Cameras followed US troops as they landed on the beaches at Mogadishu to lead what became an ill-fated UN intervention to end hunger and restore peace.In this book, Somali women write and talk about the war, their experiences and the unacceptable choices they often faced. They explain clearly, in their own words, the changes, challenges" and sometimes the opportunities" that war brought, and how they coped with them. Key themes include the slaughter and loss of men, who were the prime target for killings; rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war; changing roles in the family and within the pastoralist economy; women mobilising for peace; and leading social recovery in a war-torn society. This book is not only an important record of women's experience of war, but also provides researchers and students of gender and conflict with rare first hand accounts highlighting the impact of war on gender relations, and women's struggle for equal political rights in a situation of state collapse.CIIR is a British based NGO operating worldwide for justice and development. Judy el Bushra has worked in the field of community development in Africa for 20 years, specialising most recently in research on gender and on conflict, and on development methodologies. Judith Gardner has a special interest in gender relations and how communities cope with crisis. She has worked in Sudan, Somalia and Yemen. She is currently the Africa & Middle East Regional Manager for CIIR.