'I do not think I'll see the end of war in my lifetime,' sa ys photojournalist Lynsey Addario
Stories of war often focus on the men who wage them. But how might we see conflicts differently when women tell the story?
In this episode, women who know war offer glimpses into both our era's ongoing — and forgotten — conflicts. They are survivors, peacemakers, storytellers — and poets: women with agency, with a voice. Among them: a nobel laureate, a photojournalist, and a political feminist geographer, Lorraine Dowler.
"Unless you tell these stories, the old formulas remain the same: Men are the heroes of war and women are their helpmates," Dowler told CBC IDEAS host Nahlah Ayed.
Below is a glimpse into some of insights from our guests, as well as a sample of work by Ukrainian female poets writing about war.
"You listen to the news, you see wars happening all over the world. But as long as it's not in your own country, it just feels that most likely there is something wrong with them. It's like when you hear of natural disasters, it's something that happens elsewhere and you just start thinking maybe they're just unfortunate or maybe there is something wrong with them.
"And then once it hits home, you realize that, no, it's not. It's not necessarily something wrong with the people or the location or the country per se. It's actually something that anyone can suffer from, even those perhaps listening to us right now thinking that they will never live a war. I think no one knows. And that's why it is important for even ordinary people to to get interested in peace." – Hajer Sharief, Libyan activist
"People envision conflict as a battle zone: the old front line versus the home front and that somehow people are tucked nicely behind in the home front, keeping the home fires burning. We know that's an antiquated model of war... This everyday resiliency that I see by women in Northern Ireland is it's just brilliant. And I can't understand why people aren't interested in that." – Lorraine Dowler, political femin
"I do not think I'll see the end of war in my lifetime. I was in Tigray last month in Ethiopia and photographing all the same issues I photographed for over 20 years: people displaced by war, women raped, gang raped, civilians caught in crossfire, civilians intentionally targeted, children targeted malnutrition because people are being literally starved out…. So I think I would not bank on there being no war in my lifetime." – Lynsey Addario, photojournalist
"It's quite obvious that military force does not necessarily solve the problems. And it hasn't. The conflicts were persistent and it was time to also consider other methods of resolving them. I believe that soft power is really essential. We've had the opportunity to let them use the state power, the military power. But, you know, it hasn't been able to address the conflict. So it was time to try something else." – Esther Ibanga, Pastor