Stop the Eye Rolling: What if Women’s Participation in History Could Improve our Understanding of Contemporary Conflict?

Historian and ACWPS Fellow Grace Hoffman puts the history into her Women’s History

Month article with this reflection on how new questions give deeper insight about war and

violence.

In 1641, refugees flooded into Dublin City, fleeing a rebellion that would change Ireland forever. Thousands of displaced people gave eyewitness testimonies of what happened. A key component of these depositions reveal about war is the way women shape the conflicts that change nations. By focusing on the “history” in Women’s History Month we can we improve our own understanding of war and have a better chance of resolving future conflict.

The impact of women’s participation illuminates areas that otherwise would be lost to the past. In the 1641 depositions, 959 women (mostly widows) gave their testimony. That is, women accounted for about one out of every eight people who gave testimony- an incredibly high proportion for the seventeenth century!

“The 1641 depositions have existed as an archive for centuries. Until recently, however, the role of women in the depositions has been mainly explored as a side interest.”

The 1641 depositions have existed as an archive for centuries. Until recently, however, the role of women in the depositions has been mainly explored as a side interest. Fortunately, scholars began to see them as an essential part of understanding the full reality of this pivotal moment in history. Led by Professor Jane Ohlmeyer from the Voices Project, researchers are uncovering the women’s stories and asking questions to probe farther:

“What role did women play in society undergoing profound economic, political, and cultural transformation?”

“What were their experiences of recurring social upheaval, bloody civil war and extreme trauma, especially sexual violence, and how have these been politicised?”

These questions remained largely unexplored for 400 years. Hence for four centuries historians’ understanding of the pivotal Irish event was missing a key piece.

We cannot overlook the specific experiences of women, including the trauma and violence they faced. The women in the 1641 depositions speak of the atrocities they and other women, men, and children faced. When we overlook women’s stories we overlook their unique experiences as well as the atrocities they witnessed against children and men.

One recurring act of violence in the 1641 deposition was women being stripped of their clothes and pushed out into the cold of winter. For some time, there was a narrative among scholars that the 1641 depositions do not contain overt reports of sexual violence, and therefore it likely was not a common atrocity. However, scholars today are challenging such assumptions and seeking to uncover hidden voices of women that may have:

1. implicitly communicated sexual violence in a society where such topics were taboo/dangerous to a woman’s reputation and place in her community

2. explicitly reported such violence in testimony that scholars previously overlooked.

The way historians have engaged the 1641 depositions tells us much about the importance of asking the right questions about wars – past and present. Today, scholars and practitioners continue to sideline this topic when thinking about/engaging with conflicts.

Perhaps this is due to a failure to recognize its significance, or maybe it is to avoid a narrative of women as victims of rather than active agents in events. Yet, it is an essential part of the full picture of a conflict not just acknowledging the impact on the individual woman but also what it tells us about the society in which she lived.

“Today, ‘Women’s History Month’ is met with too much rote ceremony by its supporters and much eye rolling from detractors.”

Today, “Women’s History Month” is met with too much rote ceremony by its supporters and much eye rolling from detractors. This year, historians can use their skills and expertise to avoid the mistakes of the past. Historical analysis often spans decades with scholars continuing to illuminate new areas that contribute to a deeper nuanced understanding of an event and its impact. All information must be considered if we are to understand the complexities of political and armed conflict. Asking new questions of old events, acknowledges and honors women’s suffering and their important role shaping the world we live in.

Asking different questions can also uncover hidden truths and nuances of conflict, improve our understanding about violent political struggle, and help us avoid, mitigate, and resolve it in the future.