Genocide Lives in Us: Women, Memory, and Silence in Rwanda (Women in Africa and the Diaspora) - Softcover

Burnet, Jennie E.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0299286444 ISBN 13: 9780299286446

Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press, 2012

Synopsis

In the aftermath of the 1994 genocide, Rwandan women faced the impossible—resurrecting their lives amidst unthinkable devastation. Haunted by memories of lost loved ones and of their own experiences of violence, women rebuilt their lives from “less than nothing.” Neither passive victims nor innate peacemakers, they traversed dangerous emotional and political terrain to emerge as leaders in Rwanda today. This clear and engaging ethnography of survival tackles three interrelated phenomena—memory, silence, and justice—and probes the contradictory roles women played in postgenocide reconciliation.
    Based on more than a decade of intensive fieldwork, Genocide Lives in Us provides a unique grassroots perspective on a postconflict society. Anthropologist Jennie E. Burnet relates with sensitivity the heart-wrenching survival stories of ordinary Rwandan women and uncovers political and historical themes in their personal narratives. She shows that women’s leading role in Rwanda’s renaissance resulted from several factors: the dire postgenocide situation that forced women into new roles; advocacy by the Rwandan women’s movement; and the inclusion of women in the postgenocide government.

Honorable Mention, Aidoo-Snyder Book Prize, Women’s Caucus of the African Studies Association

About this title

About the Author

Jennie E. Burnet is associate professor of global studies and anthropology at Georgia State University. Her research focuses on women’s roles in peace-building and democratization and on the long-term consequences of gender-based violence in conflict.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0299286444
• ISBN 13: 9780299286446
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 302