Rooting, shifting and mobilizing: Women's peacebuilding across differences in Georgia and Myanmar

Abstract

This article explores how female peace activist's experiences of armed conflict drive their activism. By analyzing women's peace activism as a manifestation of transversal politics, I capture how women's experiences and social positioning in relation to the armed conflict influence how they shape their identities and create alliances across conflict divides. Building on the narratives of activists and members of women's organizations in Georgia and Myanmar, I argue that when experiences such as displacement and loss are articulated with the awareness of the gendered dynamics of the conflict, women expand the categories in which their identities are defined, and challenge political stances which were hitherto only guided by the ethno-political context. This process allows women to approach other parties (which were previously either neglected or considered as opponents) and to build common ground for peace activism despite the existence of multiple differences within and across groups.