Women in Black

Women in Black (WiB) is a loose international network of women who organize in silent protest for the promotion of peace and in opposition to war, violence, and militarism. With no central organization or official membership, the hundreds of WiB groups around [Page 1478]the world are linked by a common form of protest—public vigil by groups of women dressed in black—and by a rough affinity of goals. In this sense, WiB is a unique form of social protest, more of a formula for action than an organization.

Women in Black began in Israel in January 1988, several months after the beginning of the first Palestinian intifada. Initially, a group of Israeli Jewish women in Jerusalem began to stand in weekly vigils at busy intersections in protest of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The women wore black, held placards with slogans such as “Stop the Occupation,” and refrained from reacting to negative comments from passersby. Within months, more than 40 WiB groups had been formed throughout Israel; some of them mixed groups of Israeli Jewish and Palestinian women. Since that time, WiB groups have been formed around the world in countries such as England, the United States, Belgium, Japan, Italy, Spain, and Yugoslavia.

Women in Black groups take many forms and organize for many purposes. Most WiB groups are composed exclusively of women, but some include men. Most groups maintain a silent vigil, while others engage passersby in conversation, chant slogans, or engage in physical protest and civil disobedience. Likewise, while many groups focus exclusively on issues related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, others protest violence and militarism in their own countries. For example, Women in Black in Belgrade (Žene u Crnom) has been protesting domestic militarism and nationalist aggression in Republic Square in Belgrade since 1991. In Italy, WiB groups (Donne in Nero) have held weekly vigils in Rome, Milan, Bologna, Turin, Ravenna, Padua, and Verona since 1988. Donne in Nero groups seek to promote peace through dialogue between women on different sides of conflicts (including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict), as well as protest Mafia violence and violence against women in Italy. Since 1995, two WiB groups in the Philippines (the Asian Women's Human Rights Council and the Lila Pilipina) have protested in front of the Japanese Embassy in Manila to demand compensation for sexual slavery imposed by the Japanese army during World War II. In the United States, some long-established WiB groups focus exclusively on issues relating to the Israeli occupation, while others have been formed since September 11, 2001, to promote peace and, more recently, to protest the war in Iraq.

The Women in Black movement has been recognized repeatedly for its commitment to peace and its unique form of social protest. Israeli Women in Black won the Aachen Peace Prize in 1991, the peace award of the city of San Giovanni d'Asso, Italy, in 1994, and the Jewish Peace Fellowship's Peacemaker Award in 2001. In 2001, the WiB network was awarded the Millennium Peace Prize for Women by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and International Alert. Donne in Nero (Italy) was awarded the Gold Dove of Peace in 2002. Women in Black in Israel and in the former Yugoslavia have both been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and for the Right Livelihood Award.

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