Women in Black is a women's anti-war

Pacifism

Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...

 movement with an estimated 10,000 activists around the world. The first group was formed by Israeli women in Jerusalem in 1988, following the outbreak of the First intifada

First Intifada

The First Intifada was a Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories. The uprising began in the Jabalia refugee camp and quickly spread throughout Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem....

.

History

Responding to what they considered serious violations of human rights

Human rights

Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...

 by Israeli soldiers in the Occupied Territories

Israeli-occupied territories

The Israeli-occupied territories are the territories which have been designated as occupied territory by the United Nations and other international organizations, governments and others to refer to the territory seized by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967 from Egypt, Jordan, and Syria...

, the women held a vigil every Friday in central Jerusalem, wearing black clothing in mourning for all victims of the conflict.

The initiative soon spread to various other locations in Israel, with women standing weekly in main squares of cities or at junctions on inter-city highways. As was decided early on, the movement did not adopt any formal program other than opposition to the occupation. Local groups were autonomous in deciding such issues as whether or not to open participation to men as well as women, and there were many shades of political difference from one place to another.

At the peak of the Intifada there were thirty vigils in different locations throughout the country. The number dwindled sharply after the Oslo Agreement in 1993, when it seemed that peace with the Palestinians was at hand, and picked up again when violent events proved that hope to have been premature.

The first vigils in other countries were started in solidarity with the Israeli group, but then embraced other social and political issues. Especially notable were the Women in Black group in former Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....

, which in the 1990s confronted rampant nationalism, hatred and bloodshed, often meeting with violence from nationalists and persecution by police.

While each group is free to pursue its own goals and activities, the women maintain regular contact via e-mail and the Internet, and hold annual international conferences. Their most common tactic consists of standing together periodically in various public places, usually in complete silence unless pedestrians ask questions, which at times escalate into full-fledged arguments. The Women in Black's counter-group in called Women for Israel's Tomorrow

Women for Israel's Tomorrow

Women for Israel's Tomorrow is a right-wing political women's group in Israel. It is more commonly known as Women in Green due to its followers' "custom" of wearing green hats, in contrast to the older left-wing anti-war organization Women in Black.WiG is a registered non-profit organization...

 who typically wear green hats.

Controversy

In one instance, a United States grouping of Women in Black was accused of mocking and showing disrespect to American soldiers. The Athens, Georgia

Athens, Georgia

Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...

 chapter was the subject of a letter to the Athens Banner-Herald in October 2007 for a protest at which an unidentified individual, said not to be a member of the military, allegedly dressed up in a U.S. Army uniform, put pacifist political buttons on it, and held peace signs with the Women in Black.

Women in Black in Austin, Texas, was stated to hold weekly vigils against US bombing of Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks.

External links

• Official website
• UK branch website
• Women in Black documents Israeli Left Archive
• Twenty years' anniversary of the Women in Black Women's News