Event

The War Museum in collaboration with the UFS Centre for Gender and Africa Studies presents:

The Unsung Heroines and Youth of South Africa

Violent Histories and Experiences of South African Women and Children during Wars, Conflicts and Pandemics

International Hybrid Conference, 24-25 November 2022

Hosted at the War Museum of the Boer Republics in Bloemfontein, South Africa and Online

In recent years the study and interpretation of the Anglo-Boer (South African) War has created new insights regarding the complexities of this war and the effect that this conflict had on the South African community, in particular women and children. This conference aims to assemble historians, academics and other scholars researching the violent histories of not only women and children in the Anglo-Boer (South African) War but in other wars, conflicts and pandemics as well (including themes from South African history from pre-colonial and pre-Union periods, the 1st and 2nd World Wars through the Apartheid era to the present day).

The conference is hosted during the period of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (25 November – 10 December 2022) with 25 November being declared by the United Nations as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. On 19 September 2019 President Cyril Rhamaphosa told Members of Parliament that: “There is a very violent and brutal war underway in South Africa against women and children”. Therefore, the conference and it’s stakeholders aim to highlight and support the central theme of “No Violence Against Women and Children”.

During times of conflict, the strength of women and the vulnerability of children comes to the fore. In accordance with the War Museum’s vision the conference will represent the inclusivity and suffering of all communities, thus also propagating the message that negotiation is preferable to war. Although the emphasis will inherently be on historical interpretations, the conference aims at including a multi-disciplinary approach.

Download submission form.