Women and War Series: Liberian Women Peacemakers

Panel Discussion and Film

With depth and complexity, the upcoming PBS five-part series, Women, War & Peace highlights the stories of women in conflict zones from Bosnia to Afghanistan, and Colombia to Liberia. It places women at the center of an urgent dialogue about conflict and security and reframes our understanding of modern warfare. The series spearheaded by Executive Producers Abigail E. Disney, Pamela Hogan, and Gini Reticker, is a co-production of THIRTEEN and Fork Films in association with WNET and ITVS for broadcast on PBS.

The U.S. Institute of Peace, in collaboration with the Office of Congressman Russ Carnahan, Fork Films, USAID and the U.S. Civil Society Working Group on the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, hosted a viewing of the film, "Pray the Devil Back to Hell." A discussion followed with film producer Abigail E. Disney and Carla Koppell, Senior Coordinator, USAID's Office of Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment.

"Pray the Devil Back to Hell" -- is the compelling documentary of Muslim and Christian Liberian women who joined forces amid a brutal civil war to confront warlords and the regime of dictator Charles Taylor, and thus contributing to a once unimaginable peace for their shattered country.

Also part of the Women and War Series:

Dilemma of Peace for Afghanistan Women, Panel Discussion and Film | October 5, 2011
Location: U.S. Capitol Visitor Center Orientation Theater—South
Time: 6:00 - 7:45pm
When the U.S. troop surge was announced in late 2009, women in Afghanistan understood that the ground was being laid for peace talks with the Taliban. The documentary film, "Peace Unveiled," follows three Afghan women who have risked their lives to ensure that women’s rights are not traded away in the deal.
Global Security: Through a Bosnian Lens with Amb. Swanee Hunt and Deputy Administrator Donald Steinberg, Panel Discussion & Film | October 25, 2011
Location: U.S. Institute of Peace
Time: 3:00 - 5:30pm with reception to follow
USIP, in collaboration with the Institute for Inclusive Security, USAID, and Vital Voices, will host a discussion with Ambassador Swanee Hunt and USAID’s Deputy Administrator Donald Steinberg on lessons emerging from the Bosnia conflict with a particular focus on the best ways to ensure a direct role for women in peace-building efforts worldwide. In addition, film producer Abigail Disney and film director Pamela Hogan will present their PBS documentary, “I Came to Testify,” that describes how a group of 16 women from Bosnia, victims of the war’s systematic rapes, broke through political and societal silence by stepping onto the witness stand at an international tribunal.