Former refugee discusses Sudanese women and war at Nov. 16 lecture

In 1999 the U.S. State Department allowed more than 4,000 Sudanese refugees into the country: Only 89 of these young orphaned war victims were girls. This tragic disparity has both political and cultural origins, and few understand the complexities as well as Julia Duany, author of Making Peace and Nurturing Life: Memoir of an African Woman About a Journey of Struggle and Hope. Duany, a refugee who escaped from the violence in the Sudan in 1983, will deliver a talk titled "African Women's Voices: Effects of War on Sudanese Women" Tuesday, Nov. 16, at 4:30 p.m. in Room 423 of the School of Industrial and Labor Relations Conference Center on campus. The talk is free and open to the public and a reception will follow.

Drawing on her experiences as a refugee and activist as well as her knowledge of Sudanese women's groups, Duany will discuss challenges to women's peace-building initiatives in the Sudan. She also will discuss factors that shape social relations and affect women's lives in the Sudan, including family life, religion, cultural and political complexities, and the role gender plays in the multicultural, war-ravaged country of Sudan.

Duany, a research associate at Indiana University, focuses on gender and policy issues in education and social justice. Her publications include articles on the African refugee crisis, the Sudanese conflict and grassroots community responses to the violence, and the forced militarizing of African children. She has received many awards for her work with refugees and nongovernmental organizations in Africa and internationally.

Duany's visit is part of a series titled "Gender, War, Violence, Peace and Displacement," organized by the program on Gender and Global Change at Cornell.

Cornell's co-sponsors for Duany's visit include the Institute for African Development (IAD), the Peace Studies Program, the Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program, and the Center for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy. For more information, contact Jackie Sayegh, IAD program coordinator, at 255-6849.