Opposing Colonialism: the Women's International Democratic Federation and decolonisation struggles in Vietnam and Algeria 1945–1965

This article argues that the Women's International Democratic Federation (WIDF) was a major force in promoting anti-colonialism after 1945. The article traces how and why the WIDF came to support anti-colonialism from the mid-1940s to 1965. Part of the answer lies in the cosmopolitan vision and background of the membership of the WIDF that included increasing participation from nationalist and communist women from Asia and Africa. By sharing their views on colonial oppression the WIDF as a whole came to recognise the links between colonial oppression and women's oppression. Focusing on Vietnam and Algeria, this article analyses the strategies the WIDF used in its anti-colonial activism. One strategy was to document the effects of colonialism on the women of Asia and Africa and to publicise their experiences of ongoing colonial wars. A second WIDF strategy was to provide a platform for women from colonised countries to promote anti-colonialism through its congresses and appeals and by lobbying the United Nations (UN), especially in relation to the violation of UN conventions and principles. The article presents a new history of transnational anti-colonial activism.     

Just Relations: The Story of Mary Bennett's Crusade for Aboriginal Rights

Just Relations: The Story of Mary Bennett's Crusade for Aboriginal Rights. By Alison Holland (Perth: UWA Publishing, 2015), pp. xv + 453. AU$45.00 (pb).     

Reconciliation: I Know It When I see It 1

States emerging from conflict increasingly seek ways in which to address the violence and human rights abuses of the past in order to move forward into a more peaceful future. The initial responses to mass atrocities were based in legal processes focused on the punishment of the person responsible for the harm. The inadequacy of such an approach resulted in the introduction of a variety of new goals in the transitional period, including the abstract notion of reconciliation which is increasingly advanced as the central goal in dealing with the legacy of the past. This article argues that the failure to examine the relationship between a discourse originally based on human rights and legal approaches and the introduction of reconciliation has only added new challenges rather than resolved existing ones and therefore must be re‐examined. The article also argues that no single approach should take prominence in addressing mass atrocities. Rather a range of options should be available to victims, in particular given the relative youth and inexperience of approaches to violent conflict.     

Cultural Capital and Sustainable Livelihoods in Sri Lanka's Rural Villages: Towards Culturally Aware Development

Increasing attention is being directed towards the role of culture in the development and well-being of rural communities. Systems of knowledge, beliefs, customs, norms and a wide range of culturally related activities, such as arts, crafts and music, can play a significant role in the everyday lives of people and contribute to the sustainability of human societies. The means through which culture can be effectively incorporated into development processes requires further research. This article develops the concept of ‘cultural capital’ to explore how cultural assets sustain an artisan class in three rural villages close to the city of Kandy in central Sri Lanka. The field research found that embodied cultural traditions and subsequent material outputs are vital ‘resources’ in achieving livelihood objectives and meeting family aspirations. We argue that the development industry needs to reconsider cultural assets and traditions and incorporate them into its work at conceptual and programmatic levels. Conceptually development needs to see itself as a cultural as much as economic or social process, and programmatically we see openings within sustainable livelihoods approaches for a greater explicit appreciation and awareness of locally-specific cultural traditions, strengths and perspectives.