Line: Women, Partition and the Gender Order in Cyprus

Step across the Green Line in Cyprus and you defy the political leaders who seek to control movement. But more and more ordinary Cypriots are challenging the validity of Partition. As Cyprus joins the European Union, can Greek and Turkish-speaking Cypriots put their violent past behind them and build a multicultural and gender-equal society? Based on action research among Cypriot women, this study documents the life of a remarkable women's project. The women take protest onto the streets, calling for peace and the inclusion of women in building a new Cypriot society. Cyprus, past and present, is a microcosm of wider social processes. A line has been destructively drawn, over decades, between two so-called ethnic groups. Over millennia, a similar line has been scored between women and men. The book will be a valuable resource for all those who analyse, teach about and resist gendered and ethnicized war, not only in the Eastern Mediterranean but much further afield.

Review: 'Cynthia Cockburn writes with clarity and passion about a remarkable movement. Out of a history of violence and hatred come imaginative moves for reconciliation, and new ideas about equality and identity. This is a vivid and thoughtful book, relevant to men as well as women, and useful to all concerned about ethnic division and political violence anywhere in the world.' R.W.Connell, University of Sydney. 'This is it! In this terrific book Cynthia Cockburn has shown us all how to take an allegedly "ancient" inter-ethnic, internationalized conflict and reveal instead the very particular ways in which the politics of masculinity and femininity have been wielded to entrench that conflict. She does this by taking seriously the hard work of thinking and action done by Cypriot feminists. I can't wait to use The Line in classes. It's pathbreaking.' Cynthia Enloe, author of Maneuvers: the International Politics of Militarizing Women's Lives. 'Cynthia Cockburn's analysis of the violence and the burgeoning movements towards reconciliation across the divide in Cyprus is a scholarly, readable, thoughtful and thought provoking study. Anchored in a meticulous study and based on the author's collaborative work with the women about whom she writes, the work is presented with passion, commitment and a clear sightedness that is exemplary.' Haleh Afshar, Political Studies Review, April 2005 'This study is important as it gives us a chance to hear the voices of the ordinary women and their attempts to find forms of empathy that are not based on sameness...a thought-provoking work...' Nations and Nationalism, April 2005 'Clear and easy to read...incorporating a carefully delineated project of action research and feminist theorizing.' Canadian Womens Studies