The Power of Silent Witness

By Julie Madsen
Published on April 1, 2002

The Power of Silent Witness,The
Scotsman

Women in Black, a group of women spanning the globe from the Middle
East to Europe, is gaining the attention of citizens and national
governments alike with its peaceful, silent war protests. Their
regular vigils, conducted with the women dressed head-to-toe in
black, has even landed them a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize
and elicited a nervous commentary from Slobodan Milosevic.
The Scotsman reports that recently a faction of Women
in Black were shot at during their gathering on the West Bank in
Israel, an incident that has ‘commanded an international audience
to ask who these women are and why they do this.’ Most of the women
have had little interest in taking part in public protests, but are
attracted to the group for its nonconfrontative, yet powerful,
approach. The women, though silent, get much attention from
passersby–one observer of the group is quoted as saying: ‘It takes
a lot to stop you in your tracks. This did.’
–Julie Madsen
Go there>>

UTNE
UTNE
In-depth coverage of eye-opening issues that affect your life.