The global celebration of International Women’s Day was March 8, and as part of the continuing celebration, a panel discussion on the impact of war on women will take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday in 305 Carver Hall.

The issues women face within the context of war are often overlooked. The panel will bring light to these issues by sharing personal narratives and recent examples from women that have lived through these tough situations.

The discussion is part of the ISU-sponsored “Women in Fragile Contexts” project.

The panel will include participants from the program in addition to Margaret LaWare, associate professor of English, Leah Keino, assistant professor in family and consumer science education and studies, Donna Cowan, professor emeritus in the department of apparel, educational studies and hospitality management and Mary Barratt, instructor in the Intensive English and Orientation Program.

LaWare has done research in areas such as rhetoric of women’s human rights, women’s peace encampments and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

“Whether women are on the battlefield or left home to care and provide for their family, their lives are significantly impacted by war,” LaWare said.

“Women face many day-to-day struggles within a war situation.

“During Vietnam for example, where the battle lines were blurry, nurses were subject to similar stresses as those on the battlefield, working under a continual state of fear, uncertainty and exhaustion.”

There is a theoretical framework in the United States to think of war as a battlefield and to think of men in war, whereas historically, women have been engaged in war – both on the battlefield and on the homefront.

LaWare hopes to educate on issues of gender and war by teaching a 400 to 500 level course titled “Rhetoric of Gender, War and Peace,” which will be offered next fall or spring semester.

While visiting post-conflict South Sudan in Africa, Barratt, Cowan and Keino became more aware of the issues refugee women who fled Sudan during the 21-year-long conflict and now live in the Ames community face.

Like the men, these young women have gone through hardships prior to settling in the United States or other select countries. Awein Majak, junior in biology, for example, lived in several countries prior to arriving in the United States, including Libya, Egypt and Yemen.

Majak, from Sudan, along with representatives from Rwanda and Syria and two other representatives from Sudan will share experiences at the panel discussion.

“Whether women are involved or impacted by war, it is these stories that we hope to bring awareness to,” LaWare said. “Even after the war and they are settled in another stable country, women often feel isolated as they have limited education, limited connection to their families, particularly their mothers, siblings and childhood friends.”

Keino said she, as well as LaWare, Cowan and Barratt, have been involved in the “Women in Fragile Contexts” project, which focus on enriching the ISU and the Ames communitys’ understanding of issues women face within a global context by taking local actions to address global issues.