Case 11 : trouble in Timbuktu

In the early 1990s, violent conflict over national identity arose between the Mali government and the nomadic Tuareg people in Mali's northern desert plains. As a result of an initiative by one woman, Weybi, a women's movement was established to end the conflict peacefully, drawing wide support from Malian women involved in or affected by the war. The women attempt to negotiate a ceasefire and peace agreement between the three conflicting parties - the armed Tuareg rebel coalition, the military government and Ganda Koy, a patriotic self-defence militia formed among the sedentary communities of Mali. The women are met with much resistance in their peace efforts, and at a meeting in Timbuktu, the rebels attack and try to hold them hostage to disrupt the peace negotiations. Despite this and various other dangers and obstacles, the women persist in their peace efforts, but the bitter civil war is not easy to resolve.