What the War Left Behind: Women’s Stories of Resistance and Struggle in Lebanon

Conspicuously missing from narratives of the Lebanese Civil War are the stories of women who took part in daily social activism and political organizing during the tumultuous conflict. What the War Left Behind documents their stories, with eight women directly sharing their experiences of action and survival through the hardship of war.

What the War Left Behind brings together oral histories of women from a range of political affiliations, socioeconomic classes, and religious identities. These histories present an alternative image of women during war, highlighting the actions of those who sought to make life better for themselves and their neighbors during conflict. By centering women’s voices in the war, Abisaab and Hartman present a new perspective on an oft-discussed historical era, demonstrating the power of resistance during difficult times. These translated texts showcase the active roles women take during wartime and how women’s political efforts are an essential part of Lebanese history.

Malek Abisaab is associate professor of history at McGill University. He is the author of Militant Women of a Fragile Nation. He coedited Women’s War Stories: The Lebanese Civil War, Women’s Labor, and the Creative Arts with Michelle Hartman.

Michelle Hartman is professor of Arabic literature at the Institute of Islamic Studies at McGill University. She is the author of Breaking Broken English: Black-Arab Solidarities and the Politics of Language and Native Tongue, Stranger Talk: : The Arabic and French Literary Landscapes of Lebanon, both published by Syracuse University Press.