In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and other post-conflict contexts, ex-combatants are often depicted as war heroes, perpetrators of violence, or as victims of conflict. The roles of veterans in countering nationalist and extremist narratives, and their potential to act as agents (rather than spoilers) of peace remain under-explored. Despite an abundant academic literature on gender, nationalism, and political violence in the region of the former Yugoslavia, the lived experiences of female ex-combatants and women associated with fighting forces remain significantly overlooked. Furthermore, whilst women’s agency in conflict and peacebuilding is increasingly recognised by the expanding international agenda on Women, Peace, and Security, women continue to be stereotypically depicted by policymakers and practitioners as passive victims rather than as active agents of war and peace. In response, this paper makes female veterans visible as agents of wartime violence. It assesses whether and how their stories offer important counter-narratives to divisive, ethno-nationalist narratives of the 1990s war in BiH. Drawing on narrative interviews completed between 2015 and 2018 with over fifty female veterans from across BiH, the study deploys a feminist lens to examine: 1) women’s wartime roles (both combat and support); 2) their diverse motivations for participating in fighting forces; 3) the positive and negative impact of their war participation; and 4) their post-war experiences of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration. As well as outlining how women sought to achieve security through direct participation in fighting forces, this research explores women’s diverse experiences of reintegration into post-war society, and examine their hopes and fears for the future. These silenced narratives provide crucial insights into the gendered nature of warfare, militarism, extremism, and post-conflict recovery processes. They offer important glimpses into the complex ways in which women can and do engage in, but also prevent and counter, violent extremism.

Maria O’Reilly is a Lecturer in Politics & International Relations, at Leeds Beckett University. Her research focuses on questions of gender, agency, justice, and security in conflict and post-conflict contexts. Maria brings insights from feminist theory, methodology, and activism, to understand the nature of violent conflict and peace.
Maria is currently finalising her research on ‘The Gender Politics of Demilitarisation: Examining DDR from the Perspective of Female (Ex)-Combatants’. This project examines the gender impact of Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration (DDR) initiatives in Bosnia & Herzegovina, via qualitative analysis of policy documents and in-depth interviews with practitioners and beneficiaries. This research received support via an Innovation Award from the Partnership for Conflict, Crime and Security Research (PaCCS), jointly funded by UK Research Councils (AHRC and ESRC).
Her recent book, „Gendered Agency in War and Peace: Gender Justice and Women’s Activism in Post-Conflict Bosnia-Herzegovina,“ was published by Palgrave MacMillan in 2017.

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