War's destruction of heritage disproportionately impacts women's social and cultural identity
Original framing: “When wars destroy heritage, women lose more than monuments – new research” — The Conversation - Global
In many non-Western societies, heritage sites are not just historical but spiritual and communal. The loss of these sites in conflict disproportionately affects women who are often the primary custodians of cultural practices and oral histories.
The destruction of heritage in war zones is not just a loss of monuments but a systemic erasure of women's cultural and social identity.
Indigenous knowledge systems, historical patterns of women's resilience, and cross-cultural practices all point to the need for gender-sensitive, community-led approaches to heritage preservation. By integrating these perspectives into policy and media narratives, we can shift from a deficit model of war's impact to one that centers women as custodians of cultural memory. Future conflict resolution must recognize the role of heritage in gendered social structures and prioritize women’s agency in rebuilding.