In the Struggle Over the Iraq War, Women Are on the Front Line

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http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/29/politics/29letter.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1125352016-xa+UuqX46xS9Ph+vS9cUuw

Monday, August 29, 2005

The New York Times

In the Struggle Over the Iraq War, Women Are on the Front Line
By Elisabeth Bumiller


As President Bush traveled around the country last week, he got caught up in a battle of women.

Women - mothers and widows of men killed in Iraq - were the most vocal leaders of antiwar protests in Texas, Idaho and Utah that dogged Mr. Bush all week. Another woman, Tammy Pruett, whose husband and five sons have served in Iraq, was showcased by the White House as a pro-war counterpoint.

The tableau was a striking change from the 1960's protests against the Vietnam War, when the demonstrations were largely led by young men, who were subject to the draft. Although mothers protested that war too, they were not in the forefront of the movement.

What happened in 40 years? How has that changed how the White House responds?

In interviews last week, some of the female protesters suggested that decades of feminism had pushed them more easily into leadership and public speaking roles in the antiwar vigils inspired by Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a slain soldier, who is demanding to meet with Mr. Bush in a protest outside his ranch. But they also viewed the war through the traditional prism of mothers and wives, and said that women felt the pain of loss more intensely than men............