How have women struggled to achieve peace and dignity in the war-torn areas of Africa? This collection of stories demonstrates how the African woman, faced by numerous challenges, still has the strength to challenge the power relations and thinking that engender war and conflict. Stories include a personal perspective on the background to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which contains testimonies of two women who were raped as a result of the military campaign. Details of Action Aid's campaigns against sexual violence are presented, which provide psychological, socioeconomic and legal dimensions such as partnering with women lawyer federations to provide legal advice for survivors of violence through legal aid clinics. Another story details the life of a mother who discovered she was HIV positive. Soon the news of her status spread among her neighbourhood. She was marginalised and disowned by her community, and even by her own family. Action Aid enabled her to train in dressmaking and provided support for her and others living with HIV. The section on Burundi contains a number of interviews recorded in Karusi, Ruyigi, Rutana provinces as well as in Bujumbura city. The women interviewed describe the measures they have introduced as part of a project to eradicate violence against women. Victims of violent attacks have also told their stories. Most of them have gone on to become very active women's rights campaigners.