Civil war tears communities apart, causes massive death, destroys economic stability and creates long-term traumas. Nevertheless, the disruption caused by such conflicts can create opportunities for social and political change. In her lecture based on her book, Woman and Power in Postconflict Africa, Aili Mari Tripp (Professor of Political Science and Evjue Bascom Professor in Gender and Women’s Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison), explained why women in post-conflict countries have significantly more political representatives in higher levels compared with non-post-conflict countries in Africa. She also explains why these countries have passed more legislation and have more constitutional provisions regarding women’s rights. This includes laws on gender-based violence, anti-discrimination, quotas and customary law.