ANN ARBOR—Countries with a lot of violence might benefit if women are given more opportunities to become involved in the economy, a University of Michigan professor says. Cindy Schipani, professor of business law in the U-M Business School, is one of three speakers on the final panel of the Women’s Studies’ series on women and war, which will focus on the role of women in the aftermath of war. The discussion will be held 3-5 p.m. on Street, in Ann Arbor. Schipani wonders if countries where there is a lot of violence are also countries where women are systematically excluded from involvement in the economy. "Perhaps one way to curb some of the societal violence would be to improve the opportunities for women in the economy. Multi-national corporations can play an important role in increasing these opportunities," Schipani said. Carolyn Nordstrom, associate professor of anthropology at Notre Dame University, said, "The epicenters of violence are where nations are broken and created. Women are central to the process of re-forging the foundations of community and state, and their actions are often invisible." From her own data in warzones, Nordstrom will present some of these women’s stories. Nita Kumar, a visiting professor of history at U-M, tells the story of the weavers of Banaras in northern India, Muslim women who elected to stay in India after the partition of 1947. "These weavers have made choices to trade off the advantages and disadvantages of participation in, withdrawal from, and resistance to, the mainstream life of their nation," Kumar said. Attendance is free and open to the public.