Women, Gender, and the Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam

Abstract

Since Sri Lankan independence in 1948, conflict between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamil population has been largely continuous, leading to armed struggle from the 1970s on and civil war from 1983 on, with many Tamils desiring the establishment of an independent Tamil state or some form of federal or autonomous region political structure. While there are many distinct dimensions of this ethnic/nationalist conflict, this chapter focuses on the kinds of roles considered appropriate held by the major separatist group the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (ltte) for women in nationalist struggles and in society more generally. The ltte included women in their military and political struggles, a very unusual practice at the time that remains a standout in nationalist struggles. Despite the 2009 defeat of the ltte and the apparent end of the Sri Lankan civil war, ltte ideas about women and gender have been influential in Sri Lankan Tamil society for decades and arguably remain so.