Between victim and agent : literary representations of the Sri Lankan female militant
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Issued Date
2021
Copyright Date
2021
Resource Type
Language
eng
File Type
application/pdf
No. of Pages/File Size
vii, 79 leaves : ill.
Access Rights
open access
Rights
ผลงานนี้เป็นลิขสิทธิ์ของมหาวิทยาลัยมหิดล ขอสงวนไว้สำหรับเพื่อการศึกษาเท่านั้น ต้องอ้างอิงแหล่งที่มา ห้ามดัดแปลงเนื้อหา และห้ามนำไปใช้เพื่อการค้า
Rights Holder(s)
Mahidol University
Bibliographic Citation
Thesis (M.A. (Human Rights))--Mahidol University, 2021
Suggested Citation
Asokan, Archana Shani, 1994- Between victim and agent : literary representations of the Sri Lankan female militant. Thesis (M.A. (Human Rights))--Mahidol University, 2021. Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/114174
Title
Between victim and agent : literary representations of the Sri Lankan female militant
Author(s)
Advisor(s)
Abstract
This thesis explored female militants and their simultaneous realities of victim and agent as represented in Sri Lankan post-conflict literature by critically analysing a selection of four such works: two works of fiction, one biography and one autobiography. The discourse on the Sri Lankan ethno-nationalist conflict has largely followed a gender binary, while men are considered the agents of violence and women are essentialised to being victims. However, the true involvement of women in the conflict is far more nuanced and complicated. Women have played a significant role in the Sri Lankan ethno-nationalist conflict, taking on the roles ranging from militants to activists, among others. Their roles, experiences, and struggles are underrepresented in mainstream discourse, therein denying their socio-political agency. The female militant in particular, is an example of a woman who is more than a victim of the conflict; her simultaneous realities of being a perpetrator of violence and a captive to the ethnonational struggle and the patriarchal society within which it takes place, highlights her ambivalent empowerment. This position, though relatively new to mainstream conflict discourse, has been discussed in post-conflict literature such as fiction and biographies. This medium has become a platform for authors to engage with and try to make sense of the conflict in terms of citizenship, national identity and gender, and challenge or subvert hegemonic representations of the war, nation and nationality, especially in terms of the gender binary this discourse tends to follow. IMPLICATION OF THE THESIS: The analysis of post-conflict literature in this thesis shows that this medium of expression can, and has been used to highlight the lived experiences of female militants and the ambivalence of the empowerment they experience in this role. Further, this research highlights the idea that female militants cannot be treated as a homogenous group, as they each have their own unique motivations and experiences during the conflict. Thus, this thesis contributes to the discourse on representation in the context of female militants, and the argument that where mainstream national, political and media discourse has excluded them, alternate mediums for expression like post-conflict literature give female militants the space and voice they have otherwise been denied.
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Degree Level
Master's degree
Degree Department
Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies
Degree Discipline
Human Rights
Degree Grantor(s)
Mahidol University