Description
Eyewitness accounts and other historical documents illustrate that women contributed to the Cambodian genocide as members of the Khmer Rouge. These women have received almost no scholarly attention, which is a missed opportunity to learn more about the dynamics of mass violence. In response to this gap, my paper will explore the types of activities performed by women cadres of the Khmer Rouge during the Cambodian genocide. The study will draw on 57 interviews I conducted as part of my PhD fieldwork over summer 2023 with former women cadres, unit leaders, and survivors. Genocide is often regarded as a process involving “whole layers of society” (Shaw, 2003: 155). As such, examining women’s involvement provides a window into how genocide unfolds at multiple levels of society, helping us to understand how it develops and how it can be prevented. In examining the diversity of roles women perform during episodes of collective violence, this paper contributes to feminist security studies
