Description
This research seeks to critically examine feminist political movements within post-colonial Sri Lanka, a nation emerging from a protracted civil conflict. In the Global South, post-colonial politics often developed in opposition to colonial rule, emphasizing nationalism and localism. However, Sri Lanka’s post-colonial political institutions retain Western models of representative democracy, alongside capitalist economic systems, caste structures, class hierarchies, and gender inequalities. Within these frameworks, Sri Lankan feminism has intersected with anti-colonial nationalism, ethno-nationalism, and working-class politics.
This study focuses on Tamil revolutionary politics, an ethnic minority movement that aims to counter the oppression and marginalization imposed by Sri Lanka’s post-colonial institutions. Over time, these movements adopted a militant approach grounded in Marxist-Leninist ideology, resulting in a prolonged civil conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The research is based on qualitative empirical data collected through semi-structured interviews with six former female LTTE combatants now living in exile in London. Their narratives were analyzed using critical discourse analysis, providing unique insights into the development of feminist consciousness within Sri Lanka’s complex socio-political landscape. This research applies Sheila Rowbotham’s radical feminist scholarship as its theoretical foundation, framing the investigation into how feminist ideas have manifested within Sri Lanka’s post-colonial context.
The key finding is that feminist revolutionary consciousness in post-colonial Sri Lanka primarily aligns with nationalism or class politics. For Tamil women, ethno-majoritarianism inherited from colonialism has often prioritized nationalism over class solidarity, presenting a stark choice: militancy or subordination to systemic oppression. Although these Tamil women are part of the working class, they remain excluded from class-based politics due to the pervasive influence of ethno-nationalism, a gap often overlooked by prevailing feminist scholarship.
This research addresses a critical gap in understanding the intersections of class, ethnicity, and gender, providing significant insights into redefining feminism.
