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Impact of ethnic war in Sri Lanka on social status of Tamil women
Hrdličková, Zuzana ; Vrhel, František (advisor) ; Štěpánová, Irena (referee) ; Knotková, Blanka (referee)
This PhD Thesis focuses on the relationship between war and gender, contextually set in Sri Lanka. It describes theoretical categories and specific gender issues typical to war, such as universal gendering of war and impact on the whole gender structure of war affected societies. The work then focuses on Tamil society in Sri Lanka: it shows the roots of contemporary Tamil female gender stereotype - old Dravidian belief in the female power of anangu and the ancient Hindu Law of Manu. These have resulted into twentieth century Sri Lankan Tamil female gender stereotyping, centred on the concept of kapu (chastity), i.e. self-controlled behaviour in every aspect of female existence stressing virginity in unmarried women, their limited interaction with the opposite sex and highlighting the most auspicious state of a woman - in marriage. Structuring women as chaste implied before the war their role was mainly in the domestic sphere, with very limited interaction with the world outside their homes and neighbourhoods. However, the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict (as described in this work), which started in the 1980s and continues until now, has had a serious impact on the lives of the majority of Sri Lankan Tamil civilians and their societal norms and constructions. Death of many men, displacement and destruction has...
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