Female Agency in a Post-Conflict Narrative:Sri Lankan Case

Abstract

The military victory against the LTTE in 2009 by the government of Sri Lanka marked the end of the prolonged armed conflict which lasted for over three decades. The study attempts to explore the connection between Conflict and Gender during and after the civil armed conflict between the armed forces of the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam). It focuses on the importance of mainstreaming gender into the development agenda in the post conflict development phase and promoting women’s involvement and empowerment in the reconstruction process that may enhance gender equality, accountability and transparency.
The study emphasizes the tremendous brutality and horror experienced by women as victims of war and investigates inequalities and discrimination faced by them in accessing resources, rights, authority and power over environments. These discriminatory factors associated with intersection of gender are further investigated by using the approach of Horizontal inequalities. The study also explores the role of the Sri Lankan government fulfilling its obligations to report on the gender-based violence which took place in conflict-affected areas and detention centres, in order to protect its civilians, and to investigate and prosecute gender-based crimes.