Date of Award
2010
Document Type
Thesis
Department
Political Science
First Advisor
Patrick Donnay
Abstract
Since 1991 the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have used female suicide operatives in their civil war with the Sri Lankan government. Gaps in research about these phenomena suggest that it’s not seen as a gender specific problem and that female suicide bombers can be compared toe to toe with their male counterparts. I contend that the situation surrounding female suicide terrorism is unique and that certain discernable socioeconomic indicators can explain the reasons behind why some women of Sri Lanka become more active in suicide terrorism. I have compiled a suicide terrorism dataset out of terrorist acts perpetrated by the LTTE, between 1987-2009. I analyze the amount of suicide terrorism, by gender in a given year, by many different statistics. I also use interviews to compare cases of female combatants of the LTTE in similarities dealing with recruitment and motivation. My findings indicate gender specific ways suicide cadres are recruited, as well as an increased effectiveness in using female suicide bombers versus men.
Recommended Citation
Santala, Jessica, "Dangerous Obscurity: A Study of the Female Suicide Combatants of Sri Lanka" (2010). Political Science Theses and Capstones. 71.
https://pines.bemidjistate.edu/capstone-polisci/71
Included in
Asian History Commons, Asian Studies Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, Global Studies Commons, History of Gender Commons, Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Other Political Science Commons, Other Psychology Commons, Social Control, Law, Crime, and Deviance Commons, Terrorism Studies Commons, Women's Studies Commons
