POST-CONFLICT GENDER-RESPONSIVE MEASURES: CASE STUDY OF
SRI LANKA
Nabiha Gul
1
ABSTRACT
Gender-responsiveness refers to addressing the issues faced by women in an amiable
manner. In the wake of environmental calamities, economic predicament, political crisis,armed conflicts and socio-cultural dilemma; rehabilitation of this important segment
of society requires gender-specific approach.  In this regard, gender-responsive strategies
are not only relevant but also a foremost requirement, especially, in a post-conflict
scenario. As civil wars, insurgencies and armed struggles are considered to have varied
dimensions, gender dimension, being one of the most prominent dimensions, invites a
critical discourse where women are generally considered to be at the receiving end. Of
late, their role as combatants has gained popular attention world over. In South Asia,
although masculinity and patriarchy have been at the heart of organizational principles
in various political struggles, women militias were incorporated into armed struggle
and women were made to play a proactive role as combatants. Particularly, in Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Movement in Sri Lanka, women were provided with
trainings and arms, sent on deadly missions, were used as covers as well and above all
carried out suicide bombing missions. Now, following the end of the Movement, a post-
conflict rehabilitation and gender-responsive strategy is required to be employed with
a holistic approach to particularly deal with the ex-combatants and reintegrate them
into society. The humble intention of this study is to explore the room for effective post-
conflict gender-responsive measures in Sri Lanka and assess the approach of the Sri
Lankan government towards gender- responsive strategy and the nature and success of those strategies with respect to ex-combatants in the long run. It also takes into
account the role of international organizations and non-governmental sector in facilitating
gender-responsive measures.
KEYWORDS: Female ex-combatants, gender responsiveness, gender-responsive
measures, gender-responsive strategy, LTTE