Sri Lanka: Information on Women Tigers (Soothandeera Paravaikal) or Freedom Birds. Obligation for one male per family to support the Tigers
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 August 1990 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | LKA6646 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Sri Lanka: Information on Women Tigers (Soothandeera Paravaikal) or Freedom Birds. Obligation for one male per family to support the Tigers, 1 August 1990, LKA6646, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6aad380.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
As early as 1987, corps of women guerrillas within the Tigers' movement were undergoing combat training (Inter Press Service, 15 April 1987). At least one of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) training camps is exclusively for women (The Christian Science Monitor, 17 March 1988). In October 1987 and March 1988, women Tigers were reported to have taken part in actual fighting (Reuters, 22 October 1987; Reuters, 21 March 1988). Presently, there is reportedly one women commando group and one unit of women within the LTTE (Reuters, 18 July 1990). In recent months, heavy fighting has led to a shortage of men and the consequent obligation to recruit a "baby brigade" comprised of women and teenage boys (United Press, 19 July 1990). "Uniformed girls belonging to the LTTE" are reportedly "a common sight" in Jaffna (India Today, 15 April 1990, p.121).
Women Tigers, like men, are equipped with assault rifles and cyanide capsules (The Associated Press, 22 March 1990). The commander of the Female Tigers of Tamil Eelam recently explained that women in war-torn Northeast Sri Lanka have now abandoned traditional activities in order to learn how to handle arms, drive trucks, and man checkpoints (Ibid). Women Tigers are segregated from male Tigers and have separate headquarters (Ibid). Like the men, however, they have a strict code of conduct; they reportedly are not permitted to have boyfriends, and to wear makeup or jewellery (Ibid). Some Tamil women are reported to be part of "do-or-die" platoons ready to take cyanide capsules if caught be the army (The Times, 10 April 1990).
No reference to Freedom Birds or Soothandeera Paravaikal, however, is currently available to the IRBDC in Ottawa.
According to a Tigers' declaration in 1987, "on an average one member of every family has joined up either as a full-time guerrilla or as members of the group's auxiliary corps" (Inter Press Service, 15 April 1987). Amnesty International recently accused the Tigers of "abducting many young people" (Asiaweek, 22 June 1990, p.29). Extortion (forced financial support) by the LTTE is reported to be current in the Northeast (The Sri Lanka Monitor, December 1989, p.3). Refugees from heavy fighting in the Northeast since 11 June 1990 accused the LTTE of acting in an "autocratic" manner (Agence France Presse, 16 June 1990).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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