IN THE SHADOW OF A SWORD: THE MEMOIR OF A WOMAN LEADER IN THE LTTE; TRANS. BY NEDRA RODRIGO

Thamizhini joined the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at the age of nineteen and spent eighteen years as a combatant, educator and, for some time, head of the women's division of its Political Wing. Her memoir, In the Shadow of a Sword, weaves back and forth between reminiscences of her childhood experiences of state violence and her decision to join the LTTE. It recounts the many projects she undertook for the civilian population; her participation in the Peace Talks of 2002; the freedoms granted and constraints placed upon her during the armed struggle; and her experiences in combat training, on the battlefield, and in political negotiations and diplomacy. It is a narrative weighted with grief and remorse yet glistening with moments of humour and thick with compassion. The memoir contains wry observations on gender roles and media manipulation in times of war and is a valuable archive that rescues female combatants from oblivion. Cover 1 Contents 10 Foreword 12 Translator’s Preface 16 Acknowledgements 20 Introduction 22 1 The Road Opened 24 2 I Was Born into War 52 3 The Political Cadre Undergoes Combat Training 66 4 The Tamil People and the Armed Conflict 84 5 The Female Fighter and an Unchanged Society 98 6 Memories of the Eastern Soil 108 7 A False Peace and Disrupted Civilian Life 124 8 We Lay Down Our Arms 146 9 Surrender and the Prison Cell 178 10 Rehabilitation 206 Glossary 218 About the Author 222 About the Translator 224 A bold and heartfelt memoir by the head of the women's wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).