Women Warriors in Southeast Asia (Routledge Studies in the Modern History of Asia)

This book brings together a wide range of case studies to explore the experiences and significance of women warriors in Southeast Asian history from ancient to contemporary times. Using a number of sources, including royal chronicles, diaries, memoirs and interviews, the book discusses why women warriors were active in a domain traditionally preserved for men, and how they arguably transgressed peacetime gender boundaries as agents of violence. From multidisciplinary perspectives, the chapters assess what drove women to take on a variety of roles, namely palace guards, guerrillas and war leaders, and to what extent their experiences were different to those of men. The reader is taken on an almost 1,500-year long journey through a crossroads region well-known for the diversity of its peoples and cultures, but also their ability to creatively graft foreign ideas onto existing ones. The book also explores the re-integration of women into post-conflict Southeast Asian societies, including the impact (or lack thereof) of newly established international norms, and the frequent turn towards pre-conflict gender roles in these societies. Written by an international team of scholars, this book will be of interest to academics working on Southeast Asian Studies, Gender Studies, low-intensity conflicts and revolutions, and War, Conflict, and Peace Studies. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series Page 3 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Contents 6 List of figures 8 List of contributors 10 Preface 14 Acknowledgements 18 Glossary and abbreviations 20 PART I: Introduction and background 28 1 Introduction: women warriors, palace guards, and revolutionaries in Southeast Asian history 30 PART II: Women warriors in ancient and early modern Southeast Asia 56 2 ‘Lady Sinn’ (Xian Fu-ren 冼夫人) and the sixth-century Chinese incorporation of a Southeast Asian region 58 3 Querulous queens, bellicose brai: Cambodian perspectives toward female agency 75 4 The Regio Femarum and its warrior women: images and encounters in European sources 91 5 Geisha warriors? The incomparable prajurit estri at the court of Mangkunĕgara I 114 PART III: Southeast Asian women warriors and revolutionaries in the modern period 134 6 Heroines and forgotten fighters: insights into women combatants’ history in Aceh, 1873–2005 136 7 Women in the early Vietnamese communist movement: sex, lies, and liberation 163 8 Recruiting the all-female Rani of Jhansi Regiment: Subhas Chandra Bose and Dr Lakshmi Swaminadhan 185 9 Women guerrillas of the Communist Party of Malaya: Nationalist struggle with an internationalist experience 200 10 Love and sex in times of war and revolution: women warriors in Vietnam and the Philippines 227 PART IV: The United Nations, Security Sector Reform (SSR), and the gendering of Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) 254 11 The aftermath for women warriors: Cambodia and East Timor 256 12 Brave warriors, unfinished revolutions : political subjectivities of women combatants in East Timor 273 PART V: Conclusion 292 13 Rethinking the historical place of ‘warrior women’ in Southeast Asia 294 Index 322 "This book brings together a wide range of case studies to explore the experiences and significance of women warriors in Southeast Asian history from ancient to contemporary times. Using a number of sources, including royal chronicles, diaries, memoirs and interviews, the book discusses why women warriors were active in a domain traditionally preserved for men, and how they arguably transgressed peacetime gender boundaries as agents of violence. From multidisciplinary perspectives, the chapters assess what drove women to take on a variety of roles, namely palace guards, guerrillas and war leaders, and to what extent their experiences were different to those of men. The reader is taken on an almost 1,500-year long journey through a crossroads region well-known for the diversity of its peoples and cultures, but also their ability to creatively graft foreign ideas onto existing ones. The book also explores the re-integration of women into post-conflict Southeast Asian societies, including the impact (or lack thereof) of newly established international norms, and frequent turn towards pre-conflict gender roles in these societies. Written by an international team of scholars, this book will be of interest to academics working on Southeast Asian Studies, Gender Studies, low intensity conflicts and revolutions, and War, Conflict, and Peace Studies"-- Provided by publisher "Este libro reúne una amplia gama de estudios de casos que documentan la importancia de las mujeres guerreras en la historia del Sudeste Asiático, desde la antigüedad hasta la época contemporánea. A partir de diversas fuentes, el libro analiza por qué las mujeres guerreras actuaron en un ámbito tradicionalmente reservado a los hombres, y cómo podían transgredir los límites de género en tiempos de paz como agentes de la violencia. Desde perspectivas multidisciplinares, los capítulos analizan lo que llevó a las mujeres a desempeñar trabajos como guardias de palacio, guerrilleras y líderes de guerra, y hasta qué punto sus experiencias fueron diferentes a las de los hombres. El lector se adentra en un viaje de casi 1.500 años a través de una región conocida por la diversidad de sus pueblos y culturas, pero también por su capacidad para adaptar de forma creativa las ideas foráneas . El libro también explora la reintegración de las mujeres en las sociedades del sudeste asiático después de los conflictos, incluyendo el impacto (o la falta de él) de las normas internacionales recién establecidas, y el frecuente giro hacia los roles de género anteriores al conflicto en estas sociedades."_ Información editorial