Powers of tamil women: with reference to the writing of jaffna tamils in english

Abstract

The rise of the literary writing in Jaffna whether it is in Tamil or English is not purely a literary phenomenon. It is a socio religious phenomenon as much, rather the fulfilment of a socio cultural need. It is related with social, political, religious and economic conditions. For the 'Third World Woman' in a Post colonial content the identity issue is indeed central. But the status of South Asian women is associated with Hindu beliefs and myths and it is said that the Sakti-power of the women like the goddess Sakti is not only sacred but dangerous and kept under the male control as well. Discourses on Tamil womanhood in Sri Lanka emphasis the role of woman in her family, society and country and these are categorised based on gender, religion and ethnicity as a woman, Hindu and a Tamil. This paper aims to examine and analyse the selected writings of Jaffna Tamils in English to discover the power of Tamil women and how it has been related to patriarchal ideology. This presentation explores the dual image of woman within the Hindu mythology as depicted by Jaffna Tamil writers using critical analysing method with a theoretical background. The critical analysis of the stories portrays that the power of Tamil women is in line with patriarchal ideology of submission and suppression and this analysis gives the conclusion that the Tamil Hindu women who are bound by chastity as pillars of the family through their power in relation to the characters described by the writers in their stories and the representation of these women as guardians of Tamil culture and tradition.