Artwork supplied courtesy of HERIKITA
Writing
My work crosses genres and experiments with form, finding new ways to excavate entrenched beliefs and make visible architectures of oppression holding women captive in multiple ways.
Radicalizing Her (Beacon Press 2020).
An urgent corrective to the erasure of the female fighter from narratives on gender and power, demanding that we see all women as political actors.
“A captivating, essential perspective on a neglected conversation.” - Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
Select Works
Nonfiction Narrative
Still Here
Reflections on the work of Palestinian artist Laylah Ali
Full piece here
Objects of Discipline: Finding the Fighter
It was the first dance performance I had watched in nearly two decades. In the gap between young training and grown resistance, I had collapsed culture into its confinement: stories spun to immobilize.
Full piece here
A Pestilential World: Promises of Protection in Amidst the Debris: Humanitarianism and the End of the Liberal Order
Full piece here.
Unconscious: Asterix
The article explores the author's reflections on her son's passion for fishing and how it symbolizes a search for inner peace. Amidst the son's fishing activities at home, the author contemplates broader themes of unconsciousness and environmental justice.
Full article here.
One Man and His Island: McSweeney's Magazine
Full piece here.
On the Myth of Stockholm Syndrome and Women Guerrilla Fighters
An essay on the myth of Stockholm Syndrome and what choice, politics, and power look like for the female fighter. “Captive,” originally in Freeman’s “Power.” Full Essay here.
Why Women Kill
On Gendered Violence and Our Inability to Understand Female Rage. By Asale Angel-Ajani & Nimmi Gowrinathan. Full Essay here.
The Rage and Resistance of M.I.A.
A conversation, with M.I.A., on the rage, violence, activism, and the female fighter. “On Rage and Resistance” in Flood Magazine.
Of Monsters and Women
On female fighters, who exist somewhere between fantasy and fiction. “Of Monsters and Women”, The Female Fighter Series. Guernicamag.com
Terrorist and Alien
Trump: A Resister’s Guide. Commentary with Valeria Luiselli: “Terrorist and Alien.” Harper’s Magazine.
On Culture and Commentary: The Writings of Meena Kandasamy
On Culture and Commentary: The Writings of Meena Kandasamy, in Antyajaa: Indian Journal of Women and Social Change. Download essay here.
Narrating Crisis in Sri Lanka
Humanitarian efforts may alleviate the pain, but do they stop the political strife that leaves victims bleeding? The stories of four Tamil women woven around a critique of intervention. “Narrating Crisis in Sri Lanka”. Guernicamag.com
The Global Salon
A tale of war, beauty and life in between, told from within three salons. “The Global Salon”, Gawker.com
Behind the Barbed Wire: Civilian Suffering in Sri Lanka’s IDP Camps
Life inside internment camps in Sri Lanka. “Behind the Barbed Wire: Civilian Suffering in Sri Lanka’s IDP Camps,” Civic Guest Blog
The Soft Power of Community Mobilization
Perspectives on terror, looking at the Mumbai bombings from inside Kashmir and Sri Lanka. “The Soft Power of Community Mobilization”, Samar Magazine
Refugee Babies: The Lasting Effects of Tsunami Aid in Sri Lanka
A first-hand account of aid work following the December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. “Refugee Babies: The Lasting Effect of Tsunami Aid in Sri Lanka”, UCLA Asia Institute
Opinion Editorials
Sri Lanka Already Drawing the Wrong Lesson from Attacks
The flawed approach of CVE, in particular in the aftermath of the April 2019 Easter Attacks in Sri Lanka. “Sri Lanka Already Drawing the Wrong Lessons from Attacks.”Foreign Policy.
UN Peacekeepers: Keeping the Peace or Preventing It?
On the political impact of sexual violence by UN Peacekeepers. “UN Peacekeepers: Keeping the Peace or Preventing It?”. Al Jazeera.
Amid US Terrorism Fears Signs of A Rift Appears Between Young Muslim and Black Women
On the challenges of identity politics for young women of color. “Amid US Terrorism Fears Signs of a Rift Appears Between Young Muslim and Black Women.” Vice News.
I Don’t Know Why We Come
Recording the frustrations of global activist at the UN Commission on the Status of Women. “I Don’t Know Why We Come”, Vice News.
Artful Democracy
On regime change and the meaning of democracy in Sri Lanka. “Artful Democracy”. Outlook Magazine, India.
The Torture Report’s Missing Victims
Did the U.S. only torture men, as the leaked Senate U.S. Torture Report claims? “The Torture Report’s Missing Victims”. Foreign Affairs.
Aung San Suu Kyi and the Violent Politics of Peace
On Seeing the Violence in the Politics of a Peaceful Icon. “Aung San Suu Kyi and the Violent Politics of Peace”. Vice News.
The Women of ISIS: Understanding and Combating Female Extremism
The role of identity in female recruitment. “The Women of ISIS: Understanding and Combating Female Extremism”. Foreign Affairs.
Red Pottus, Black Burqas: Identity Markers in Sri Lanka’s Extremist Violence
The impact of religious extremist violence on women in Sri Lanka. “Red Pottus, Black Burqas: Identity Markers in Sri Lanka’s Extremist Violence”. Monkeycage.org, Washington Post.
Beyond the Borders of the Nation State: Can Transnational Governance Offer a New Paradigm for Political Representation
An examination of new forms of governance outside Sri Lanka. “Beyond the Borders of the Nation State: Can Transnational Governance Offer a New Paradigm for Political Representation“, Monkeycage.org
One Nation, Under Rajapaksa? Sri Lanka’s Presidential Election
Commentary on the re-election of a Repressive Regime. “One Nation, Under Rajapaksa? Sri Lanka’s Presidential Election”,World Policy Institute
Aid and Access in Sri Lanka
With Zachariah Mampilly, an analysis of the complex politics of aid in Sri Lanka.“Aid and Access in Sri Lanka”, Humanitarian Exchange Magazine
This Time We Can't Say "We Didn't Know": The Deadly Cost of International Inaction in Sri Lanka
Commentaries on the last stages of the war, development, and elections in Sri Lanka as well as thoughts on natural disasters in Pakistan, Huffingtonpost.com
Peer-Reviewed & Academic
Resistance and Repression under the Rule of Rebels: Women, Clergy, and Civilian Agency in LTTE-governed Sri Lanka with Zachariah Mampilly
A deeper view of dissent in LTTE-controlled territory, what civilian political agency looks like in culturally protected spaces. “Resistance and Repression under the Rule of Rebels: Women, Clergy, ad Civilian Agency in LTTE-governed Sri Lanka” Journal of Comparative Politics . Full piece here.
Inside Camps, Outside Battlefields: Security and Survival for Tamil Women
Examining the impact of displacement and gender-based violence on women’s political identities. Gowrinathan, “Inside Camps, Outside Battlefields: Security and Survival for Tamil Women,” Oxford’s St. Antony’s International Review (May 2013).
The committed female fighter: The political identities of Tamil women in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
A study on the link between militarization (as a form of state repression) and variation in participation for female fighters in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). “The Committed Female Fighter: The Political Identities of Tamil Women in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam”, International Feminist Journal of Politics (April 2017).
White Papers
The Garret: Dismantling Narrative Dominance
Nimmi Gowrinathan, “The Garret”
Emissaries of Empowerment
Nimmi Gowrinathan, Kate Cronin-Furman, Rafia Zakaria “Emissaries of Empowerment”
Forever Victims
Nimmi Gowrinathan and Kate Cronin-Furman, “Forever Victims”
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