Tibetan women-in-exile in India: construction of the idea of the Tibetan nation and contributions to Tibetan nationalism

Abstract

ABSTRACT Academic research focused on Tibetan women-in-exile is rare. Also, very few existing studies explore the perspectives of Tibetan women on the Tibetan nation and their contributions to Tibetan nationalism. Therefore, considering this gap in the literature, this paper explores the question of the Tibetan nation from the perspectives of Tibetan women-in-exile and seeks to understand their contributions to Tibetan nationalism. The paper draws from qualitative interviews conducted with Tibetan women in Dharamsala. The findings indicate that as agents and symbols of nationalism, educated Tibetan women-in-exile express ambivalence in their ideas of Tibetan women’s contributions to Tibetan nationalism. Their narratives help us expand our understanding of Tibetan nationalism and reveal how women as active agents of nationalism contribute to the Tibetan movement. At the same time, the paper argues, the Tibetan women-in-exile have not escaped the symbolism of nationalism attributed to them by the larger Tibetan society.