Nagaland has witnessed violent conflict for over five decades. It is a heavily militarized space where draconian laws like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act allow army personnel to go unchallenged even after committing violent crimes. Few women have used their tradition-specific gendered role strategically to subvert gender norms and exhibit agency against violence within the conflict situation and the systemic violence that bars them from entering the public-political sphere. This article studies how women from the Naga tribal communities use their tradition-specific gender roles of motherhood to gain agency and resist the formation of a hostile, gendered social space.
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