Soins, coercition et genre dans la guerre révolutionnaire au Népal (1996-2006)

This article explores coercion and care in the Maoist insurgency during the Nepalese civil war. We argue, drawing on available archival sources and oral history fieldwork, that the gendering of care and relationships of care under coercion were reshaped by proximity and the requirements of subversive warfare and dissimulation. This research on care providers and warrior needing healthcare focuses on accounts of carers’ masculinity as well as women's experiences. In a conflict during which access to healthcare proved to be a significant strategic aim, carers and insurgents were entangled in relations marked by coercion, kidnapping, clandestine living and forced proximity. Women’s experiences of and during the insurgency highlight how they engaged with bodily concerns, care, reproductive and healing practices while managing their civil war engagement. By casting these issues into sharp relief this paper argues for taking into account gender nuances for men and women and micro-politics of care in violent contexts, where healthcare provision has been forced into informal and private spaces due to attacks against healthcare or an inability to access public healthcare locations due to insecurity. The final section dwells on the memorial politics of trauma subsisting from this era of conflict.