ABSTRACT
A hunger strike, while passive in nature, is one of the most dramatic forms of protest that a human being can express. Such an action comes about as a last resort when one has no other peaceful means of protest remaining and is willing to die for the cause at hand. e act has been carried out in human culture since the beginning of recorded history, examples include the text of one of the oldest epic poems, the Hindu Ramayana, dating somewhere from 500 to 200 BCE (Chaurasia 2002), and Ancient Rome (Simanowitz 2012). As a testament to how powerful the act can be, it is notable that some hunger strikers changed history with their protest. Famous cases include those of Mahatma Ghandi, Hugo Chavez, and the pioneers of the women’s Surage movement.
