Name of the topic :

Gender Identities are socially constructed Discuss this idea with

special reference to the womens role in social in political history
in 19th and 20th centuries in Sri Lanka

History and Gender

FND 1213- Assignment

Dilshani N Ranawaka
14/BA/19891
2016/02/25

Introduction
The role of gender has been varied in respect to the society, culture, religion, and historical
backgrounds. Sri Lanka being a country, which the social structure and community has been
influenced by Buddhism, had greater values and respect in terms of gender, especially compared
to India and other South Asian countries. Despite the fact that patriotism was visible in the
culture itself, the role of mother and woman has proven to be respected among the nation
throughout the ages. (foa.org). Queen Anula and queen Soma are some of the female
personalities whom guided Sri Lanka despite of their unsuccessful reigning periods. However,
despite the of the less disparities displayed within the gender roles in Sri Lanka, there were
gender identities and roles of a perfect man and a perfect woman which was visualized
within the contemporary Sri Lankan society that are been carried out to the present society.
Gender identities within the 19th century (Before the fall of the kingdom of Kandy)
The key component visible within this era was the emergence of colonies where the Dutch and
the English governed coastal areas and the island respectively. The woman in this era was
recognized as the head of the household where each activity was managed by her. In spite of the
respect she was given as a mother by the society itself, has led to higher equalities compared to
other nations in the region. However, certain aspects of the social elements were limited due to
the image that idolized the woman in the society.
Education, which was given at the temples by monks were limited to males where the superiority
over a female was given within the context of education. Although women in high classes were
eligible of educating themselves, the main role of the woman was reproduction, nurturing and
fulfilling other requirements of a household. The woman who went beyond this framework was
recognized as an unsuccessful woman or an unsuccessful mother. The preliminary educations
given to male population made them become leaders and other leading roles in the community.
Supporting the above facts, Sinhala literature within the Kotte era further acknowledges the
gender roles which were seen within this era. Kaavyashekharaya written by Venerable
Thotagamuwe Sri Rahula thero propagate the duties that should be fulfilled by a wife in an
extreme way where she was bound to serve her husband. According to the poet, supremacy was
given to the husband where the wife had to serve him with food, water and any other needs that
were required. This further denotes the gender identity carried by women or rather, expected to
be carried out by women within this society. Sinhala literature is influenced by Buddhism where
Buddhist concepts have been applied into the context of the society. It could be known that the
image of the perfect wife established in Buddhist philosophy especially mentioned in
Singalowada sutta (a wifes duty to her husband) has influenced our culture to create an extreme
opinion of the gender identity of a woman. This sutta depicts the duties that should be done by a
woman to her husband vice versa. Furthermore, the literature in this era has often commended on
the beauty of women in a materialistic way, emphasizing the role of women in this era to serve
men. The physical characteristics of women especially menstruation of women has caused
certain barriers in terms of the religious practices. Despite the fact that a Arhat Sanghamitta theri
and Princess Hemamala brought the Sri Maha Bodhi and the Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha, it is
forbidden for a woman to enter uda maluwa of Sri Maha Bodhi and patthirippuwa (octagon) at
the Temple of the Tooth Relic. This clearly defies those Buddhist teachings of women equality
has been misinterpreted where they have been honored in the past. The influence in Hindu

religion in Polonnaruwa era might have caused a misbelief that women are of impurity due to
their characteristics which might have affected these cultural malpractices and are continued to
the date without proper consensus.
Marriages have been favorable to both parties within the Sri Lankan society where the
willingness of both the man and woman is needed. The property and the wealth inherited by
father to a daughter is inherited after the marriage where the wife has been given the authority of
her own wealth not the husband. In terms of divorce of a marriage, the wife has been given the
privileges of controlling her own wealth for her and her childrens care. According to Percival-a
British civil officer has said that the respect given to Sinhala women has been similar to the
western concepts of treating women where the role wife has been identified as a sister in
their marriage.
Aalaththi sevaya services rendered to kings and gods by lighting lamps and lanterns have been
a service carried out only by women, and also the practices at patthtini devalaya carried out by
women (History of Sri Lanka, 3rd Edition, 1997) proves that the Sri Lankan society has given a
special recognition to the women in pre-British era during the 19th century.
The traditional thoughts on the gender role of women in Sri Lankan society is recognized as
customs carried out by women for more than 2500 years amidst of the Sinhala-Buddhist culture.
Conversely, this myth or the concept has to be properly examined in spite of the rich Buddhist
culture and its vastly known equality between men and women which formed the Sinhalese
culture in the first place. Janaki D Jayawardena in her article on Woman and Society
(Kaanthawa ha samajaya) states that these concepts and the ideology of a perfect woman and
a perfect wife has occurred due to the colonization and nationalization occurred during the 19 th
and 20th centuries.
In general, the social status given to women before pre-colonial era (before becoming a British
colony in the 19th century), and during the colonial era are quite contrasting when compared with
socio-economic and political facts.
British colonization
With effects of colonization; the drastic changes of political and economic structure created a
male dominance, consequently leaving the conservation of Sinhala cultural identity and society
was handed over to Sinhala women. The inadvertent authority to control and coordinate
household activities forced the women to limit themselves in households while the men involved
in economics and political activities.
One of the main social structural changes that occurred during the British colonial period was the
economy. The economy during the pre-British colonial period ma inly consisted with agriculture
where labour was provided within the family. The economic participation of respective genders
were not idealized within the society hence the value of men and women was equal within the
context of economy where both genders supplied labour for their self-sufficiency and for
bartering purposes. With the introduction of commercialized agriculture, wages as a payment for
labour was introduced where the British government hired men for their services. As a result, the
gender roles of men and women changed as men were prioritized as the gender that provided
bread and butter for the family. Consequently, women population respected men due to the

created disparity where men were more economically active. The diversity that brought within
the society during the British Empire-providing employment for the male population has caused
the society to accept that men are more economically active where the women were limited to
household work and taking care of children and her family. The effect of drastic changes in
society created social norms where gender identities appeared within the Sri Lankan society.
These socially constructed gender roles depicted through economic changes in the society was
further enhanced by structural changes in laws and constitutions which benefited and enhanced
the male dominance. For instance the law of primogeniture, changed the method of inheritance
of a family. This law created further disparities among the two gender roles where inheritance of
wealth was accepted only through father to son. Wealth, which was important during this society,
was handed over to men by the government leaving the men superior in the context of economic
capabilities. Although this effect didnt idealize the gender roles of both parties, the misjudgment
of these effects by the society; raised the male dominance of the society itself where the wife
usually stayed at home taking care of the home while the husband was respected for providing
food and caring.
The modernization and the westernization of the country led to nationalization in the society
where many leaders rose up to British in spite of invading of religion, society, and culture.
Anagarika Dharmapala, a person who pioneered in the nationalization process in Sri Lanka has
influenced greatly in creating an iconic image of how to dress and of their duties in these
process. He has said the duty of a man is to build and develop the society in relation to the
advancements of technologies whereas the duty of a woman is to nurture and safeguard the
Sinhalese culture. In his opinion, a noble Sinhala woman would be similar to one that has been
idolized in Kavyashekara written in the 15th century. The requirement of the rise of men for
power has indeed been necessary with the colonization which eventually has driven men to the
ruling gender role and women in the second position. Ultimately, the necessities of the nation in
the past have eventually created gender roles that have been widely accepted within the society
and ironically these misinterpretations created during the 19 th and 20th century has been endorsed
by the society as cultural practices that have been practiced over 2500 years.
Sri Lankan women have been disinterested in stepping out of this frame where she always felt
responsible of her family; a concept emerged within the society itself. Despite the voting system
introduced to women in Sri Lanka for the first time in British colonies, and the appointment of
worlds first female prime minister, the political involvement of women has been minimized due
to her gender roles that are been visualized by the society.
Although free education in Sri Lanka enhanced the empowerment of women in the society, it is
challenging to set the mindsets apart from the socially constructed, pretended gender roles.

References
1. Foa.org, (2016). [online] Available at: http://foa.org [Accessed 25 Feb. 2016].
2. Sri Lankawe ithihasaya. (n.d.). 4th ed. pp.458-472.
3. Wickramasinghe, N. (2003). Dressing the colonised body. Hyderabad: Orient Longman.