Options (51) 2016

OPTIONS
Truth and Equity
51.
SRI LANKA | 2016
choice is power
Truth and Equity
Choice is Power | OPTIONS 2016
45
think
FEEL
consider
decide
BELIEVEACT
51.
SRI LANKA | 2016
choice is power
I would say that

each of us has only
one thing to gain from the
feminist movement:
Our whole humanity.
- Gloria Steinem
Truth and Equity
ISSN 1391-5673
publisher

The Women and Media Collective

56/1, Sarasavi Lane, Castle Street

Colombo 8, Sri Lanka.

tel: +94 11 5632045, 2690192, 2690201, 5635900

fax: +94 11 2690192

e-mail: wmcsrilanka@gmail.com
www.womenandmedia.org

online magazine:
http://www.womenandmedia.net/options/
editor

Dilrukshi Handunnetti
executive editors
Sepali Kottegoda
Kumudini Samuel
cover photo
Sharni Jayawardena
cartoons

Damayanthi Muthukumarage

cover concept and design
design and layout
Dhanushka Amarasekara
Velayudan Jayachithra
PICTURE
THINK . FEEL . CONSIDER . DECIDE . BELIEVE . ACT
CONTENTS
Editorial | Dilrukshi Handunnetti
The counter narrative | IYasasmin Kaviratne
10
How do women in public life view womens

representation? In their own words
| Dhaneshi Yatawara
13
The long march | Chulani Kodikara
16
Did we jump the gun? | Chathuri Dissanayake
19
PHOTO ESSAY | Representation | Sanchia Brown
23
TJ: No one-sizefitsall formula
27
The women are still here | Subha Wijesiriwardena
30
Gender justice in truth seeking | Sithara Shreen
33
PHOTO ESSAY | Trasitional Justice
| Dhaneshi Yatawara
| Sharni Jayawardena
39
Empowering through information

| Hana Ibrahim
41
A constitution promoting gender equity

| Kumudini Samuel
44
POEM | Still I rise | Maya Angelou
From the
Editor
Truth and equity to fight exclusion
The world has always had a way of making women disappear: from
the early campfire, the the subsequent meal and discussion table, within
institutions as well as structures.
Women rocked the cradle and continue do so. Along the way, they
have also taken on multiple roles, bearing economic and social burdens,
lining the economy as migrant and free trade workers, farmers, teachers,
caregivers, unpaid and underpaid workers, new heads of households
and more.
Women are everywhere. Women are everywhere as 51% of the islands
population and half of humanity but are excluded from systems and are
visible in the national data, only partly or incorrectly. It is difficult to trace
womens collective footprint and excluding the privileged footprint of
a few women are conspicuous by their absence.
Historically, women were made to go missing and they continue to go
missing. It is nothing to be proud of for a country which produced the
worlds first prime minister and boasts of an impressive 92% adult female
literacy rate. Sri Lanka has a dismal record when it comes to womens
representation at the national, provincial and local level. There is tacit
perpetuation of inequalities that confine women to spaces that are
non-public, make them absent from agenda-setting/decision-making
and from the formulation of laws, policies and programs. System keepers
remain busy perpetuating exclusion.
Recently, an all-important amendment was made to the Local
Authorities Elections Act to ensure a 25% mandatory quota for women in
local government bodies. The quota is a welcome move and the result
of decades of lobbying, yet it will add women to the existing numbers
and may promote favourites of political parties as opposed to being
25% of the original number. This would not qualify as affirmative action.
So, women end up as add-ons and afterthoughts of sorts, even when
accommodated through a quota.
Today, Sri Lanka is at a significant political crossroad and poised to

undergo a transformation one fraught with dangers, but still, a path
that seeks truth, justice and equity, for men and women, young and
old, and people of all ethnicities and religions.
Elaborate plans are being mapped out to deliver transitional justice.
The process does include a few respected women, but even in the eyes
of these included women, the level of representation is inadequate
and the process not gender inclusive.
This may be an improvement from the previous processes which almost
always lacked womens engagement, but this is about representing
some 10 million women and girl children in the island. This is about
women who had to bear the brunt of war, who carry the excessive
double burden of being heads of households while having to search
for truth and justice for their dead and missing family members.
Yet, history has presented an opportunity to reverse the patterns of
discrimination and inequality by listening to all the voices around the
campfire, to bring back the missing voices to the very centre and to
be heard and counted.
Let the drafts of history we now make record these voices fully and
not end up being one-sided, inadequete or false. Let the mechanisms
that we put in place not perpetuate womens silence and make them
absent and/or invisible.
Let this journey towards truth and equity include the perspectives of
the missing other half making them strong and visible.
Dilrukshi Handunnetti
Truth and Equity
REPRESENTATION
You are enough, without anyone elses stamp,

without anyone elses validation or approval.
- Brandi Harvey
Truth and Equity
The counter narrative

Paying lip service to the womens cause and
reinforcing exclusionist practices
When examining the institutional structures
Michelle Bachelet, Head of UN
Reflecting a global trend, in Sri Lanka too,
Women, former president and defence
statistically, the number of women who were
minister of Chile
elevated to decision-making positions in all
and the political systems, it becomes evident

that, women are underrepresented at every
level. There is limited visibility for them and their
collective footprint is largely missing.
spheres remain alarmingly smaller compared

f one were to ask why women matter, it
to the number of men.
has a simple answer. Because everybody
To contexualise, the womens narrative goes
matters. In the world map, there are countries
right back to the time of Kuveni, Vihara Maha
where births and deaths of women are still not
Devi, Sugala Devi, Ehelepola Kumarihamy, and
registered in a formal record. Yet, if we choose
in recent times, to Vivienne Goonewardena,
to pat ourselves on the back because we
Sirimavo Bandaranaike and the like.
are quite different to that described situation,

considering ourselves fortunate because of our
impressive human development index scenario,
then, the reality is that we still have a long way
to go in mainstreaming womens rights and
becoming gender just in a way that womens
full contribution to society is secured.
While some of these women, irrespective of their

placement in history, were directly involved in
some form of decision-making, others reflected
or directly raised issues faced by women of
their own societies. Not necessarily the nicest of
narratives. In their own socio-cultural contexts
and with matriarchy still a living concept,
For a country with women constituting 51% of
women managed some contribution, historical
the total population and having produced
accounts claim.
the worlds first woman prime minister Sirimavo

Bandaranaike, the rest of the story remains
somewhat bleak.
However, when one looks at womens

engagement in the public sphere, the 20th
Century has proved to be more disappointing
than progressive. Despite women being directly
Isuri Yasasmin Kaviratne

The writer is a journalist with an abiding
interest in womens and social issues.
She has worked in the charity sector
promoting the rights of women and
children and is drawn to humanitarian
initiatives.
engaged in politics at such low, uninspiring

numbers issues of gender have failed to
receive adequate attention as much as many
women politicians themselves, failing their own
cause.
7
For me, a better democracy

is a democracy where
women do not only have
the right to vote and to elect
but to be elected.
Truth and Equity
Womens representation in the 8th Parliament of Sri Lanka
Heres a different example: After the genocide
on 17 February 2016 introduced a parallel list
in Rwanda, the people rebuilt their country,
to the nomination list, inspired by the national
and women, as majority survivors of terrible
list applicable to parliamentary elections. The
atrocities, led the country towards achieving a
amendment provided for the nomination of
peaceful political solution.
women candidates to fill the newly created 25%
In Sri Lanka, though there were numerous phases

of peace talks during 30 years of war, except for
a Sub Committee on Gender Issues in the 1990s,
women were never given a formal place in the
peace negotiations, not even when Sri Lanka
was headed by a woman president. Hence,
quota, the result of long years of struggle and

lobbying. In June 2016, the Ministry of Provincial
Councils and Local Government proposed
that 30% on the nominations list be reserved
for women candidates, to be applied from
the local government elections due next year.
voices of the majority of survivors of the war
This policy inconsistency was met with mixed
were excluded from peace negotiations and
reactions by women activists. Some hold the
their opportunity to contribute and influence the
view that the initial method may offer a better
peace process was effectively robbed.
opportunity for women candidates to enter
Exclusion politics
decision-making bodies, in particular the local,
The general exclusion of women is seriously
importance. Though this creates a level of
reflected in the field of politics where Sri Lanka
confusion and appears duplicitous in a way, it
records the lowest female representation at
reflects that finally, the system is being pushed
all levels local, provincial and national. After
to concede and accommodate women in
decades of intense advocacy, women have
political decision-making mechanisms, starting
finally secured a mandatory quota for women
at the local government level the lowest but
in the local authorities, but the path is still murky.
also the closest to a community.
The bill that amended the Local Authorities
The other side of the coin would be to question
Election Ordinance which was made into law
whether the women who are already engaged
where their engagement would be of critical
Truth
and Equity
Representation
in politics are actually worth, in terms of the
When making representations to the Public
quality of representation they offer. Feminists
Representations Committee on Reconciliation
offer the progressive argument that, even
Mechanisms, womens focus fell on issues faced
though disappointing, the first step in the
by women as a collective. They called for the
battle is to have more women their physical
criminalisation of street harassment, making
representation before fixing the matter of
of a new constitution that acknowledges the
quality.
role of women and promotes equality and the
With a quota to work on, it is best if there is

a process of monitoring as to how engaged
removal of discriminatory aspects contained in

the islands various personal laws.
women are in grassroot activism, for the party
Yet, it was also not their only focus. Women
political choices are most likely to defeat the
who made representations also expressed
actual purpose of securing a womens quota.
their outrage against the draconian Prevention
A dramatic increase from 2% to 25% is indeed
of Terrorism Act (PTA) and called for the
valuable, albeit the attendant issues.
strengthening of the fundamental rights chapter
Another important aspect would be to

understand, when nominated or elected to
of a future constitution to ensure that all Sri

Lankans are able to live without fear.
public office, the types of issues that earn these
The skeptics may feel that the quota is a
womens attention, shedding some light on the
political opportunity on a platter, perhaps
gendered dimension of local politics.
not even deservingly so. Yet, others would see
Many are of the view that women may show a

tendency to focus on what we loosely term as
womens issues with a partiality towards issues
that impact vulnerable communities, including
women, children and the differently-abled.
women as having a contribution to make to

advance the countrys political discourse, well
beyond the argument of equity and inclusion:
as the alternative voice and societys counter
narrative.
al
t
Locnmen
r
e
v
o
9
quota
Cartoon by Damayanthi Muthukumarage
Truth and Equity
In their own words

Jeewani Kariyawasam
Rosy Senanayake
Rohini Wijerathne
franchise in 1931 with women not having to

wait an additional day but it is entirely another
matter when such early progress fails to get
translated into more regular and progressive
action. For example, there are no genderbased discriminatory laws preventing womens
entry into politics, but the islands political reality
is entirely another one that records women in
absentia and thats a rooted practice.
Since 1931, the percentage of women
elected to political office has been close to
5% with no sign of a natural increase, despite
impressive female literacy which is almost on
par with male literacy. Despite the faade of a
progressive nation, when it comes to womens
representation, Sri Lanka lags behind other
South Asian countries shockingly so. Sri Lankas
political reality is one that reeks of residues of
Sharanya Sekaram
t is one thing to produce the worlds first
woman prime minister and to have gained adult
10
Ferial Ashraff
patriarchy that lends to an abysmal record in

the area of female participation in politics at
all levels.
...there are no
gender-based
discriminatory laws
preventing womens
entry into politics,
but the islands
political reality is
entirely another one
that records women
in absentia and thats
a rooted practice.
Womens representation is low enough, and

hovers around 5.7 per cent at the parliamentary
level. It is less than 2% at the local government
level. The numbers are woefully inadequate and
Dhaneshi Yatawara
Dhaneshi Yatawara is a journalist and a
budding activist who enjoys furthering
causes close to her heart and working on
the womens agenda, through journalism.
significantly lower than Western countries such

as the United Kingdom (average 19.5%) and
Germany (31.8%). It also lags behind South East
Asian countries such as Malaysia, where women
members comprise 10% of its Parliament.
Truth
and Equity
Representation
In the past year, there had been a renewed
Her argument is that the male counterparts
debate and a decisive push to secure a quota
tend to overlook issues with grave implications,
for women candidates with a strong call to
ranging from malnourishment to domestic
increase womens representation at all three
violence, whereas with women, there is every
levels parliamentary, provincial and local.
possibility of rewriting the narrative, if they were
There had been success, with a mandatory
in positions of power and influence. It is a better
quota finally gaining legal currency, but at
tomorrow for the country and the youth when
the implementation level, it is likely to prove
more women are formulating the agenda and
extremely challenging.
are making decisions, she added.
Options spoke to several women politicians for
Writer turned politician Ferial Ashraff finds family
some candid views:
background continuing to play a decisive
Rosy Senanayake, senior politician, Prime

Ministers Spokesperson and the Deputy Head
of the Prime Ministers Office, has tirelessly
campaigned for a mandatory quota for
women. Now that the 25% quota is a reality at
least in law Senanayake is of the view that it
role in womens entry into mainstream politics,

a shared experience among South Asian
politicians. Being good in politics appear to be
insufficient. There appears to be other factors
such as family links to politics that influence the
voter.
should be further increased, if possible, up to
Ashraff believes that women are being
50%.
encouraged to enter politics without adequate
Many public issues that require political

interventions will gain more perspective and
an inclusive approach if more women are
accommodated at the political decisionmaking tables, she noted.
preparation and explanation of the expected

role. We encourage women to enter politics,
especially at the local level, without offering a
clear view of things. That makes their journey
more difficult.
Ashraff stressed on the need to promote
womens engagement at the local level

where they are able to work closely with the
communities and drive tangible change.
A political party desires the expansion of its
vote base. To achieve that, they naturally look
to persons who are most likely to win more
votes. The parties, irrespective of what they
say in words and on paper about committing
themselves to a course of non-discrimination
and gender parity, are less likely to worry
11
whether the candidate is a man or woman as
...male counterparts
tend to overlook
issues with grave
implications, ranging
from malnourishment
to domestic violence,
whereas with
women, there is
every possibility
of rewriting the
narrative, if they
were in positions of
power and influence.
long as they have a convincing vote base,

she added.
Jeewani Kariyawasam, an upcoming politician
and a former member of the Chilaw Urban
Council, pointed out that the problem lay
with the system. There are many reasons
Truth and Equity
for womens reluctance to come forward,
adding that women were also the people
and a key reason among them is the male
who worked consistently and committedly for
decision makers within political parties who
electoral success of political parties. Yet, the
often demand sexual favours and make it both
same women, who show great leadership,
uncomfortable and difficult for women to seek
are reluctant to stand under the spotlight.
office. There are women who have admitted
There is family pressure and the male structures
to this publicly.
keep women away from serious political
According to her, two systemic issues holdback

women from entering and progressing in politics.
The system is extremely corrupt. Effective
service to the public depends on the leadership.
There are many instances where the leadership
at the local council level is corrupt and
inefficient. System cleanup is vital.
Kariyawasam is of the view that more women in
local government bodies would influence such
a system clean up. Though it may appear as yet
another stereotype, it is still correct to believe
ability to lead from the front. They are socially

conscious and are receptive to public needs,
traits that should stand them in good stead,
she added.
According to her, what really keeps women
away is the fear of being character assassinated.
That alone can drive women away. Thats
misogyny but we have still not found a counter
form to beat them at it.
Sharanya Sekaram, a young professional
honest and committed, she noted.
engaged with the Youth Parliament identifies
responsibility of political parties to ensure
the lack of grooming available to women as

a key drawback in becoming political leaders.
correct people are accommodated. When
Women are not groomed to play leadership
more women are included in the system,
roles, often they are expected to play secondary
opportunity to demand sexual favours would
and/or supportive roles. They are raised and
naturally decrease as the levels of scrutiny
taught how to become good mothers and
increase.
wives, not even good professionals. On the
Rohini Wijeratne, Member of Parliament for

Matale District said that, whether women enter
mainstream politics or not, there is enough
evidence of their engagement at the grassroot
level. Despite engagement at different levels,
when it comes to joining the fray, women
Yet, women regularly demonstrate their
that women at the leadership level are more
When nominating persons, it should be the
12
engagement, Wijeratne said.
demonstrate great reluctance.

Lets accept it: there is that glass ceiling. Male
politicians generally resist the entry of women
and there are too many roadblocks. I know it
as someone who experienced it and continue
to deal with patriarchy and misogyny.
At the village level, it is generally women
who lead community groups, she noted,
other hand, those who are in politics are also

pigeon-holed. They have standard portfolios
to hold as if there is pre-judgement as to what
their capacities would be in fact how limited
they are expected to be, from a male point
of view. No attempts are made at the decisionmaking level of political parties to assign serious
portfolios to women. Women should represent
them and their own constituencies as change
agents.
Truth and Equity
The long march

quota for women is an important first step on
a challenging path
he theme for International Womens Day
The Prime Minister in his speech attempted to
this year is Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step it up for
pacify members of the Joint Opposition by
gender equality.
promising them additional time to participate
It provided a good opportunity to reflect

on the 25% mandatory quota for women in
local government passed by the Sri Lankan
Parliament amidst an uproar created by
members of the Joint Opposition who walked
in to the well of the House demanding that they
be recognised as an independent group.
The second and third reading of the bill
amending the Local Authorities Elections Act
to grant a quota for women was therefore
punctuated by interruptions, slogans, shouting
and even singing. Scant attention appears
to have been paid by over 40 Members of
Parliament to the substance of the bill under
discussion.
in the debate. Yet, the disruptions and shouting

continued, prompting him to ask whether
they were against increasing womens
representation. Faizer Mustapha seemed to
want to believe that despite the screaming and
shouting, none of the members of the Joint
Opposition including Pavithra Wanniarachchi,
opposed this bill. From newspaper reports, it
seems clear that only government members
finally voted for the bill amidst the chaos that
led to Parliament being adjourned three hours
earlier than scheduled.
The theatrics in Parliament that day can be seen
as a parody of the inattention given to the issue
of womens representation in political institutions
by politicians over the years. Indeed, even if
Together with Prime Minister Ranil

Wickremesinghe, who presented the bill, only
five other Members of Parliament Chandrani
Bandara, Mavai Senathiraja, Faizer Mustapha,
Anoma Gamage and Range Palitha Bandara
got an opportunity to speak.
those members of the joint opposition were not

against increasing womens representation,
their behaviour effectively trivialised and
reduced it to a non-issue.
Those who supported the quota, could speak
for no more than four minutes. The whole
debate lasted no more than 35 minutes.
Ultimately the (non)debate failed to adequately
Chulani Kodikara
Chulani Kodikara is a Senior Researcher at
the International Centre for Ethnic Studies
(ICES). Her research areas include law,
feminism, gender and identity politics. She
holds a law degree from the University of
Colombo and LLM from the University of
Sussex, United Kingdom.
foreground the historical significance of the

law that was passed as well as its limitations in
furthering democracy and womens political
empowerment.
13
Truth and Equity
The media coverage of the amendment the
constituencies (or in a few instances, double
next day also failed in this task. Most newspapers
or triple member constituencies) demarcated
tended to be preoccupied with the visit
within each local government area and
to Sri Lanka by the UN High Commissioner
another list of members who will be elected
for Human Rights or the antics of the joint
from a PR list. The second part of the nomination
opposition. Some newspapers had inside stories
paper will comprise a list of women, from which
on the amendment but they simply quoted
a certain number will be elected, based on the
parliamentarians speeches or views without
proportion of votes obtained by the party within
any attempt to contextualise or historicise the
the whole local council area.
amendment. There was no reference to the

long struggle waged by womens activists and
organisations or the National Committee on
Women (NCW) going back almost 20 years
to secure this reservation. Nor was there any
reference to the deeply patriarchal and maledominated political culture in Sri Lanka, which
has systematically marginalised women from
political power.
Substance
The amendment effectively overturns the 25%
for example, from 2% to 25% (in actual numbers

from around 90 to over 2000 elected women).
According to the amendment, the quota does
not bar women from obtaining nominations at
the ward level or the general PR list. Theoretically
therefore, womens representation can surpass
25% at local level.
Limitations
The importance of the increase in the number
which was put in place when the electoral
of women at local government that is ensured
system at local level was changed to a mixed
by this quota cannot be over-emphasised, as
Proportional Representation and Simple
numerous strategies to increase representation
Majority System in October 2012. In terms of
of women in local government over the past
the actual mechanics the new amendment
two decades consistently failed due to the
has increased the number of seats at the level
dominance of a patriarchal culture within
of local government by one third, i.e. by 2206
political parties.
to 8825. This increase amounts to 25% of all seats

at local level. It is this increased number of seats
that will be awarded to women candidates
nominated by political parties on a separate list
according to the proportion of votes obtained
by each party at the level of each local council.
number of women elected to local government,
discretionary quota for women and youth
seats, taking the total number of seats from 6619
14
This quota will result in a dramatic increase in the
Seats will be allocated according to the order

of priority on this list as decided by the party.
The quota will be implemented within the new
mixed system of elections. It is beyond the scope
of this article to explain the mixed system of
elections except to say that the nomination
paper for local government will now have
two separate parts. The first will contain a list
of candidates contesting for single member
Yet from the point of view of democracy and

womens empowerment it is an extremely
weak quota. The methodology adopted
by the amendment February may not
represent the best way of addressing the
historical marginalisation of women from local
government for several reasons:
1. It does not challenge the status quo or
incumbency of male politicians
Often, affirmative action for women in political
institutions, while increasing the numbers of
women, also exacts a penalty from men who
have dominated these seats for years by forcing
male members to give up their seats and make
way for women to contest in their place.
Truth
and Equity
Representation
Women must move from being voters to

candidates and the elected (sfcg.org)
The quota at local government level in Sri Lanka
4. It is certain to create a dichotomy between
does not challenge the incumbency of male
general seats and womens seats
politicians because women will be appointed

to seats that have been added to the original
number of seats in local government bodies.
Women coming in through this quota are likely

to have less power and definitely less credibility
within the local council than those who are
2. It gives the party unmediated power to
elected as well as those who are appointed
decide on who gets on the list as well as the
under the PR list.
order of priority on the list
Other critics have raised questions about the
It is likely that women who are nominated will
monetary cost of the increase in the number
be relatives of politicians or party supporters.
of elected members in local government. A
The vast majority of women who have been
robust debate on the nature and character
active within parties may still be left out of
of the womens quota in parliament might
political power at the local level. Moreover, it will
have highlighted these limitations and ways of
perpetuate patronage politics of a gendered
addressing them.
kind within political parties over responsiveness

to and accountability to a voter base. Already
stories are emerging that some party leaders
are demanding sexual favours as the price for
quota for women in local government has to

be seen as the beginning of another phase in
the struggle for equal representation of women
in local government. This time, to ensure that
15
3. Together with members appointed from the
the quota is implemented in a way that furthers
separate PR list, women will have to necessarily
democracy and empowers women.
nomination on to the womens list.
This debate still needs to happen and the
represent the whole local government area

They will not have a separate constituency of
their own which they can nurture or which can
hold them to account, robbing them of political
experience.
(This article first appeared in Groundviews)
Truth and Equity
Getty Images/AFP
Did we jump the gun?

T
he upcoming local government elections will be historic and will serve as the trial
grounds for several changes.

For instance, this would be the first election to be held under the proposed mixed
electoral system, where the First Past the Post system is being reintroduced after
nearly three decades. The elections will also be the first time that political parties
16
bodies. Another proposed amendment to the Provincial Council Act will hopefully
are required to allocate a 25% quota for youth and women in the local government
set the stage for national level changes. As positive as it may seem at policy level,
the real challenge lies in the implementation.
Chathuri Dissanayake
Chathuri Dissanayake is a freelance
journalist who is passionate about women,
peace and developmental issues.
Truth
and Equity
Representation
The move to grant a mandatory quota was of
strategy to increase female participation.
course, a welcome change. Till 2016, lobbying
The party has conducted one workshop in
for such changes fell on deaf ears, until the
Gampaha to encourage women to play a
call to improve the status of women was
more active role in local governance, says UPFA
included in the last years presidential election
Parliamentarian Sudarshini Fernandopulle who
agenda. As many actors of the two- decade-
has been assigned the task of recruiting more
long battle would testify, the change wasnt
women and facilitating their entry into UPFA
easily achieved or widely supported, but was
politics.
welcomed by all parties when it finally became

a piece of legislation.
However, much of the issue still remains to
be battled out. Although a quota has been
announced for both youth and women, how
the political parties choose to implement this is
yet to be seen.
Womens participation within the major political
parties has remained low throughout the years.
Even the United National Party (UNP) which has
a separate womens wing known as the Lak
Wanitha Peramuna records very low numbers
of women in active politics.
We have not yet developed a policy regarding

the matter at party level, she admitted.
The Tamil Nation Alliance (TNA) too welcomed
the change of assigning a mandatory quota.
However, they too have no clear plan to
increase womens participation in the political
front, Leader of the TNA, R. Sampanthan, said.
The view that participation of women in politics
should increase is accepted by the Party, but
we have not taken any policy level decisions
or worked out strategies. Competent women
should come forward, he said, explaining TNAs
position on the amendment.
Months after the amendment was introduced

to the Local Authorities Elections Act, political
parties are yet to devise any comprehensive
strategy to encourage increased participation
of women in local governance through their
actual integration. The UNP however seems
to be working within its existing mechanism to
recruit more females for political leadership
aimed at the upcoming local election.
We have introduced a leadership training
program for the Lak Wanitha Peramuna itself,
and we hope to groom our members through
this program, explained Kabir Hashim, General
Secretary of the UNP. The womens wing
focused on skills development and economic
empowerment of women. However, the party
now intends utilising its the leadership program
for women to encourage their female members
to enter active politics.
The United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA)
on the other hand has not still devised a clear
For the country that produced the worlds first woman

prime minister, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, increasing
womens representation in politics had proved a
daunting task (media.web.britannica.com)
17
routinely carries out different training programs
Truth and Equity
Despite hailing the amendment as a positive
However, overall reluctance among women
change, Sri Lankas major political parties fall
to enter politics is not a new trend. The role
short, particularly in the area of affirmative
being traditionally reserved for males by
action. No clear structural or policy changes
males almost as an entitlement, the violent
have been made at party level to recruit more
and aggressive nature of Sri Lankan politics
women, perhaps indicating that increasing
continue to discourage women from running
female political participation is still a secondary
for public office. This emphasises the need for
goal.
concentrated efforts by individual political
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the Marxist

political party, has even gone to the extent of
Lack of interest displayed by main political
in the Sunday Observer on 26 June 2016 titled
parties towards the female cause, on the other
Empowering women, quoted JVPs General
hand, may result in an explosion of the widows
Secretary Tilvin Silva, saying that there were far
and daughters syndrome, evident in Sri Lankan
more pressing issues to be solved. However,
politics, perhaps strongly influenced by similar
he has emphasised that the JVP has always
South Asian trends. However, Fernandopulle,
encouraged female participation in active
the widow of a former UPFA politician herself,
politics and was prepared for the proposed 30%
Jeyaraj Fernandopulle,
quota in nominations for women.
necessarily a bad thing.
However, even the UNP the only political
believes it is not
Most parents do not encourage their children

to enter politics, unless they have a background
in politics, she said.
party which is using an inbuilt mechanism to
Not many women will come forward unless
encourage female participation is falling
they have strong family support, which is
behind in recruiting enough numbers to meet
necessary to withstand the pressures of the
the stipulated quota. The UNP which is currently
current political climate in the country.
engaged in the process of selecting candidates

for the upcoming local government elections
has not received enough applications from
women, observed Hashim.
I have to admit, that we have already
processed close to 10,000 applications, but it is
very disappointing to find such a low a number
of applications from women. It is really not
the status quo only serves as a deterrent.
highlighting this as fact. An article published
Low participation
18
parties to increase womens participation, as
enough, he noted.
The UPFAs experience is no different, in fact a
little worse. The female recruitment is an uphill
struggle for the main constituent party of the
UPFA, with a main constituent party, the Sri
Lanka Freedom Party(SLFP), which produced
the worlds first woman prime minister. Not many
women want to enter politics in the current
environment, explained Fernandopulle.
While facts remains such, much rides on making

a good impression through fielding the right
candidate, Fernandopulle noted.
If we field candidates who are not performing,
this becomes ammunition for those who believe
womens participation is not a priority, and that
women are not capable of playing leadership
roles. We have seen this in the past and we need
to avoid this, she emphasised.
However, with no clear dedicated strategy
in place to drive recruitment campaigns for
women politicians in any of the major political
parties in the country, this may indeed prove
to be a bigger challenge for Sri Lankan women
than mounting the Everest.
Truth and Equity
PHOTO ESSAY | Representation

Sanchia Brown
Pledges to Action
The womens struggle in Sri Lanka had seen many faces
and many phases. Over the years, it had strongly shifted
to reflect issues that are deeply political.
When a new coalition government was elected to office
on 8 January 2015, the women were promised better
representation, livelihood support, truth and justice,
return and reintegration, in post war Sri Lanka.
Sanchia is the New Media Programme

officer at Women and Media Collective.
19
Sanchia Brown
These images by Sanchia Brown reflect that reality: On 8

March 2015, two months after the new United National
Front Government was installed in office, these women
from different walks of life, age groups and ethnicities,
took to streets, reminding the administration that they
would not let those promises be forgotten or swept under
the carpet of political expediency, demanding promises
be translated into action as a matter of priority.
Truth and Equity
PHOTO ESSAY | Representation

Sanchia Brown
20
Truth and Equity
21
Truth and Equity
22
TRANSITIONAL
JUSTICE
The spirit of truth and the spirit of justice are one.
- Simone Weil
Truth and Equity

In transitional justice
No one-sizefitsall formula
Sitralega Maunaguru is
a retired professor from
the Eastern University
Sri Lanka with over
three decades of teaching
experience at the Eastern
and Jaffna universities.
She has had a lifelong
engagement with womens
rights and peace activism.
A founder member of various
organizations working on
womens rights and social
justice, she was engaged
with the Mothers Front,
Womens Study Circle and
Poorani Womens Centre in
Jaffna in the 80s and early
90s and her work continues
with Suriya Womens
Development Centre in
Batticaloa.
She was honoured by
UNHCR in 2003 for her
efforts to support internally
displaced women and
promote gender equality,
and in 2007, was appointed
by the government to serve
the National Committee on
Women (NCW).
he new administration has undertaken several

measures to pave the way for transitional justice
in post war Sri Lanka.
There is great emphasis at present, on truth
finding, justice for the missing and reparation,
the cornerstones of a transitional justice process.
To achieve the above, a significant number
of women have come forward and have
become engaged, yet the process itself is not
sufficiently gender sensitive, observed Sitralega
Maunaguru, a retired professor, prominent social
activist and a member of the Consultation Task
Force on Reconciliation Mechanisms.
Prof. Maunaguru noted that womens voices
Dhaneshi Yatawara
Dhaneshi is a journalist and a budding
activist who enjoys furthering causes close
to her heart and working on the womens
agenda, through journalism.
are not necessarily heard in what she termed as

Sri Lankas rushed transitional justice process.
She currently serve as a member of the
Consultation Task Force formed under the
Secretariat for Coordinating the Reconciliation
Mechanism of the Prime Ministers Office. We
need to ask the average woman who lost her
son, daughter or husband, what transitional
justice means to her and what her expectations
are, she noted, in a comprehensive interview
with Options 51.
Excerpts from the interview:
Q: Transitional justice is Sri Lankas current buzz
word. As someone engaged in the governmentinitiated process, what is your experience,
specially with regard to the womens call for
justice and reparation? Is the process gender
sensitive?
A: I cannot say it is gender sensitive or truly
gender inclusive. There are a few initiatives but
the process caters very little to women.
23
Truth and Equity
The transitional justice process began as a result

of the political changes that took place post
8 January 2015. That change was largely the
work of voters from the North, East and Central
regions. Silently marking their electoral protest
were women. Women who lost their kith and kin
due to a protracted war, women who lost their
homes and properties due to conflict, natural
disasters like landslides or the tsunami, voted on
January 8 to ensure that change.
As I travel across the country as a member of the
Consultation Task Force, I get the opportunity
to hear their candid views firsthand. I see
that women are tired of waiting and have
lost hope in trying to seek truth and justice.
They have deeply etched regret and severe
disappointment in the lack of justice and the
delays pain them more.
If we are to take the transitional justice process
forward, we must make it people-centric and
communicate in simple language. The language
used by non-governmental organizations is
hardly understood by the ordinary citizen. To
make it more gender sensitive, this process
needs to be communicated to the public in
their own language and by carefully deriving
responses from the women who have borne the
brunt of war for decades. These women have
stored their grief. When recording their grief,
which is what they record, there needs to be
sufficient sensitivity. It is an ethical requirement.
How do we engage these suffering mass of
people in the most sensitive manner?
24
On the other hand, the Zonal Task Forces

appointed by the Secretariat for Coordinating
the Reconciliation Mechanism, comprise
leading community leaders who are close to
the local people. They are respected by the
communities and people speak to them easily.
The women who shared their experiences said
that they felt comfortable and less hesitant
to divulge information to the Commission
members, compared to the previous occasions
when various commissions heard them for the
same purpose.
It is also very important to find out how women

perceive peace and justice in relation to their
lives. In my personal opinion, in the current
rushed process, there is hardly any time for such
reflections. It should not be a one-size-fits-all
formula.
Q: In your view, has Sri Lanka managed
to capture the wide spectrum of concepts
associated with transitional justice?
A: The concept of transitional justice is intertwined
with the political beliefs of the country. It is not
only about the Missing Persons Office, but much
more. It should address wider issues.
The Sri Lankan tendency is to overhaul policies
with changes of government. There should be
a stable mechanism to guarantee the rights of
all people through the constitution. There should
be structures and administrative arrangements
to sustain such initiatives. Otherwise history will
repeat itself.
Policymakers should make effort to discover
the deep-rooted problems that subsequently
exploded into a full-blown conflict and the
residual effects. If they genuinely wish to seek
solutions, there needs to be crucial and critical
engagements.
There is no ground preparation by the authorities
to facilitate interactions in places where youth
from all ethnicities interact. Best examples are
from the Eastern and Jaffna universities where
there were recent clashes. The issue was linked
to Sinhala students getting selected to enter
these universities after the war ended. The
new generation needs to be educated on the
concepts of integration and be supported to do
so, understanding that in their lifetime, this has
not been their experience but now they can
have that multi-ethnic experience.
As you said, there is a broad spectrum of issues
related to transitional justice currently under
discussion. It confuses the general public.
People need time to absorb these concepts.
Transitional justice as part of a long-term
reconciliation process requires time to take root.
Truth andJustice
Equity
Transitionl
If we do not think deeply enough about these

issues and adopt a hurried process, we will miss
the vital milestones in ensuring transitional justice
for all our people. Let it also not be forgotten
that women always bear the brunt of war and
their issues deserve special attention. Even in
these processes, they end up being somewhat
marginalised.
Q: Some women are actively engaged in
seeking truth and justice. Besides their burden
of grief, they have had to endure numerous
socio-cultural and economic challenges. How
do you expect these double-burden carrying
women, to be engaged in truth seeking?
A: There are many such recorded cases.
I am from the East and I regularly interact with
war-affected women. When women engage,
they do not conform to the socially constructed
feminine qualities because they have come
forward and are proactive about the issue.
A woman who can withstand this mounted
pressure is the one who can influence change.
All women may not be equally strong or have
the capacity. Different women negotiate with
these restrictions differently. There is not one
way but many ways to handle these issues. The
injustice cannot be considered less, even if it is
only one person who is affected by it, because
it is still an injustice.
Facilitating women to actively seek truth is not
easy, and requires support mechanisms. The
achievement is greater when there is collective
action.
Q: A recent amendment to the Local Authorities
Elections Act has paved the way for a mandatory
25 % quota for youth and women in the local
government bodies. Do you think increased
womens representation (at least at the local
government level) may contribute in some
form, to achieving a degree of gender sensitive
transitional justice?
A: I believe so. If there are more women

politicians, there will be better understanding
of issues raised by women. Women will naturally
understand the additional burdens placed on
women in the aftermath of war, in addition to
scars of war they happen to bear.
Historically, the womens narrative was hardly
ever recorded and this process should be
used for such recording of voices. That will add
perspective and will give us a more complete
idea in a process which is male-centric by large.
Women who attended the public hearings
conducted by the Zonal Task Force reiterated
that they felt they were not properly heard or
recognised, even after all the hardships they
have gone through, including loss of family
members and property, displacement on
multiple occasions and livelihood problems.
The very process of return and reintegration
itself is daunting.
In the North and the East, the number of
women-headed households is far above the
national average. Their view towards life could
be different and need to be recorded. There
are many young widows who were married
very young, simply to avoid forced recruitment
by the LTTE. Wouldnt their perspectives be
quite different? We need to ask the average
woman who lost her son, daughter or husband,
what transitional justice means to her, not as a
concept but as a daily experience. What needs
to be done?
Q: Following the achievement of increasing
womens representation at the local government
level, many activists have noted it as a marginal
achievement, compared to the long years of
struggle to get there. How do you view this?
A: Yes, compared to the time and effort made
over decades by the womens movement in
promoting a quota for women in representative
bodies, this may not be huge in terms of
achievement but it is still a defining moment
in history.
25
It cannot be hurried. This is where experiences

from other countries become invaluable.
Truth and Equity
This is also not the quota we demanded

for. It also may not change a thing at the
parliamentary level.
Photo by Velayudan Jayachithra
Udala
Com gama
repo mission
rt
26
Cartoon by Damayanthi Muthukumarage
TJ
Me a
ch nd
an
ism
People will take some time to get accustomed

to a quota system. Majority of the people will
argue that women have other responsibilities
at home and a different societal context. But in
a few years, when people get used to it, more
and more women will be ready to accept the
challenge and there will be greater societal
acceptance for this new role of women. But
first, the policy has to be introduced.
I find it a little surprising that encouraging women

to participate in politics has become the sole
responsibility of women activists and groups
here. That does say something. Others have
chosen to stay silent, quietly shutting women
out of the political systems. We prefer to remain
silent in the face of this great inequality. Men see
no reason to push this because that reduces
their perceived entitlement to lead and rule. But
this tide will change gradually when the policy
gets mainstreamed and becomes a practice.
Truth and Equity
The
women are
still here
Women are still mostly invisible from
many of the processes which govern

and shape our societies. The matter of
women in politics is not the only matter
at hand but it does unsparingly reveal
the crux of the problem.
Keeping women from politics is
about keeping women from a serious
engagement with decision-making; it
is about how womens voices are shut
down and discredited, the moment
they appear in the public sphere.
The world, in general, does not like listening to

women. The very concept of listening to women
still evades many people, many conversations
and many spaces. The 20-year long fight in Sri
Lanka, to get the mandatory womens quota in
all political parties contesting in elections fixed
at 25% was won earlier this year, but even then,
not without ugliness. Our systems have a way of
disappearing women.
But they are here; they are still here. In fact, in a
post-war country where an armed conflict took
lives for nearly 30 years, and other cycles and
mechanisms of violence before, during and
after, there are, sometimes, only women. Many
households, many communities, particularly in
the North and the East of Sri Lanka, are womenled. The women are, emphatically, still here.
This year, in addition to the 25% victory, women
in Sri Lanka. The State has engaged women
directly through critical consultative processes
on significant issues. One was the mechanism
Subha Wijesiriwardena
Subha wijesiriwardena is a writer, feminist,
media and sustainability enthusiast.
She holds a degree in Communication and
Media Studies (India).
of public consultations on constitutional

reform; across Sri Lanka, women made daring
submissions to the Public Representations
Committee, which addressed issues of gender
27
are being heard marginally more than usual
Truth and Equity
inequality across the board.

The second such process is, of course, the
Consultations Task Force on Reconciliation
Mechanisms. The Consultations Task Force
(CTF) has been receiving and reviewing public
submissions since April this year. One of the key
mechanisms mandated is the set-up of the
Office of Missing Persons (OMP) and getting the
OMP bill operationalised.
Just recently, on the 23 August 2016, the Speaker
of Parliament Karu Jayasuriya signed the Office
of Missing Persons Act, making it a legal act.
committed on civilians in times of war and

crisis, primarily because no government has
never admitted it to be true. While commissions
have been appointed before to look into
disappearances, many of those were for
investigating disappearances in the South. The
mandate of the OMP includes investigating
disappearances in the North and East. Finally,
something is being said about the Tamil
communitys losses.
For the first time, steps have been taken by
the State, post-war, to at least acknowledge
disappearances which occurred as a
Enforced disappearances have been a deep,
consequence of the war, of war-related
dark problem which Sri Lanka has had an
measures of security taken by the State and its
intensely complicated relationship with. They
armed forces, under the Prevention of Terrorism
happened in the North and East to members
Act (PTA).
of the Tamil community, with the war for

nearly 30 years; they happened in the South
to members of the Sinhalese community when
previous governments tried to violently crush
youth-led Marxist insurrections more than once.
It remains one of the grossest acts of violence
However, it is clear that the problem of enforced

disappearances is yet to entirely disappear
from our society with the war having ended,
with a new government in place, there are
serious indications that it still continues. With
the OMP now in motion, the new government
must also take steps to abolish the dangerously
exploited PTA if it is serious about dealing with
Throughout the civil war in Sri
disappearances.
Lanka, and throughout the other
But it didnt take the OMP to bring the topic
moments of violent conflict, it has
of disappearances into our midst. Throughout
been women typically mothers

and wives of the disappeared
who have been the face of
28
the civil war in Sri Lanka, and throughout the

other moments of violent conflict, it has been
women typically mothers and wives of the
disappeared who have been the face of
all the disappeared, Tamil and
all the disappeared, Tamil and Sinhalese, of
Sinhalese, of this country; women,
this country; women, refusing to disappear,
refusing to disappear, standing

in for their loved ones who have
been made invisible.
standing in for their loved ones who have been

made invisible.
Through organisations like Poorani, Mothers
Front and The Association of War Affected
Women and Parents of Servicemen Missing in
Action, mothers and wives of the disappeared
Truth andJustice
Equity
Transitionl
Women from the North,

East and the South have,
at different times,
demanded truth and justice
(sangam.org)
have made their voices heard in a sustained,
to be answered, in order for there to be
long-term manner, over decades North to
reconciliation. Decades ago, these women
South. They have been in the struggle for justice
were already telling us that ending the war
for a long, long time.
wouldnt be enough to really end the war.
In their story, the story of Sri Lankas civil war
In the reconciliation mechanisms processes,
marked by racism, violence and the strategic
it is in the spaces of these women that some
deepening of ethnic divisions it is immediately
feeling of understanding seems to be making
made less simplistic, less black and white, less
itself felt; it is these women who are beginning to
us and them; it complicates things, and in a
talk to each other, to be the first to instinctively
profound way.
understand reconciliation and reparation. It
Tamil and Sinhalese women have come

together on several historic occasions to protest
enforced disappearances, when relations
between the two communities have been at
their worst. Even when they protested among
their own communities, in their own towns,
is them who are crossing boundaries of race

and mistrust to say, I understand we have a
shared experience of unthinkable pain; I also
understand we, as members of the two ethnic
communities, have experienced the war
entirely differently.
It is in them that we see most clearly the need
provocative: often, the moral and emotional
for accountability and justice; with them, we
authority of mother and wife ensured that
see that without accountability and justice,
these women could express their grief and rage
we cannot begin making the journey towards
without fear, and with gravity. But their demands
reconciliation and healing.
were never simplistic: they wanted them back,
29
or they wanted the people who had killed them
their protests stand out in history as incredibly
to be tried through fair, concrete mechanisms.

They had a clear sense of what justice
meant, long before talks of transitional justice
had begun in Sri Lanka. They had understood
that these questions were going to need
Truth and Equity
Photo by Shreen Saroor
Gender justice in
truth seeking
Women seek transitional justice as well as transformative justice
to ensure social reforms
D espite gloomy prospects, it seems there

might be a golden opportunity for the womens
movement in Sri Lanka to bring about gender
sensitive structural changes by influencing the
islands transitional justice process.
Let it not be forgotten, in the drive to ensure
30
Sithara Shreen
Abdul Saroor
short and medium term steps while pursuing
Sithara Shreen Abdul Saroor is one of

the founders of the Mannar Womens
Development Federation (MWDF) which
addresses the needs of war affected
women in the islands North. She is also
a founder trustee of the Womens Action
Network (WAN), a collective of eight
womens organizations that are at the
forefront in addressing violence against
women and access to justice in the North
and East.
island, that gender justice should be a non-
long-term reconciliation for the war-embattled

negotiable core value in the very foundations
of transitional justice mechanisms. It would be
a societal failure of the worst kind, to allow this
golden moment to slip through without making
transitional justice fair and equal as well as
gender just.
Truth andJustice
Equity
Transitionl
These mechanisms offer a means to pursue
and recommendations included in a way that
gender justice through multiple means: by
their own lessons learnt are reflected in these
revealing gendered patterns of abuse, deep-
mechanisms.
They can also enhance access to gender

justice and build momentum for reforms, be it
constitutional, legal or in increasing womens
representation.
The key questions before them were; what

does justice mean to women affected by the
conflict and violence? How do they view the
justice processes proposed thus far in delivering
effective gender justice? What is the gendered
An effort was made in the very recent past when
impact of various violations experienced
womens groups made a concerted effort to
and what are the specific violations and the
appear before the Public Representations
categories for which women mostly seek redress
Committee on Constitutional Reforms in the
through these mechanisms?
North and the East. There was a high level of

engagement at the district level in the former
war zones.
What are our collective experiences in seeking

justice through mechanisms that are already
in place? It is not easy to have womens
It was the very first time that women from various
struggles, their angst, their knowledge and
walks of life decisively voiced their concerns
experiences acknowledged and reflected by
about the perpetuation of discrimination,
special mechanisms, and to have priority status
inequality and marginalisation, as a result
in accessing fair justice and timely delivery for
of the provisions contained in the Sri Lankan
women.
Constitution, and called for the removal of these

inequities through the new constitution-making
process.
For many of us, transitional justice mechanisms
are a window to challenge the structural
causes of gender inequalitythey are intended
not only to make the State and non-State
actors publicly acknowledge abuses and
violations, but also to have gender-specific
recommendations included in a future truthseeking commission as well as reparations
initiatives.
In June this year, womens groups in the North
and the East gathered to look into each of
the proposed transitional justice mechanisms
to see how their concerns can be addressed
It is still timely to raise the question as to how

one addresses pre-existing gendered power
relations in order to ensure balance through
new substantive processes.
These Sri Lankan womens groups have classified
the issues at hand in relation to all four proposed
mechanisms, with the hope that their pursuit
of interim justice will not fail. There we also find
the womens collective voices, coherent and
strong.
Women are victims of all forms of violence
and crimes, not solely sexual violence.
Overemphasising wartime sexual violence
risks ignoring that women suffered mass
atrocities apart from rape.
31
rooted discrimination and long-term suffering.
Truth and Equity
Transitional justice must look beyond war-
All mechanisms should be adequately
related atrocities to create unity and
funded and staffed with victims and
equality.
witnesses receiving adequate and timely
Transitional justice should create social

transformation by addressing structural
inequalities (including the culture of impunity
for violence against women and the immunity
of men in power) and traditional disparities.
Although transitional justice is often reduced
to political, constitutional and legal reforms,
women seek social reforms and the pursuit
of multiple truths.
Women seek transformative justice, beyond
transitional justice. They view transitional
justice as a long-term process of political,
economic, social and cultural transformation.
At all levels of every transitional justice
mechanism, women should be given
equal opportunities in the decision-making
processes and their participation and should
not be reduced to the symbolic expression
of concerns such as victimhood, especially
in male-dominated settings.
Meeting human rights obligations, all such
processes should include accountability
mechanisms that are accessible to both
men and women, paying due attention to
gendered power relations and differences
which discourage women from voicing their
concerns and lodging complaints.
32
While devising the mechanisms, the State

should be mindful of the heterogeneity of
womens war experiences and consider
the intersectionality of gender, race, caste,
religion, region, class and the varying levels
of influence each of these factors might play.
access to quality professional psychological

and medical treatment as well as counselling
services, either internally or through referral
procedures.
Elimination of the culture of impunity and
commitment to security and legal sector
reform should be part of the process whilst
enhancing the efficiency of the regular
justice system.
Womens representation in justice, defence,
security and health structures should be
ensured while men who are engaged in
these sectors undergo gender-sensitive
training.
In the lustration or vetting processes, there
should be specific provisions to legally
exclude men who when holding positions
of power have committed mass atrocities
or gender-based and/or sexual violence,
from regaining power in any form.
To ensure this, the transitional justice process
should pave the way for a mandatory
Lustration Law. Similarly, politicians who have
been convicted of committing sexual and
physical violence against women should be
disqualified from running for political office.
Truth and Equity

Sharni jayawardEnA
Through the eyes of women
Sharni Jayawardena is a writer, editor,

photographer and documentary
filmmaker.
Her interest in still photography grew
out of her work in video and television
productions and she now works as a
freelancer.
33
Sharni Jayawardena
Truth-telling and accountability are integral

elements of a transitional justice process.
Women living in war zones and in border
villages, who experienced and continue
to experience harm and abuse, need to
be heard to comprehend the extent of the
human rights violations perpetrated against
them. And be responsive to their needs and
demands.
Truth and Equity

Sharni jayawardEnA
34
Truth and Equity

Sharni jayawardEnA
35
Truth and Equity

Sharni jayawardEnA
36
Truth and Equity

Sharni jayawardEnA
37
Truth and Equity
38
EMPOWERNMENT
Take your new tool the women of
India and elsewhere to unlock information for
your benefit, knowledge and growth
- Aruna Roy
Truth and Equity
Empowering through
information
F
ormer UN Secretary General and 2001 Nobel
Yet, we see a social history that disempowers
Peace Prize winner Kofi Annan addressing a
women, undervalues their contribution to
World Bank Summit on Global Knowledge
society and development, and keeps them
97 famously said: Knowledge is power.
two steps behind and tethered to beliefs that
Information is liberating. Education is the
fuel the disparity. We see more women being
premise of progress, in every society, in every
unemployed than men, more women settling
family.
for jobs in the informal sector where wage
He wasnt talking about literacy rates, but the

democratising power of information that can
make an electorate potent, transform the
disparities abound, more women remaining

stuck in the bottom rungs of the career ladder
with no hopes of progress or promotion.
citizenry into the greatest defender of freedom
We see more women among the countrys
and can eliminate prejudices, discriminations
unskilled migrant labour quotient, in the
and disparities.
plantation sector, in garment factories
His message comes to mind as one ponders the

recently enacted Right to Information (RTI) law
Conversely, we see less women in management

positions, in politic, in positions of influence..
and gender parity, or the lack there of, despite
Would the female career landscape look
Sri Lankas admirable 92.63% adult literacy rate,
different if we were a better informed society?
which according to statistics slightly weighs in
Would our social history read empowered
favour of the girl child, is the best in the region
if more women had the right to information
and is above average by world standards.
that gave them the freedom and the power,
That there should be a gender disparity seems

incongruous.
not only to demand for equality and due

recognition in the workplace and elsewhere,
but to make better choices as well?
a potential for all, the path to poverty can

be reversed, Annan said, in his memorable
Hana Ibrahim
Hana Ibrahim is the Editor of Daily and
Weekend Express and Co-Conevner of
South Asian Women in Media Sri Lanka
Chapter.
speech. And what he envisioned with those

word all those years ago has been translated
into RTI-fuelled gendered realities in India, in the
United Kingdom and several other countries
that claim a statutory right to information.
39
With information on our side, with knowledge
Truth and Equity
In the UK, an RTI request regarding salary

structure helped pressurise the main public
service broadcaster into implementing
measures to ensure equal pay for equal work.
In India, where women are actively pushing for
greater access to information, success stories
abound. The Cater Centers Global Access
to Information (ATI) Program, which has been
actively promoting access to information on a
global level, reports how the women in a rural
village in India filed more than 100 requests for
information to force the administration to start
Indian security system that lead to the killing

of many including her husband, based on the
information gathered with the provisions of the
RTI.
With information, as Annan said, being the
true liberator, RTI not only strengthens women
in difficult circumstances but can also make
things better for school and college girl
dropouts, women with disabilities, women
entrepreneurs, grassroots women leaders, and
Yet another story reveals how following a
women better understand government policies
rights for widows, a poor Indian mother of five

started receiving her overdue payments on a
monthly basis.
Creating positive change

These arent earth shattering tales that turned
the course of history for women, but are little
signposts that speak of a greater promise of
how having information can be truly liberating
and empowering, when there is a RTI in place
and women have a legitimate right to access
official information.
These promises revolve around how an effective
RTI can create conditions for women to make
better, well-informed and more effective
decisions, not just regarding education,
employment, and day to day life, but also in
expose the various lapses on the part of the
working on the supply of clean water.
request for information regarding pension
40
in the 26/11 Mumbai attack, managed to
relation to land ownership, health care and

other issues that will enable them to know and
exercise their full range of rights.
RTI could also be a particularly useful tool for
women to follow-up on complaints lodged
with the police, be it about a missing person,
domestic robbery or even a mugging incident.
The wife of an Indian Police Officer, who died
women in general. Significantly, it can help

and decisions taken in their name, engage in
setting government priorities and meaningfully
participate in democracy.
Women in Sri Lanka, like their counterparts in
other countries often face the double burden of
income generation and caring for their families.
Post war, many of them have become heads of
households and key decision makers, yet remain
impoverished with limited economic and
educational opportunities. With genuine access
to information, women can take advantage
of opportunities to transform their lives, families
and communities.
Equipped with knowledge, they can eliminate
the prejudices that colour their social history and
lead to their disempowerment. Information is truly
a cog in the wheel of womens empowerment.
Truth and Equity
A constitution
promoting
gender equity
Womens groups came together to make progressive submissions before the Public
Representations Committee for a constitution that reflects the aspirations of women
t was the first time in the history of constitution-
This preparation took place in 22 districts,
making in Sri Lanka that members of the public
enabling women to make representations
were invited to make submissions to the drafting
before the PRC when the committee sat at
of a new constitution. It was an extremely
district hearings.
important moment in history and equally

important to seize it.
As the WMC, there was particular focus on the

fundamental rights chapter and the inclusion
When the opportunity presented itself, many
of guarantees on socio-economic rights in the
womens groups decided to come together
proposed Bill of Rights, since these rights are
and made detailed submissions before the
not entrenched in or enshrined in the current
Public Representations Committee (PRC),
constitution.
appointed to seek public views.
Many of the concerns that women have
These women went before the PRC as the
discussed over the years with regard to
Women and Media Collective, initially in
education, health, shelter, housing, livelihoods,
Colombo, and a system was then worked out to
decent work, a living wage, social security
ensure all womens groups had the opportunity
pertaining to socio-economic rights, are not
to be as consultative as possible at local and
guaranteed by the constitution and therefore,
district level and frame their submissions with
it was strongly felt that the socio-economic
care, taking into consideration very specific
rights chapter should be broadened and
local and regional contexts and experiences.
strengthened.
There was much discussion on violence
Kumudini Samuel
Kumudini Samuel is a founder member and
former director of the Women and Media
Collective. She is a womens and human rights
advocate.
because there is a very high incidence of

violence, particularly violence against women,
and the women wished to ask if the constitution
could protect the right of women to live free
from violence and to live in dignity.
41
Truth and Equity
The women discussed in particular about

the bodily integrity of women, particularly
in relation to a womans right and ability to
control her body, her movements and to enjoy
a certain autonomy. This also relates to sexual
and reproductive rights and freedoms and the
groups felt it was necessary to request their
inclusion.
The current constitution does not allow us

the right to review laws that have been
passed, even when such laws are blatantly
discriminatory and infringe rights. Still, they
continue to remain in our statute books.
We dont have the review option once a law
is enacted, and it is a shared belief that such
provisions in the constitution are extremely
Questions of sexuality, including issues in relation

to lesbian gay, bisexual and transgender
people and their rights too were discussed.
When we looked at the laws, the existence
of discriminatory laws was very clear. These
laws worked against women with regard to
land, marriage, inheritance, sexual orientation
and gender identity, which we considered
necessary to have repealed.
detrimental, in particular to women, and are

indeed unconstitutional on that basis alone.
As a result, Women and Media Collective, for
instance, wanted Article 16 that allows for such
discrimination to be deleted. We looked at the
question of access to justice, delays in the law
and law enforcement particularly in relation
to violence and more so, violence against
women.
We also looked at the question of separation
42
of powers and the question of devolution of
We dont have the

review option once a
law is enacted, and
it is a shared belief
that such provisions
in the constitution
are extremely
detrimental, in
particular to women,
and are indeed
unconstitutional on
that basis alone.
powers.
For many women, from all the districts from
the islands North and South, it was extremely
important that they could work directly with
the smallest institutions at the community level
and that these institutions be strengthened and
empowered and that power should shift from
the centre to the periphery.
Some of those institutions at local level have
certain executive powers to deal with everyday
issues and it was felt that this should be factored
in when the new constitution is made. It was
viewed in terms of devolution of power in
Truth and Equity
at the level of provincial councils and at local
One of the most

important things
in this process for
us has been the
extreme enthusiasm
of women to go
before the public
representation
committee and to
raise a number of
issues and concerns.
all the districts to the lowest local authority

area. That was an important provision we
asked for. We also asked for an independent
womens commissions. We know that we have
a certain number of independent commissions
brought in through the 18th amendment to
the constitution. But that amendment did not
envisage an independent womens commission.
And so we asked for an independent womens
commission. Another area where women
are extremely under represented and have
faced historic discrimination is with regard to
political representation and so we asked that
the constitution ensures that the state brings in
affirmative action provisions to ensure at least a
third of womens representation at parliament,
government. One of the most important things

in this process for us has been the extreme
enthusiasm of women to go before the public
representation committee and to raise a
number of issues and concerns. This reflected
very intense political engagement and interest
from among the public, from women and this
process of inclusivity and engagement and
these fresh ideas should be taken seriously by
political parties, by members of Parliament,
those who will be the final drafters of the
constitution. So we feel most strongly that this
constitution reform process must have political
will, must have political parties taking it seriously,
must have political parties looking at these
recommendations that have been made by
citizens and they must take this forward in to
a good draft constitution, they must take in to
parliament and pass it with a two thirds majority
and we hope that they will also help create a
public discourse so that when the constitution
is finally taken to a referendum that people,
citizens, civilians everywhere will be able to
vote in favor of a good constitution. So that buy
in from the political establishment is extremely
important. I hope the media will give as much
publicity and put a very positive read on this
whole process so that we will have a new
constitution, a progressive new constitution
and a constitution that is modern and futuristic.
Source: IWD 2016: Submissions made to the PRC on

constitutional reforms<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=wa1qn0gs2_U&app=desktop>
43
Photo: Maya Angelou (arieclaire.media.ipcdigital.co.uk)
Truth and Equity
Inspiration
You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, Ill rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
Cause I walk like Ive got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still Ill rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Dont you take it awful hard,
Cause I laugh like Ive got gold mines
Diggin in my own backyard.
Still I rise
You may shoot me with your words,

You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, Ill rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like Ive got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of historys shame
I rise
Up from a past thats rooted in pain
I rise
Im a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak thats wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
Choice is
is Power
Power |
Choice
| OPTIONS
OPTIONS 2016
2016
44
44
Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou (1928- 2014) is an
acclaimed African American author,
memoirist, poet and civil rights activist
known for her inspirational words, written
and spoken.
Truth and Equity
46
The Women and Media Collective
56/1, Sarasavi Lane, Castle Street, Colombo 8, Sri Lanka.

Tel: +94 11 5632045, 2690201, 5635900 Fax: +94 11 2690192
Email:wmcsrilanka@gmail.com
Web:http://www.womenandmedia.org
Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/womenandmediacollective
Twitter:http://twitter.com/womenandmedia

Options (51) 2016

Hochgeladen von

Dokumentinformationen

Originaltitel

Copyright

Verfügbare Formate

Dieses Dokument teilen

Dokument teilen oder einbetten

Freigabeoptionen

Stufen Sie dieses Dokument als nützlich ein?

Sind diese Inhalte unangemessen?

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

Options (51) 2016

Hochgeladen von

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

OPTIONS

Truth and Equity

SRI LANKA | 2016

Truth and Equity

Choice is Power | OPTIONS 2016

SRI LANKA | 2016

I would say that

Truth and Equity

cover concept and design

design and layout

THINK . FEEL . CONSIDER . DECIDE . BELIEVE . ACT

Editorial | Dilrukshi Handunnetti

The counter narrative | IYasasmin Kaviratne

How do women in public life view womens

The long march | Chulani Kodikara

Did we jump the gun? | Chathuri Dissanayake

PHOTO ESSAY | Representation | Sanchia Brown

TJ: No one-size- fitsall formula

The women are still here | Subha Wijesiriwardena

Gender justice in truth seeking | Sithara Shreen

PHOTO ESSAY | Trasitional Justice

Empowering through information

A constitution promoting gender equity

POEM | Still I rise | Maya Angelou

Truth and equity to fight exclusion

Today, Sri Lanka is at a significant political crossroad and poised to

Truth and Equity

You are enough, without anyone elses stamp,

Truth and Equity

The counter narrative

When examining the institutional structures

Michelle Bachelet, Head of UN

Reflecting a global trend, in Sri Lanka too,

Women, former president and defence

statistically, the number of women who were

elevated to decision-making positions in all

and the political systems, it becomes evident

spheres remain alarmingly smaller compared

to the number of men.

has a simple answer. Because everybody

To contexualise, the womens narrative goes

matters. In the world map, there are countries

right back to the time of Kuveni, Vihara Maha

where births and deaths of women are still not

Devi, Sugala Devi, Ehelepola Kumarihamy, and

registered in a formal record. Yet, if we choose

in recent times, to Vivienne Goonewardena,

to pat ourselves on the back because we

Sirimavo Bandaranaike and the like.

are quite different to that described situation,

While some of these women, irrespective of their

For a country with women constituting 51% of

women managed some contribution, historical

the total population and having produced

the worlds first woman prime minister Sirimavo

However, when one looks at womens

Isuri Yasasmin Kaviratne

engaged in politics at such low, uninspiring

For me, a better democracy

Truth and Equity

Womens representation in the 8th Parliament of Sri Lanka

Heres a different example: After the genocide

on 17 February 2016 introduced a parallel list