Mitch Teberg, MA Associate Member

Journey for Fair Trade:

OBSTACLES AND APPROACHES TO GENDER EQUALITY IN SRI LANKA

Mitch Teberg SLMA 2006

A Capstone Paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Master of Sustainable Development at the School for International Training, Brattleboro, Vermont

17 August 2008

Paul Ventura, Advisor

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The author grants to the School for International Training permission to reproduce and to distribute papers and electronic copies (for CD ROM and the Internet) of this document in whole or in part. The author hereby does _X_ does not ____ grant to the School for International Training permission to electronically reproduce and transmit this document to students, alumni, staff, and faculty of the World Learning Community. Authors signature _____________________________________________ Copyright: Mitch Teberg, 2008. All rights reserved.

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This is dedicated to my deceased mother, Maggie Fouse; a life once lived but not forgotten.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Statement of Research Questions Conceptual Framework and Context Literature Review Research Methods Presentation of Data Socio-Cultural Framework Legal Framework Political Framework Analysis of Data Socio-Cultural Framework Legal Framework Political Framework Statement of Conclusion Practical Applicability Recommendation for Further Research Bibliography Appendices 1 5 5 9 14 21 21 34 55 60 63 67 68 71 71 73 80

ABBREVIATIONS CEDAW CENWOR CIDA GAD IDP IFI ILO IMF INGO MWRAF NCW NGO RBA SIT SLMA SWM Committee on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women Centre for Womens Research Canadian International Development Agency Gender and Development Internally Displaced Persons International Financial Institutions International Labor Organization International Monetary Fund International Non-Governmental Organization Muslim Womens Research and Action Forum National Committee on Women Non-Government Organization Rights-Based Approach School for International Training Sri Lanka MA Program Sarvodaya Womens Movement

UN CEDAW United Nations Convention to Eliminate all forms of Discrimination Against Women UNIFEM UNRISD VAW W&M WAD WERC United Nations Development Fund for Women United Nations Research Institute for Social Development Violence Against Women Women and Media Collective Women and Development Womens Education and Research Centre

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WID WTO

Women in Development World Trade Organization ABSTRACT This study utilizes the Longwes Womens Empowerment Framework (Longwe,

1999) to evaluate the socio-cultural, legal and political obstacles, and then compares the various approaches to attaining gender equality in Sri Lanka. To conduct this inquiry in July and August of 2007, I interviewed professionals, NGO Directors, project coordinators, academic researchers, womens rights experts, feminists, members of the National Committee on Women, and the General Secretary to the Minister of Womens Empowerment and Child Development. The inquiry revealed few legal and no political obstacles to gender equality. However, the prominent obstacles found in these frameworks originate from sociocultural obstacles that have roots in a patriarchal social construct which was introduced and reinforced from colonial times onwards. The various NGOs, social forums, committees and government bureaus employ a multitude of original and innovative methods as well as universal applications laid out in the UN Convention to Eliminate all forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Beijing Platform to address inequality both nationally and locally. The practical applicability of this inquiry can serve as an external evaluation of the Sri Lankan drive for gender equality.

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Acknowledgements: I would like to acknowledge the Centre for Womens Research (CENWOR) for access to endless hours of research in their library, as well as their continuous support and encouragement throughout my time in Sri Lanka. In particular I would like to thank Professor Swarna Jayaweera, Professor Chandra Gunawardena and Leelangi Wanasundera for the time and considerations they granted me. I would also like to thank my mentor, Sriyani Perera without whom my understanding of feminist theory and practical applicability would not have been possible. The patience and knowledge bestowed upon me in her office has left a lasting impact that will never be forgotten. In 2005 Rea Abada Chiongson was the Trainer of a UNIFEM and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) sponsored workshop on the utilization of CEDAW in Hanoi, Vietnam. It was from her efforts that I first truly became aware of the importance of womens rights and the need to work towards gender equality. The Sarvodaya Womens Movement (SWM) provided me a terrific opportunity to directly work with a womens organization and extensive network. I am greatly indebted to SWM for the experience and opportunity. In particular I would like to thank Seela Ebert, Inoka Ranathunga and Preethi De Almeda for the endless hours we worked together to create my first professional project proposal, Womens Rights are Human Rights: Raising Awareness of Womens Rights at the Grassroots Level in Sri Lanka. Also I thank Indrani Sugathadasa of the Ministry of Child Development and Womens Empowerment for her time and considerable efforts on behalf of the women of Sri Lanka. I would also like to acknowledge Prof. Kamala Liyanage of Peredeniya University who has provided me with terrific inspiration with her approaches to gender equality. In particular I express thanks to Dr. Selvy Thiruchandran of Womens Education and Research Center (WERC) and Sepali Kottegoda of the Women and Media Collective for their time and consideration as well as their personal and professional contributions towards attaining gender equality in Sri Lanka. Lastly, to the one who I have come to know as my Soul Twin, I am grateful for your openness. Thank you for your continuous friendship, support and heartfelt inspiration.

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Introduction On the heels of colonization, the effect of globalizations inherent expansion of inequality between the global north-south economic spheres has directly contributed to the enhanced disparity between genders in the south. Gita Sen (2005) notes how globalization affected women of Asia after the 1997 98 economic crisis where it became increasingly difficult for even the best states in our perspective those states that had paid the greatest attention to social equality and justice issues. Commenting on the impact it has had on women in developing nations, Sen eloquently stated in her speech, Challenges to Gender Justice in a Neo-Conservative Era: as kept being recorded in one human development report after another, was soaring global inequality, between countries and within countries, soaring inequalities between different classes, between different sections and segments of people and particularly the feminization of poverty on a dramatic scale. Now this is interesting because globalization is often held up as being the era of the feminization of the labour force. Women in fact have come into the labour force in large numbers. What is ironic therefore is that you have a feminization of the labour force and a feminization of poverty taking place simultaneously. And I think this reflects the paradoxes and the ironies of the current stage of global capitalist order. Because it means that getting a job is no guarantee that you will be out of poverty. The number of working poor, the insecurity for those who work and who struggle to survive increased (Sen, 2005, p.5-6). Parallel to the present severity of unrestrained and dehumanizing capitalist exploitation which rivals the era of Colonization (Tucker, 1999) is the imperious demands of International Financial Institutions (IFIs). Meddling in the domestic policies of sovereign nations in the guise of helping them better manage their affairs, the World Bank and IMF require drastic cuts in social spending, the deregulation of domestic markets and the privatization of the public sector which is built on public funds (Bahramitash, 2005). Naomi Klein records the erosion of democracy and violations of

human rights through the forced adoption of neo-liberal economic ideology in her 2007 publication, The Shock Doctrine: the Rise of Disaster Capitalism. Through a multitude of examples, Klein documents how the corporatist agenda behind neo-liberalism has proven to be excessively abusive in regards to labor rights, environmental conservation, democracy and basic human rights complete with the outright exploitation of the developing world to the benefit of Western Corporations. To implement neo-liberal policies of the IFIs into a national policy is to allow the excessively abusive free market to answer calls for human rights, social responsibility and environmental protection (Pete, 2003). Considering the feminization of poverty Sen illuminates in her speech, the impact of the free market ideology on poor women in developing nations is particularly harmful. To support the market-knows-best ideology, Neo-liberal theorists put forth the proposal that customers will vote with their dollars in the marketplace (Harvey, 2007). The idea is frivolous considering the distance between the impoverished producers of the southern hemisphere and retail outlets in the north. This distance is reinforced by multinational corporations which utilize the psychological manipulation of marketing name brands to effectively undermine consumer awareness of excessive exploitation for corporate gains (Klein, 2002). Simply put, human rights are not a mere commodity to be bought, sold or traded on the stock markets of the West for the profit of a select few. One recognizable result of these disastrous IFI policies in Sri Lankas experience with neo-liberalism is that women have had to bear the brunt of the negative impact of globalization as Kamalini Wijayatilake noted in relation to the human cost (p.45, 2001). More specifically in 1991, Swarna Jayaweera wrote, the economic constraints of a low

income country, exacerbated by global pressures and unequal international relations have adversely affected the employment opportunities and living conditions of women and their families. Women in their multiple roles as economic producer, mother, household manager, member of the community and as individuals have had to bear a disproportionate share of the negative consequences of macro economic developments (ibid). Without the institutionalization and enforcement of human rights on national and international levels, this era of globalization could very well usher in a new dark ages in human history. As in the checkered past of Western expansion and world domination, the economically disadvantaged classes suffer the most, with a particularly harsh impact on women in developing nations. Insistence on womens rights as human rights is a viable means to combat the powerful global expansion of neo-liberalism. In 1981, Sri Lanka ratified the United Nations Convention to Eliminate all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and, as recently as 2002, submitted their third and fourth reports to the Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women for review. Sri Lanka is ahead of many nation states in passing legislation regarding womens rights, such as the Womens Charter of 1993 that is based on CEDAW; the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act of 2005; and establishing governmental posts such as the Womens Bureau in 1987, and the Ministry of Womens Affairs in 1997. Despite being a signatory to CEDAW and the governmental institutions specifically related to womens issues and legal recognition of womens rights, there remains a recognizable social inequality between men and women. One cause has been a

lack of awareness of womens rights within the general population. An example of this problem was revealed in the conclusion of a study conducted in Colombo regarding sexual harassment on city public transportation: Sexual harassment results in adverse physiological, psychological and social affects on the females who are affected by such acts. Although women were aware of the situation and had a satisfactory knowledge of what is meant by sexual harassment, the incidence of reporting harassment was very low. The common reasons for not reporting were lack of awareness of the status of the law in relation to sexual harassment and lack of faith in the system that deals with such issues. Conditioning and acceptance of sexual harassment by society have played a major role in promoting this type of behavior. The results of this research study point to the need to formulate and implement programmes to educate the public on this problem, in order to ensure the safety, freedom and rights of the females in society (Amarasinghe, Appuhamy, Arandara, and Perera, 2001, p.108-9) (Italics added). The study first points to a lack of awareness within the general population. Secondly is a lack of faith in the system that deals with such issues; the legal system. Thirdly, the conditioning and acceptance of sexual harassment by society have played a major role in promoting this type of behavior; a social conditioning in which women have lost the right to control their own bodies and thus subject to the degradation of sexual harassment (Bhasin, 1993). Not only has the lack of awareness of womens rights in the general population been detrimental to attaining gender equality in society, it has proven to be the case in many local government, and well-intentioned non-governmental organizations throughout Sri Lanka. However the lack of awareness, lack of faith in a legal system, and social conditioning are symptoms of another, more disturbing origin which also has its roots in the history of Sri Lanka an unseen, yet omni-present force within the society. Thus, I have posed the question: How can gender inequality remain so pervasive

in Sri Lanka where internationally signed conventions and national laws recognize and protect womens rights?

Statement of Research Question The two main research questions were: What are the legal, political and sociocultural obstacles to gender equality in Sri Lanka? How are those obstacles addressed by government and non-government organizational approaches? Through the interviews it became clear there were no blatant obstacles to gender equality in the legal or political frameworks. However, the socio-cultural obstacles bled into both and greatly inhibited the legal and political movement towards equality. Thus, utilizing Longwes Womens Empowerment Framework (Longwe, 1999), I inquired: 1. What socio-cultural obstacles do you face in raising awareness of womens rights? a. What are the socio-cultural influences that interfere in the political framework? b. What are the socio-cultural influences that interfere in the legal framework? 2. How do you or your organization approach those obstacles?

Conceptual Framework and Context In face of social disparity and globalization, there is a Sri Lankan feminist movement intertwined with government and non-governmental organizations striving to bring the existing gender inequalities to the forefront of the social discourse. As a means to bring about gender equality, winner of the 2003 Africa Laureate, Sarah Longwe

designed a theoretical model based on a five-step approach1 (Longwe, 1999). I utilize this framework as described to me by the UNIFEM In-Country Representative, Sriyani Perera. The initial step to move towards equality through the provision of the needs of women and the second step is to raise awareness of womens rights. The third through fifth steps are to facilitate access, participation and ultimately control within three frameworks: Social-Cultural, Legal and Political. In short, Sarah Longwes Framework is a method to rise from gender equity to substantive gender equality as emphasized by UN CEDAW, the Gender and Development (GAD) Theoretical approach, and embraced by UNIFEM. CARE International provided definition to the five steps of Longwes approach in a 2002 publication, Gender Equity Building Blocks: Welfare. Empowerment at this basic level aims to close gender gaps and meet minimum standards in such areas as nutritional status, food supply and income. The work tends to see women as passive recipients of welfare benefits. Empowerment cannot remain at this level: improved welfare, if it is to be sustained, requires increased access to resources - which involves addressing inequality at the next level. Access. The gender gap at the welfare level arises directly from inequality of access to opportunity, information, and other resources. Empowerment means that women are made aware of the gap and animated to take actions for gaining access to their fair and equal share of the various resources available within the household, and within the wider system of state provision. Which takes them automatically to the next level. Conscientization. Here the gender gap is not empirical, but is a belief-gap: the belief that womens inferior position and condition is part of the natural order. Empowerment entails sensitization to such beliefs and their rejection; it means recognizing that womens subordination is not part of the natural order of things, but is imposed by a system of discrimination which is socially constructed, and can be altered. At this level of empowerment, women may question whether they should seek success on mens terms, within a male dominated world, or seek to shape the world so that it reflects womens own voices and interests. Mobilization. The individual woman in the home is not likely to make much progress in challenging traditional norms power expands in numbers and
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See Diagram, Appendix A

connection. Mobilization is therefore the fourth and crucial stage of empowerment, which enables the collective analysis of gender issues, and the collective commitment to action. Mobilization is largely concerned with redefining participation in decision making, as participation of a mobilized group will spark the search for empowerment at yet another level. Control. At this level, the gender gap is manifested as the unequal power relations between women and men. Women may lack control over productive resources, their own labor, decisions that affect their lives, and their social relations. Empowerment seeks a balance of power between women and men, so that neither is in a position of dominance. It means that women have power alongside men to influence their destiny and that of their society. In Longwes view, empowerment is an inter-connected cycle of countering discrimination and oppression. Addressing the roots of inequality at one level leads to a discussion about all of the other levels. Empowerment takes place as individual women and groups of women move between levels, gaining strength along the way. It is the process which is empowering, rather than the achievement of material benefits (CARE International, 2002, p.6-7). The focus of this research paper, the socio-cultural obstacles to gender equality in Sri Lanka and how they are addressed by government and non-government organizational approaches, is a result of my personal experience with the Sarvodaya Womens Movement (SWM) while enrolled in the School for International Training (SIT) Sri Lanka MA program (SLMA) in Sustainable Development. The SLMA program collaborated directly with Sarvodaya, a local NGO with island-wide roots. Previously I had attended a Training of Trainers Workshop on the utilization of the UN Convention to Eliminate all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 2005 sponsored by UNIFEM in Hanoi, Vietnam. Over the course of the program I worked with SWM leadership and supported by Sriyani Perera of UNIFEM, Sri Lanka, to introduce the Rights-Based Approach and furthermore, designed a project proposal utilizing Sarah Longwes five-step model to gender equality.

As an NGO, Sarvodaya receives substantial international aid from numerous donors to conduct what some term alternative development projects. As a grassroots social movement it remains committed to Gandhian principles and Buddhist philosophy. Within Sarvodaya there are several branches, one of which is the Sarvodaya Womens Movement, which is frankly the underfunded and oft neglected womens wing of the larger NGO. My work with SWM began in early 2006. Equipped with my CEDAW training in conjunction with the research I had done on the Sri Lankan legal system and womens rights in the Center for Womens Research (CENWOR) library in Colombo, I entered the office of Sriyani Perera, the in-country representative of UNIFEM. Through her I learned of Sarah Longwes approach to attain gender equality from the theoretical to the practical. To garner a thorough understanding of what I was learning from Sriyani, and as part of the SLMA curriculum, I also researched feminist approaches to development starting with Women in Development (WID) of the 1970s, Women and Development (WAD) of the 80s and Gender and Development (GAD) of the 90s. Over the course of two years (06-07) I met with organizational directors, project officers, researchers, feminists and trainers from local NGOs, INGOs, UN Organizations, research institutes and universities in Sri Lanka. My learning of feminist theories of development coincided with my personal interest in employing appropriate methodologies to practice the theoretical concepts I had learned. To do this I collaborated with Sriyani Perera, and over several months I worked closely with the SWM leadership on a plan for an organizational re-orientation to adopt a Rights-Based Approach (RBA) to gender equality and shifting away from the Needs-

Based Approach they employed. Typical of my proactive approach and under the guidance of my newfound mentor in Sriyani Perera, I designed a project proposal that simultaneously raises awareness of womens rights nationwide through the Sarvodaya network while initiating the reorientation of SWM to utilize RBA. In August of 2006 SWM welcomed a new Director, Seela Ebert. She came to SWM with vast knowledge and experience in the field of womens rights from her years in the public sector. With her keen eye for detail and interest in changing the Womens Movement to utilize RBA, we set out together to substantially enhance the project proposal I had written. Currently the project proposal titled, Womens Rights are Human Rights: Raising Awareness of Womens Rights at the Grassroots Level is being reviewed for funding by the European Union in collaboration with the INGO, Hilfswerk Austria. I returned to Sri Lanka in July and August of 2007 to augment my inquiry using Longwes model to identify the obstacles to gender equality in the social, legal and political frameworks, as well as the various approaches to overcome the obstacles identified. After conducting thirteen interviews averaging forty minutes each, I noticed the recurrent theme of socio-cultural obstacles rooted in the Colonial European introduction of patriarchy, and how those influences greatly interfered in the political and legal frameworks where there are no outright obstacles to gender.

Literature Review In her 2001 publication, Unravelling Herstories: A Three Generational Study, Kamalini Wijayatilake examined the legal history of Sri Lanka prior to, and during the burdensome centuries as a colonized nation. She specifically observed the social

structure which existed prior to European arrival as recorded in numerous narratives, royal court documents and the literature of the pre-colonial era. Additionally she exemplified the conflicting gender views between the colonizer and the colonized, and she noted how industrialization had contributed to the formation of the social perception of women through the assigned role they were to play for generations: Indigenous laws which enshrine egalitarian principles, ubiquitous customary codes and precepts which are revealed through classical narratives are seen to reflect gender relations in Sri Lanka The concept of autonomy within a marriage and that the couple could part if unable to live together was established at the time. Property was considered appertaining to the individual, which allowed the disposal of it rationally at the time of marriage. A wife was considered a companion and not a possession by the husband The westerner finds it difficult to come to terms with the existing social relations and indigenous legal principles. Particularly the concept of matrimony which has not been linked to religion and thus devoid of religious sanctity, was considered a reflection of the moral laxity of the Sinhalese people. Once the Kandyan areas were brought under British rule, the colonizers were quick to outlaw polygamous marriages as well as polyandry, as were practiced at the time. The fact that a married couple could part at their will and pleasure was abhorrent to the white leaders, who came from a culture that held the bond of matrimony a dissoluble one. This dichotomy in perceived moral standards, led to the introduction of legal concepts based on Victorian principles during colonial rule. They served to erode the existing egalitarian principles enshrined in the traditional and customary laws. These infiltrations brought the indigenous laws in line with the colonizers legal system. Another change that took place was, that women were absorbed as low wage labour due to the influence of industrialization of the west. (Wijayatilake, 2001, p.43-44) Much like the numerous southern hemisphere colonies at the time, Sri Lanka experienced more than a simple economic transition2 during the Colonial Period; it was a complete overhaul of socio-cultural norms, traditions, laws and perceptions. In the case
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The word choice of transition refers to both an economic reformation and the literal transit of natural resources to the benefit of the colonizing nation.

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of Sri Lanka, the forced transfer was from an egalitarian lifestyle to one controlled and dominated by western concepts of a proper Victorian social formation. That social construct was patriarchal. In Kamla Bhasins 1993 publication on gender, What is Patriarchy, she defined patriarchy as, the rule of the father or the patriarch, and originally it was used to describe a specific type of male-dominated family the large household of the patriarch which included women, junior men, children, slaves and domestic servants all under the rule of this dominant male. Now it is used more generally to refer to male domination, to the power relationships by which men dominate women, and to characterize a system whereby women are kept subordinate in a number of ways (Bhasin, 1993, p.3). To introduce this complete overhaul of socio-cultural precepts from egalitarian to patriarchal required a precise and concerted effort. In the Post-Development Reader, is an essay tellingly entitled Colonization of the Mind by Ashis Nandy. His discourse centers on an invisible form of colonization. This form of colonization which paralleled the economic was more pervasive than the obvious control over labour and resources. It consisted of a complete realignment of indigenous social formations to conform to that of a western concept. Nandy wrote of what this second colonization contained: Modern colonialism won its great victories not so much through its military and technical prowess as through its ability to create secular hierarchy incompatible with the traditional order A world-view which believes in the absolute superiority of human over the nonhuman and the sub-human, the masculine over the feminine, the adult over the child, the historical over the ahistorical, and the modern or progressive over the traditional or the savage

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This colonialism colonizes minds in addition to bodies and it releases forces within the colonized societies to alter their cultural priorities once and for all A colonialism that survives the demise of empires. (Rahnema, 1997, p.168-170) The absolute superiority of one over another, of the masculine over the feminine was a completely foreign concept to the egalitarian lifestyle of those who lived in harmony. The introduction of a secular hierarchy incompatible with the traditional order came to the island in three successive waves of colonists. Beginning in 1505, the Portuguese took over the role of Muslim traders but were dispersed by the Dutch between 1640 and 1656, who in turn were defeated by the English in 1796 (The Virtual Library of Sri Lanka, accessed 5 March, 2008). Each successive ruler demanded evermore tribute from the country as competition for world domination was fierce amongst rival European nations. In conjunction with the extraction of resources and riches was the forced adaptation of consecutive legal systems to reformulate the Sri Lankan social construct according to the masters social conception. Wijayatilake wrote of the social values within the new legal codes introduced to do just that. Having come under the influence of three European powers as a result of being colonized for three centuries, the values (mostly based on patriarchal concepts) are derived from Roman Dutch law, English Common Law and Islamic Law (Wijayatilake, 2001, p.47). Thus the legal system had been the method in which patriarchy was largely introduced during colonial times. Kamla Bhasin wrote of the current legal frameworks of South Asian nations, all of which were subject to colonial conquest: The legal system in most countries is both patriarchal and bourgeois, i.e., it favors men and economically powerful classes. Laws pertaining to family, marriage and inheritance are very closely linked to the patriarchal control over property. In

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South Asia every legal system considers the man the head of the household, the natural guardian of children and the primary inheritor of property. Systems of jurisprudence, the judiciary, judges and lawyers are, for the most part, patriarchal in attitudes and their interpretation of the law (Bhasin, 1993, p.10) (Italics added). Upon review, the constitution and laws of Sri Lanka do not imply an acceptance of gender inequality, however the legacy continues. As seen in Bhasins synopsis, the introduction of patriarchy through successive waves of foreign domination is indeed a colonialism that survives the demise of empires (Rahnema, 1997, p.170). For Sri Lanka the peaceful end of colonial rule did not bring about the anticipated economic liberation nor end the global inequality between north and south. Colonization continues on in the form of globalization where the north dominates the south. Coinciding with globalization is the feminization of poverty on a dramatic scale as addressed by Gita Sen (2005), which greatly contributes to the persistence of gender inequality. In regards to the political representation of women in South Asia, in 1993 Bhasin wrote: Almost all political institutions in society, at all levels, are male dominated, from village councils to parliament. There are only a handful of women in political parties or organizations which decide the fate of our countries. When some women do assume important political positions (Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Indira Gandhi, Benazir Bhutto, Khaleda Zia) they do so, at least initially, because of their association with some strong male political personalities, and they function within the structures and principles laid down by men. In spite of being the only region in the world that has had so many women heads of state, the percentage of women in parliament has never been more than ten per cent, in South Asia. (Bhasin, 1993, p. 10) Since Bhasins publication Bangladesh has adopted a quota system as a means to increase the number of women represented in parliament. According Indrani Sugathadasa, General Secretary of the Ministry of Child Development and Womens

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Empowerment, her ministry along with several prominent feminists, local NGOs and INGOs in Sri Lanka repeatedly call for a similar quota system, but to no avail.

Research Methods In July and August of 2007, I conducted thirteen semi-structured interviews with national professionals, experts, academics and development practitioners holding positions in local and international NGOs, university faculties, and the Sri Lankan Ministry of Child Development and Womens Empowerment. Additionally one International Gender and Law Specialist returned an emailed questionnaire. The rationale for my inquiry was to acquire an overview of Sri Lankas progress towards gender equality, the obstacles faced and approaches to overcoming those obstacles utilizing Longwes Womens Empowerment Framework (Longwe, 1999). The processes that lead to the selection of interviewees were based on my experience while residing in Sri Lanka in 2006. Shortly after I had identified my interest in working with the Sarvodaya Womens Movement while in the Sri Lanka MA Program (SLMA) of the School of International Training (SIT), I sent an email to Rea Abada Chiongson, an international legal counsel on womens rights and UNIFEM Trainer on CEDAW. I inquired if she could recommend an organization in Sri Lanka that could be a potential resource for my inquiry. In her reply she recommended contacting the Women and Media Collective and the Centre for Womens Research. I began my research in CENWOR which has an extensive library on gender related issues. Over a period of months I researched the national constitution, existing laws, current legislation, social and cultural issues, government ministries, organizations

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and the womens rights movement. I also met with various organizational leaders to become familiar with the feminist movement of Sri Lanka. These experiences and interactions were formative in the process of selection for interviews in 2007. Theodor Seuss Geisel once wrote, UNLESS someone like you...cares a whole awful lot...nothing is going to get better...It's not (Seuss, 1971, p.43). It was precisely these people who act on such words of wisdom that I wished to focus my study. When I initially designed my inquiry into the obstacles and approaches to gender equality in Sri Lanka, I wanted to utilize a multiple layer approach. In an overview of the field I identified five categories of potential interviewees. First were the Project Coordinators and Officers who work directly with communities to design programs intended to empower women, bring about awareness of womens rights and promote positive social change. It was my intention to get a feet-on-the-ground perception to my inquiry. Second, I selected the NGO leadership which put forth the vision and act as the spokesperson of an organization committed to gender equality. These two groups consisted of eight of the fourteen selected. Five other interviewees were national and/or international experts in the field of womens rights, and academic researchers. Lastly, and beyond the original scope of my inquiry, I was granted a meeting with the General Secretary to the Minister of Child Development and Womens Empowerment. The project officers, coordinators and directors of local NGOs were selected on the basis of my experience and interactions with them while in the 2006 SLMA Program. However, Kumari Witharana, came from the American Solidarity Centre. As a Project Officer in this INGO she worked extensively on labor issues, to include the training and official representation of women in labor unions. From CENWOR, I interviewed

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Officer and Board Member, Leelangi Wanasundera. I also interviewed CENWOR Board Member Dr. Chandra Gunawardena who is a professor at Open University in Colombo, and researcher in the field of education. For the purpose of my inquiry categories, Dr. Chandra Gunawardena was interviewed as an Academic Researcher. From the Sarvodaya Womens Movement, I interviewed Director Seela Ebert and Project Coordinator, Preethi De Almeda. Seela Ebert came to SWM from the government sector with extensive experience and knowledge of the national and international movement for womens rights. Within SWM, I was also supported extensively by Inoka Ranathunga, Projects Coordinator, but she was not interviewed for the inquiry as she volunteered to stand-in for a practice interview and assisted me in the modification of questions and interview techniques to avoid leading questions and allow a free flow of information3. We both felt this was the most appropriate way to solicit information from a wide array of perceptions, backgrounds, experiences and position holders. From Womens Education and Research Center (WERC) I interviewed Founder and Director Dr. Selvy Thiruchandran, and Project Officer, Thillainathan Thirumakal. WERC is a small group of feminist researchers and activists to highlight the status of women in the country and to publish material, which could be used by women in their struggle for liberation. The broad objectives of WERC were to increase womens awareness, their resources and opportunities for effective participation in the economic, political and social life of the country (WERC website, accessed 20 July, 2008) While residing in Sri Lanka in 2006, I repeatedly came across their publications and fieldwork.

See Appendix B

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In short, I selected this organization for my inquiry as a result of their accomplishments and the notoriety of Dr. Selvy Thiruchandran. From the Women and Media Collective (W&M), I interviewed Founder and Director Sepali Kottegoda, and Project Officer, Jayanthi Kuru-Uthumpala. The Women and Media Collective aims to bring about change based on feminist principles for a society free from violence and militarization, which would pave the way for a balanced representation of women in decision-making and governance, and advocate for nondiscriminatory laws and policies (W&M website, accessed 20 July, 2008). As indicated in their namesake, the Sri Lankan media is a primary target of their activism and they publish magazines in Sinhala, Tamil and English in addition to other programs. As is the case of WERC and members of CENWOR, the Director Sepali Kottegoda is renowned in the feminist movement. The third category of interviewees are highly regarded as experts in the field of womens rights, both national and international. The first of the three interviewees was Rea Abada Chiongson, an international legal counsel on womens rights and my UNIFEM Trainer on CEDAW in 2005. However, an interview was not possible as she resides in the Philippine Islands, so I emailed a modified questionnaire to which she replied4. The second international expert was Sriyani Perera, who was the in-country UNIFEM Representative which assisted me during the SLMA program in 2006, and is currently the ActionAid Womens Rights Coordinator for all of Asia. The third expert I interviewed was Prof. Kamala Liyanage of Peredeniya University in Kandy. Well known for her grassroots approach and ability to overcome gender barriers when speaking about

See Appendix C

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womens rights, she has become a key figure in the movement towards gender equality in the nation. The fourth category of interviewees was the academic researchers. Dr. Chandra Gunawardena I mentioned above. Ph.D. Candidate Vivimarie Vanderpooten is also a faculty at Open University in Colombo. I first met Vivimarie Vanderpooten at the CENWOR-hosted Tenth National Convention on Womens Studies in April of 2006 where she presented the findings of her studies related to gender and academics. The final category, an official from the Ministry of Child Development and Womens Empowerment, was not originally planned for and the inquiry adapted to accommodate the terrific opportunity afforded me. It was Director of SWM, Seela Ebert who directly called Indrani Sugathadasa and asked her to allot me an hour long interview. The General Secretary is the highest ranking official within the ministry who is not a political appointee. With her decades of service, the interview was informative and offered terrific insight into the Ministry itself. The interviewee categories are as follows: Experts in Womens Rights 3 Academic Researchers 2 NGO Directors 3 Project Officers / Coordinators 5 Government Officer 1

The organizational membership breakdown is as follows: Local NGOs and Institutes 7 Sri Lankan Universities 3 Sri Lankan Government 1 International NGOs 2 UN Organizations 1

The interviewees represented the following international and local organizations and institutions:

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ActionAid International American Solidarity Centre Centre for Womens Research (CENWOR) Ministry of Child Development and Womens Empowerment Open University in Colombo Peredeniya University in Kandy Sarvodaya Womens Movement Women and Media Collective Womens Education and Research Center (WERC) UNIFEM One to two weeks prior to the interviews I sent each individual an email

explaining my inquiry and requesting an interview 5. The interviews consisted of open ended questions designed not to influence or direct the interviewee. The field of womens rights spans a vast array of issues and each interviewee participated in one or more aspects of particular interest, thus I structured the interviews in such a way as to minimize my influence and previous knowledge. In this manner they were free to speak in areas of interest and experience to them 6. Fortunately all were highly educated and spoke fluent English so there was no need for an interpreter. Once the data was collected and analyzed, I identified three possible ways to present the findings7. Through a process of elimination, I selected the third option as the most viable. With the data collected I could identify socio-cultural obstacles when raising awareness of womens rights in Sri Lanka and see how those influences interfered in the political and legal frameworks. I viewed the data collected to answer the following questions:

5 6

See Appendix D See Appendix B 7 See Appendix E

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1. What is your organizational definition of gender equality? 2. What social or cultural obstacles do you face in raising awareness of womens rights? a. What are the cultural influences that interfere in the political framework? b. What are the cultural influences that interfere in the legal framework 3. How does your organization address those obstacles? When assembling the available data, I removed the first question due to the mere volume of data to present with the following and more pertinent questions. The limitations to my research methodology are as follows. Firstly, within the identified categories for the inquiry there exists an uneven representation. Furthermore, no program or project beneficiaries were interviewed to assess the impact of the Sri Lankan movement towards gender equality. Additionally no national legal counsel, NGO representative or officials from outside the feminist movement were interviewed thereby making this inquiry subjective. In the inquiry itself I interviewed only women, all of whom were college educated and most considered themselves as belonging to the feminist movement. Most of these interviewees were also members of the upper socioeconomic classes. Lastly, the research was centered in Colombo with only one interview conducted outside the urban area. With that said, the results of this inquiry are definitely not representative of the NGO sector as a whole, nor representative of the Sri Lankan feminist movement as the interviewees represent a small percentage of that population. To maintain authenticity in the presentation of the interviews the script has remained unaltered to include sudden shifts in the train-of-thought as they were speaking. Each has been digitally recorded and transcribed with permission. The interviews lasted an average of forty minutes each and were conducted in their offices or at pre-arranged locations with the interviewees. As far as I could sense, being a male interviewing

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professional women in this field was not an obstacle and all interviews were conducted openly and without complications.

Presentation of Data To achieve gender equality, the Longwes Womens Empowerment Framework (Longwe, 1999) identifies three distinct frameworks: the Socio-cultural Framework, the Legal Framework, and the Political Framework. To present the data, I have aligned the interviews along the established divisions and within each division are several categories. The findings of the inquiry suggested a number of socio-cultural obstacles for women to overcome in order to attain gender equality, but there were few direct legal and no political obstacles to gender equality. The findings also indicated many socio-cultural influences acted to severely hamper gender equality in the Legal and Political Frameworks. Along with the obstacles were a variety of general and organic approaches to many of the barriers presented. With an interest in viable solutions and constructive criticism, I have included the interviewees approaches to identified obstacles, as well as their critiques of approaches and at times, a critique of the organizations and the feminist movement itself.

The Socio-Cultural Framework. Patriarchy CEDAW Article 5.A depicts the state responsibility, To modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of the

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inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women (UN CEDAW, 1979). On a positive note for the island nation, comparing Sri Lanka to other South Asian Nations, Seela Ebert, Director of SWM stated, In Pakistan, India and Bangladesh what they do is get rid of the female fetus and they kill millions, so the women in those countries have become machines to produce men. So I am very happy that I am a woman born in Sri Lanka where I have equal opportunities to work with men. The South Asian context is very important because we have the same religions, same traditions. Unfortunately those actions of female infanticide stem from the same root sociocultural perceptions which lie at the heart of the barrier to gender equality in Sri Lanka. As other South Asian nations, Sri Lanka is a predominately patriarchal society. According to Rea Abada Chiongson, a Specialist on Gender and Law in Asia, who answered my questionnaire by email, Sharing housework and child rearing is predominantly seen still as womens work. To this she added, The family is still seen as a private sphere and one should not hang dirty linens in public. According to Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala, a Program Officer for the Women and Media Collective, One of the problems in South Asia, and socio-cultural, would be men and women having the patriarchal mindset. Women especially have internalized it just because of the upbringing; the socialization process. Leelangi Wanasundera, a CENWOR Board Member agrees in this matter. She believed one of the deepest obstacles to redressing the inequality inherent within patriarchy is that women themselves have internalized these behavior patterns; that they themselves dont want to change.

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Vivimarie Vanderpooten, an Instructor and Academic Researcher at Open University in Colombo believed the influences on the socio-cultural perception of women are probably a mixture I think a lot of attitudes are connected to Victorian morality which we got from the British, and which the British have now left behind, but we still hold onto their legacy Today, with all these women working, women presidents, whatever, I still think that basically women are seen as people whose center is in the home. So even if they go out to work they are still kind of mainstay of the home, supposed to keep it together; chief nurturer of children, that kind of thing. As a result of this social perception she warns, any womens rights program might be seen as threatening that role women play. Might come up against resistance. In the interview with Preethi De Almeda, SWM Project Coordinator, she gave a personal example of how she consciously internalized the social perception of a womans role in the home and its effect her. We feel that our main duty is at home because of children and because of parents. I gave up my job and gave up my career and I am just coming here (to SWM) to keep myself occupied also. We have to look after our parents, my parents are old and my children, I am afraid my children will go astray, that kind of thing. My husband, he looks after his career. Even if he is at home he will not be able to cater to do the things that I do, so we feel it is better for him to develop his career and for me to sacrifice a little bit and stay at home. To this I asked, Does he have to sacrifice anything? Or just you? Preethis response was, He does, but not so much.

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Religion There is little doubt that the prevalent religions of Sri Lanka embrace a patriarchal attitude. Although it encompasses a small percentage of the population, the most notable is the Islamic religion. Seela Ebert has worked closely with the Muslim Womens Association Action Forum for many years: Muslims have many cultural barriers because they can not even go out of the house. The young girls can not even play outside. The young girls can not go alone anywhere, they have to be chaperoned. So their education levels are also low, but now the Muslims are catching up with that, because compared with the other sectors, even the literacy levels are low, but the plantation sector is lower than the Muslim community. Plantation sector is about 58%. What happens in the plantation sector is that they have their jobs. The moment they are thirteen to fourteen years, they go to the estate sector and work (Another) thing the minimum age of marriage for the Sinhalese and Tamil in the Gender Law is sixteen years, but for the Muslim children, after puberty. So the child can get married at twelve or thirteen or fourteen, so she never comes into the labor force. Those are the (Islamic) cultural practices in the country. As a means to approach the Islamic gender disparity, Seela Ebert mentioned the work of the Muslim Womens Association Action Forum: There are a few female Muslim leaders who have addressed this issue now. And they are trying to put it in a subtle way. What they do is include gender in their programs, but it is not a direct gender program. They have their mosque leader, there is a training place. I know, I have been working with the Muslim Womens Association Action Forum. They were very critical at the start. They said ok, we will give you a course, they wanted English, but we will identify the subjects. So in addition to the mosque subjects, in a subtle way, introduced gender. So now there is a big change. And then they have a special division system called the quasi, those quasi are all male except one or two women. There are one or two women quasi, so it was a big step forward because they were able to change these people. So now their attitudes are slowly changing.

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In regards to gender prohibitions in Buddhism and Hinduism, Seela Ebert stated, There is some high post within Sri Lankan Buddhism and he has to be voted in. There are some regional secretaries of that division in the Kandy district who are eligible to vote, but if they are female they can not vote. They are restricted from voting, so that is a big blow because they can not come in. There are a few temples, big temples where the women can not vote, not even contest to that post. Those are cultural traditions that have been coming down for so many years. Even the Hindus they have the same restrictions.

Media The media is another socio-cultural influence to contend with. Frequently, those within the media industry prefer to avoid responsibility for negative social influences and deflect the debate to, Does media influence society, or merely reflect it? For the purpose of this inquiry, media is considered a major influence in Sri Lankan society due to its prevalence and trend setting abilities. The interviewees centered on three aspects of media: womens representation, advertising and pornography. Sriyani Perera, the ActionAid International Womens Rights Coordinator for Asia, and formerly the in-country representative of UNIFEM stated clearly how women are represented in the media: There is lots and lots of attitudinal problems in this country. The simple way that a woman is looked at is a huge question. For example, a woman as an object. Look at the media look at the television programs. Even today we were discussing that at the NCW. I just came out of a meeting there, the National Committee on Women. I am a member there. We were talking about the advertisements that we see on TV which commodify the women, then use all sorts of objects to equalize with the body of the women, the way that they walk, the way that they speak, so this whole idea about looking at women as sex objects.

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Indrani Sugathadasa, General Secretary of the Ministry of Child Development and Womens Empowerment stated her opinion on the negative representation of women in the media and its effect on society: I think that this open economy, open trade policy (is a contributing factor) because after the trade liberalization we had an open economy. I am not saying open economy is bad. There are very good plus points but also there are minus points. Because there, you know these pornography and internet and these things, its readily available and magazines and booklets. You know, those days we hadnt even heard of those things and people did not know of those things. Then, you know, men their values change. Virtues. In contrast Sriyani argued this was not a Western introduction. In Sri Lanka we have the folk stories and dramas. You will see in most the Sri Lankan drama women are ridiculed for the way that they walk We have quite a number of stories like that so you dont know if this attitudinal business came from the West to use women as objects in media. Even if it comes from the West you should be aware that you are from this country. That can not be taken as an excuse. To counter mass medias negative influence, Sepali Kottegoda of the Women and Media Collective, explained her organizations history as looking at the representation of women in the media Advocacy to the media remains part of our focus, so we do have these three magazines we publish in English, Sinhala and Tamil. Project Officer of W&M, Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala explained the approach of their publications: We changed the entire look of it and we are trying to target the under-forty professional women who actually say, We are not feminists. Preaching to the converted doesnt work. I mean it is a small circle. The magazine we had was academic writing. Interesting articles of course, but it used to be bought or read by a certain number of people, maybe university students or those within the same NGO circle, the womens circle, womens organizations. We changed the

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whole outlook of that to reach more people, a wider target audience. So it is subtly in there but it is not screaming out in your face kind of thing Radio also. Radio dramas which have been rather successful because we got listeners who have written in and responded saying it was interesting. The radio drama is in Sinhalese. What we heard was in reply to a question at the end of the program and people write in, so there were quite a few people who did write-ins. So that meant that people were actually listening, and there would be a small prize, maybe a hundred rupees or two hundred rupees for whoever won. That also meant that they were listening because we kept getting lots of post cards from people. Calls also did come in saying, we found it interesting but more than that I do not know. I think it was good because the radio reaches out to a lot because most people in the rural, especially in the North and East, I mean people with low income levels would have a radio if not a television, and that was a key thing. And airing on a channel that broadcasts around the country; a National Broadcasting Service Corporation. The Sinhala Radio Drama, a Tamil one I am not sure, but I know we had a Sinhalese one. And that had about eight episodes that had gone on for a year at least, maybe three times, but it was there for a long time. I reviewed of the articles in the Women and Media Collective English publication, Options, and found them quite thought provoking. For me, the most memorable approach to criticizing media was not an article but an advertisement. In the thirty-sixth publication of Options in July, 2006, there is a one page advert picturing a handsome, muscular young man ironing a shirt. Beside it is the caption, iron man. every womans dream. Below in bold, capitalized letters is another caption, MEN CAN EVOLVE, CAN THE MEDIA? (Options, 2006, p.18)

The Public Forum and Feminist Representations Even amongst an educated populace there is a general lack of knowledge regarding the evolution of, and driving theories behind feminism. In particular, the ideological transitions of the feminist movement along with competing and contemporary

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feminist theories over the past few decades have greatly contributed to the misconception of the term used to reflect the movement as a whole. Feminism is often associated with the more radical elements of the movement than with the moderates. Furthermore, the relationship between achieving gender equality and the feminist movement itself has contributed to the assumption that one is indicative of the other. To be perfectly clear, the feminist movement strives for gender equality, but to subscribe to the principle of gender equality does not automatically enlist one into the feminist movement. However, the resistance faced by those who promote gender equality has been caused by the misrepresentation and radical perception of the movement in Sri Lanka. For local and international organizations directly or indirectly working towards gender equality in their research and development projects, the social perception of the term feminist can often have negative connotations. Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala stated it frankly, For lots of people that is a bad word, feminism is an awful word. People would say, No, no I am not a feminist. Prof. Kamala Liyanage of Peredeniya University concurred: People look at me in a negative way. Shes a Feminist, she is working on womens rights. So very negative, they look at us through various glasses the people think that feminism means having homosexuality so therefore they are very negative towards these kinds of concepts because at schools they have not learned, from media they have not learned. Once somebody speaks some really negative things, they believe. Then they become enemies of that movement. So when I spoke to my students recently, saying that a gender course is not a nasty thing; and it teaches gender equality and feminism is different, the students begin to really contribute. Some of these negative social perceptions came from feminists themselves. Prof. Kamala Liyanage provided examples of this.

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In the Sri Lankan culture usually we believe some things. Without having a legal marriage, some people think that having a sexual relationship is a bad thing. That is our culture But in this country there are some very famous so-called feminists, unfortunately or fortunately, they have divorced and after that they have one or two children, but without having a legal marriage, so those things some feminists have justified and they have spoken in front of these workshops, saying this is feminism; this is equality; this is the empowerment we want to achieve. In a workshop setting, a social obstacle to attain gender equality can be the behavior or approach of trainers themselves. Prof. Kamala Liyanage noted a couple examples: Some women are really aggressive. Recently I went to a workshop conducted by a Colombo woman, she is not an academic but she calls herself a Trainer. She started angrily, Look, a woman can not take a bus, a woman can not go to Colombo, and a woman can not go to Kandy and do shopping at night. A woman cant go to Jaffna Just targeting men is not a good thing when we work on gender. Some male participants got up and left the place. I knew that the Trainer does not raise the issues in a very rational manner I remember a radical feminist, a woman who lived according to radical feminism. She said men are evil and we are going to sleep with our enemies, and all these things. It was an academic forum, but many of the senior teachers did not like that way. She also relayed misrepresentations of feminism by trainers who proclaimed, feminism is womens independence and to have sex with anybody, and to have arrack or beer or whatever, to smoke, and to have unlimited freedom, and those things were taught by them as womens empowerment. In the interview she underlined the importance of selecting positive role models as trainers and to improve the training they receive. She emphasized the success of a workshop depends on the Trainers. If the Trainer is speaking in a really rational way and to the heart of the people We have to

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be patient, sometimes we have to show our commitment, and it is kind of a game, no? So we have to really listen to them and gradually we have to change them. We have to go to their positions.

The Feminist Movement and Non-Government Organizations Local NGOs attempting to raise awareness of womens rights as a means to gender equality, can themselves be viewed negatively in society. In a questionnaire, Rea Abada Chiongson specified two organizational obstacles. In many cases organizations working on womens human rights are type-casted as those wanting to change culture but are not supported by a wider group of women (the latter group being happy with the present social and cultural practices). In some societies womens groups are not seen as credible spoke persons of culture. Much can be garnered in view of constructive criticism. In the Sri Lankan context I heard pointed critiques of the Colombo-centeredness of governmental and nongovernmental organizations coming from within the feminist movement. Prof. Kamala Liyanage also commented, There is a National Womens Committee, a President and ten or eleven women, and all women since 1978 or 1979, all women are from Colombo. Colombo administrative-created, urban women are in the National Womens Committee. They do not know about village womens problems, speak to all these big women, they dont know about rural women. Oh Sri Lankan Womens Movement is very strong, everything we have achieved! I know that when I go to some of the Colombo womens NGO meetings I have become a little infamous. When I raise these questions they do not like to listen to me. They say that We have a very strong feminist movement, and I always question, Where is the Sri Lankan feminist movement? It is in Colombo?

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Vivimarie Vanderpooten of Open University also voiced her observation: Colombo elites, the people who make up that group the chief people who decide, they all come from very elite, westernized, English-speaking kind of people. That is fine, but I think more voices are needed from out of Colombo, out there. The voices of the people who are really suffering or are undergoing situations or in situations in which their rights are in question, or equality is not an option for them. They need to be given a voice that is what I am saying. A voice that will be heard; a channel that will be taken into consideration. In regards to some of the training techniques, or lack there of, another interviewee offered a constructive critique on the practices of unspecified organizations: So they will give accommodation and food in a very big hotel. It is again, wasting money. It is ok if the real thing happens. So ultimately after the two or three day seminar workshop they dont even use an evaluation form to evaluate their knowledge. They just say good bye and wash their hands and they go home. After that we have to make sure, at least amongst our group, and we have to share our experience, we have to really motivate others. But the Colombo-based NGOs, these big NGOs are not doing that at all. It is very typical I, myself, really question, are they trying to bring in genuine gender equality? Frankly and generally speaking. They dont have trained Trainers, they dont have toolkits. Once they go there to a workshop, they try to select one or two Trainers from here or there. They dont have a plan; they dont have an evaluation; they dont have an After the Workshop Plan. Yet another interviewee declared, They try to impose their programs. I have no statistics about that. But I think more research is needed to find out what peoples attitudes really are, because sometimes we kind of sit here in Colombo, elite, and we decide, Ok, people in the village dont like their women to be empowered. I think that needs more fieldwork, people should really go out there and find out for themselves what peoples attitudes really are. I am sure a lot of research has taken place, but I think research is more concentrated in some areas like say garment workers, Free Trade Zones, and on the estates more is needed. More grassroots level research, because only when you know what the attitudes are that you can design a program to change them or create a paradigm. Lastly, one interviewee critically noted a lack of unification amongst the NGOs devoted to gender equality. The Sri Lankan womens movement is not strong All

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these NGOs do not have a common agenda like India. Look at the 73 rd and 74th Amendment they are really organized. They have differences but at the same time they have a common agenda so they work with it. To follow up on this suggestion, I sent an email inquiry to the UNIFEM office of South Asia. On the 6th of February, 2008 Gita Gupta, the Senior Information Officer replied: Thank you for your query. For your kind information, India adopted a quota system at local governance level through the 73rd and 74th Amendment to the Constitution of India in 1992. This is considered a milestone in the process of establishing democratic decentralized administration through local bodies and taking administration to the doorsteps of the people to ensure economic and social justice. The 73rd Constitution Amendment Act is related to governance structures at the rural local level (Panchayats) and the 74th Constitution Amendment Act to urban local bodies (municipalities). National Research on Gender Leelangi Wanasundera explained how CENWOR conducts research as a successful means of approaching the existing and generally unquestioned inequalities. Research is used to bring awareness among the communities so that they become aware of the discrimination, the inequality that women have faced. So it is awareness raising, sensitization exercise that we have. And that is done through using various modes like face-to-face information dissemination, or group discussions, or using other types of media.

Non-Government Organizations of Sri Lanka

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In the inquiry, there is a strong critique of the male domination of nongovernment organizations, particularly those working in the plantation sector or towards conflict resolution. Sriyani Perera of Action Aid stated frankly: Look at the plantation NGOs in Sri Lanka. Almost all are male dominated. Very recently there was a problem where I saw about seventeen organizations from the plantation sector. All of the heads were male. All. You go and count in the plantation sector each and every organization is male dominated. I didnt even see the second-rung females. And then that sector has so many gender issues. What are they talking about? Look at the peace-building organizations in this country. I can give you a crosssection of NGOs in this country because I did a study. Look at the peace-building organizations in this country starting with CHA. Everywhere what do you see? Who is heading these organizations? Who is in the second in command? Totally male dominated. The entire peace discourse in this country is male dominated. Do you see a single female talking about peace in this country? They talk at a different level. But all these big speeches and statements were given by who? Whose thinking is prominent? These are the topical sectors. Seela Ebert added to this viewpoint on male administered organizations when she discussed Sarvodaya. Actually we did talk much about gender here because this organization was formed to do work for the women. So there was no problem with gender coming in here at the Womens Movement. But what I feel is that we have to create awareness among the other units of Sarvodaya where gender is not taken seriously. For her, the problem of overlooking gender issues was enhanced within an organization, especially if the head of an organization is a male and is headed by males at the administrative level. So they have not focused much on gender and much on women also. Because they take the women as, they take it for granted that women are alright, they are equal and they have all the equal rights.

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The Legal Framework Rea Abada Chiongson, the International Specialist on Gender and Law, highlighted three legal obstacles to Gender Equality. First was, Lack of understanding of the framework of substantive equality (as based on CEDAW standards) and hence, inappropriate interventions/action. As a result, differing interpretations are provided, many of which are detrimental to womens human rights. Secondly she pointed to the socio-cultural interferences, changing discriminatory cultural or customary practices. Despite the clear provision under CEDAW (Arts/ 2.f and 5), many implementers still cling to the belief that custom/culture must be protected at all costs. Lastly she emphasized the failure to see the importance of gender equality (it is provided less prominence compared to livelihood projects, peace and security issues, etc).

Equality before the Law Article 15 of UN CEDAW declares, States Parties shall accord to women equality with men before the law (UN CEDAW, 1979). In regards to Sri Lankan law, Sepali Kottegoda, Director of the Women and Media Collective explained: We have the policy of the government set out in the Womens Charter of Sri Lanka which was drafted and approved in 1993. The Womens Charter draws very much from CEDAW. We actually added a separate article on VAW The Womens Charter is not legally enforceable it is a policy document. We have also, since 1996, been following the Beijing Conference. We, the National Committee on Women, have drafted the National Plan of Action for Women 1996, revised in 2001, and now it is revised again and being finalized. Now that is again, not what I would call legally enforceable. The National Plan which ideally should be adopted by all the ministries and departments in their plans, when they formulate their plans. But the Womens Charter is something we would look to and draw on if we are arguing that something is goes contrary to the policy framework with regards to gender equality. Now the constitution states

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equality, there shall not be any discrimination in regards to gender, etc, etc. That is something that we would draw on to pressurize if needed. Just as important as having the laws in place is enforcement of the laws. In many of the interviews, the repeated theme of a deliberate lack of enforcement emerged as a major obstacle to womens rights as guaranteed by law. Indrani Sugathadasa of the Ministry of Child Development and Womens Empowerment concurred this was a major problem in Sri Lankan society: There are obstacles which prevent the enforcement of whatever the legal protection. The law is there. The constitution; we have ratified CEDAW; the Womens Charter, although it is not legal it is an important document; and the ILO Conventions are there. But the enforcement... there are a couple of obstacles. One is the social norms and attitudes. Social and cultural because being a patriarchal society, so people value those certain traditions and cultural things. The other barrier is that society does not, the judiciary and the police who are responsible to enforce certain laws are still totally male-dominated, and the other thing is they do not consider these things very important and they do not believe in achieving gender equality. They think, So what, a man can beat his own wife. So what, that is their problem, the following morning they will be alright. Those kinds of attitudes are there I think the system is not yet conducive to achieving gender equality in the legal system including the judiciary. Violence Against Women Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala spoke about how the bias of the police effected those who reported violence against women. Even if one goes to the police station; say that we educate them there is a Domestic Violence Act, so they go to the police station. They say, Go home, forget about it, are you nuts? You have to be with your husband. It is just a period; it is a bad phase, whatever. The cops are not going to be supportive, even the cops can be really nasty about it.

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Sriyani Perera discussed the attempts to rationalize violence against women in Sri Lankan society: VAW. It is so huge, the rape cases that we see everyday in the papers; the domestic violence rate. So some people try to justify, not justify but rationalize or whatever. They say, Ok, the general trend in Sri Lanka is sometimes very violent because the crime rate is so high There are so many reasons given. Whatever the reasons be, Can we excuse this kind of violence? is my question. We simply can not excuse this kind of violence. I see a lot of high rates of domestic violence, social violence, simply the way that women are treated. To this regard Vivimarie Vanderpooten expressed her personal belief: Legal procedures are very important; to see that it is done. Really effective punishment for people who violate any kind of law relating to gender equality, I think that is important, people being brought to justice for unequal wages for women, domestic abuse. Anyone seen as creating an obstacle towards gender equality should be dealt with because that is something that will deter people from doing it. I am not an advocate of capital punishment, just for the record. I think if people think they can hit a woman and get away, then the chances are they will do it over and over again. Sepali Kottegoda explained another obstacle to the enforcement of the Domestic Violence Act. We found even the Domestic Violence Legislation went through in 2005, and August 2007 still many magistrates dont know about it, many police officers dont know about it, the public is still not sufficiently aware of it. Most people probably dont even know that there is such legislation. And if someone does go before the law with their case regarding domestic violence she stated, they have to have the confidence and the courage to use the mechanisms that are in place and if there is no supporting environment, then we would be hesitant to go and file a case or report that this is happening to somebody. Even before you file a case you have to confide in somebody or go to the police station and make a statement. She further expressed the need for many more safe houses for victims of

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domestic violence and the need to make a social community environment which is supportive; which is there when people need to have that support. Preethi De Almeda of SWM put it in very practical terms when asked about the obstacles of most rural and poor urban women to access the legal framework: Women dont have access to legal advice, again because they are poor and cant approach the lawyers. For transportation even they dont have the finances, and they dont have support to address the local lawyers. They need to be supported to get legal advice The embarrassment; most of our women suffer in silence to avoid social stigma considering their family and children. The Domestic Violence Act Article 124 of the Beijing Platform for Action calls upon governments to: a. Condemn violence against women and refrain from invoking any custom, tradition or religious consideration to avoid their obligations with respect to its elimination as set out in the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women; b. Refrain from engaging in violence against women and exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and, in accordance with national legislation, punish acts of violence against women, whether those acts are perpetrated by the State or by private persons; c. Enact and/or reinforce penal, civil, labour and administrative sanctions in domestic legislation to punish and redress the wrongs done to women and girls who are subjected to any form of violence, whether in the home, the workplace, the community or society; d. Adopt and/or implement and periodically review and analyse legislation to ensure its effectiveness in eliminating violence against women, emphasizing the prevention of violence and the prosecution of offenders; take measures to ensure the protection of women subjected to violence, access to just and effective remedies, including compensation and indemnification and healing of victims, and rehabilitation of perpetrators; h. Provide women who are subjected to violence with access to the mechanisms of justice and, as provided for by national legislation, to just and effective remedies for the harm they have suffered and inform women of their rights in seeking redress through such mechanisms (UN CEDAW, 1979).

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Several interviewees expressed how a predominately patriarchal mindset was the chief obstacle to passing legislation for the legal protection of women from violence. Dr. Selvy Thiruchandran explained: We are pushing for the Domestic Violence Act. But not to our terms, it is quite diluted. But at least we have a growing perspective now that the woman can take action against a violent husband Socially and culturally there are a lot of taboos for women. Family is an institution that people want to keep it at all levels without any negotiation of values. For example, the Domestic Violence Bill there was a lot of resentment expressed that we were destroying the family. Sepali Kottegoda elaborated at great length on how the Domestic Violence Act has been misconstrued. In the interview she relayed the debate surrounding the Domestic Violence Bill as just the tip of an iceberg in which a myriad of issues, concerns, conflicts and justifications surfaced: I think Sri Lanka is a very strong patriarchal society. So I think there is a lot of concern and anxiety when we talk about the rights of women for example within the home or not to have to suffer domestic violence; when we raise the issue of inequality, when we raise the issue of gender equality. I make my wife a cup of tea. So? Or, She makes me a cup of tea when I come home, what is wrong with that? Well very recently, last week a very senior person actually, and it was a woman who said that, The Domestic Violence Act is destroying the cultural fabric of Sri Lanka because we are now questioning the wife who makes a cup of tea for the husband. (We have) to get that across (that) the prevention legislation is there because the state recognizes a very serious problem in Sri Lanka. To get that message across is very difficult; to say there is discrimination against women. Because quite often Sri Lanka is presented as, We have free education; free health; there is no discrimination of children going to school, boys and girls go to school. So what is the problem? And then they say, Not like India. India is different. In India they have widow burning. We dont have any of these terrible things. Of course we dont, but Violence Against Women in general is a problem in Sri Lanka. We have very serious incidents of VAW in society in general. We also ask, Why there are less than 5% women in the highest decision making body in the parliament in this country with all our free education, etc? You have to ask questions like that. We ask, Why womens unemployment is twice that of

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men? We ask, Why women in the labor force are concentrated in the lower echelons with less skilled, unskilled low wages? So we have to think there is something happening here which belies the fact that we are supposed to have everything equal. When you raise those kind of issues there can be and we have faced, reaction against what we say from many quarters. And then you come into the issue of, Gender and feminism are Western concepts. We confront that quite often, but that is ok. We pull out of our own history of South Asia to show this is not a Western concept, this is something that comes out of here as well. That debate on the Domestic Violence Bill captured many of the concerns within the mainstream political actors. For example they said These are not things; in Sri Lanka the family is paramount. And, We do not go talk about our personal matters in public. We have a traditional saying that, We only beat two things, and that is the drama and your wife. That is acceptable; it is part of our culture. This bill has been brought by feminists. (In) 2005, January is when the bill was first presented to parliament. Actually yes, a lot of opposition came out amongst the political parties and from all political parties. What happened then we had a meeting with members of parliament who had a problem with the bill. We told them through the Ministry of Womens Affairs, Please come and talk to us and some of them did. We had this discussion and we had two men on our side as well. Both were medical doctors, one was a pediatrician and one was a gynecologist who talked about violence in the home. So that probably captures some of the serious barriers that are very much linked to perceptions of culture. It is very difficult for mainstream politicians to step out of trying to maintain the status quo. They feel (they have to) give too much prominence to recognizing that we have to talk about womens rights if you recognize there is discrimination. To talk about womens rights on a public platform they have to recognize there is discrimination against women in Sri Lanka. So I think many politicians and some senior politicians do find it problematic to do that; to give that public recognition that there is discrimination against women. And that is something that we do frequently. If we look around, it depends on how strong the advocacy is to challenge that because it is not something that is seen only in Sri Lanka, you will find it in many countries, this kind of reaction against people. The reaction comes against so-called Radical women or Radicals who are trying to destroy the family. And then they will also tell us, What is the problem in Sri Lanka? How can it be? Because we had the first Prime Minister and our President was a woman, and

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therefore there isnt. Our answer is Yes, it very good that we had the first Prime Minister, it was really great that we had a president that was a woman, but that doesnt solve the problem. The political debate surrounding the Domestic Violence Act seemed bring patriarchal views and values to the surface to such a degree that the status quo made certain that those womens organizations and feminists behind the bill knew the male opinion of a womans place in Sri Lankan society.

Ownership of Land Article 16.1.h of CEDAW specifically states: The same rights for both spouses in respect of the ownership, acquisition, management, administration, enjoyment and disposition of property, whether free of charge or for a valuable consideration (UN CEDAW, 1979). Not only do women face obstacles in relation to accessing the law, but also in asserting their legal rights to property and inheritance. Prof. Kamala Liyanage exemplified how socio-cultural practices interfere. Sinhalese women have legal rights for family property. If we have five children in the family, my mom gets half of the property of my father, and the other half is divided equally amongst the five children. But in practice, this never happens. We get married and we leave the village. So our parents never give to us, and we are also scared to raise any questions about that. All the family property, the family house, family vehicles, those things go to the males of the family. Leelangi Wanasundera of CENWOR discussed the issue of property rights in reallocating land to survivors of the tsunami:

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When the land was given, it was given to the male head of household, and it happened especially in the East. The women had the right to the land, they were the owners. But when the new house, the new plot of land was given, it was given to the man even though it was in her name before. That has happened in the East as well as in the South. So that was a glaring act of discrimination, the officials say, No it has to go to the males. One thing was in the interpretation of the law, also their attitudes because they think it is the man who should have the house or the land. Sriyani Perera explained how this was actually a form of Structural Violence Against Women: Lets give a Rights-Based perspective When I say structural violence, that is the structural discrimination. That is the right to food, right to information, right to education, right to health. These are truly structural violations. Why are things viewed structurally? You see when you give food to people in the camp and you particularly give it to the male head of the family. What is happening is you are structurally cornering the woman. Its being structurally done because there is a conscious decision that was taken to cater to the male head it comes from the system. Access to Legal Documents Prof. Kamala Liyanage brought up another critique about access to the legal framework and offered a viable solution. I, myself, find we have legal documents, but most of these things are in English, which is also difficult to read except for the academic. Sometimes there is no Sinhala translation for concepts. Those kind of translations are always available in Colombo libraries. We dont have enough books, even in simple Sinhala ... Many students say we have resources here (in the university), but when it comes to villages people do not know. An additional factor that has made the legal system more complicated is the legal precedence of ethnic/religious rights above national law. Dr. Selvy Thiruchandran, the Director of Womens Education and Research Center in Colombo noted, There are a lot

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of religious constraints on women. Those are some of the sensitive issues we have to work with breaking those taboos because people are really conscious of their identity in Sri Lanka. The law is always the problem in many countries like India where there are multi-ethnic groups and the ethnic group rights supersede national law. Prof. Kamala Liyanages suggestion was to make the legal system more accessible by publishing legal documents and information on womens rights and gender equality in very simple Q&A form, maybe a hundred pages for rural men and women in the local language. Especially in local language, very simple ones, not really academic type of writing.

Access to Education Article 10 of CEDAW declares, States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in order to ensure to them equal rights with men in the field of education and in particular to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women (UN CEDAW, 1979). Seela Ebert provided some comparable statistics with other South Asian nations. The literacy rate of women in Pakistan is less than 20%, in India around 40%, and Bangladesh is less than 40%, around 35 %. In Sri Lanka it is about 94%. This is a commendable achievement for Sri Lanka despite the decades of conflict in the North and East. Dr. Chandra Gunawardena, a highly regarded faculty of Open University and Board Member of CENWOR expressed her concern with the preoccupation of achieving statistical indicators in education. Gender equality. I dont consider it just equal access

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to any opportunity. If you think of education, I dont consider just getting more girls enrolled in education can achieve equality. We have to give them equal quality education that boys have. So that is why we say it is not only getting the certificate. She relayed an example of how girls were dissuaded from classes which males are expected to excel and girls seen as weak, such as mathematics, then pressured into coursework reinforcing the existing gender roles, such as home economics. Few have disagreed that schooling is a powerful force in forming socio-cultural perceptions. For Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala, the educational system was a viable solution to curb social acceptance of inequality: They are not taught about gender in schools. I think that is a huge flaw because that is where it should technically be. If there was just one lesson on gender that is all you need. Try and teach some kind of sense that gender isnt man and women. That we are all made into, not born with these inherent qualities. If kids are taught to be a boy you have to be able to play a role, and it is not just about the person you are If it starts in schools, there is some hope. Boys, especially in schools And kids spend more time in schools than with their parents. So the school is a huge learning experience. Prof. Kamala Liyanage of Peredeniya University in Kandy agreed that to address inequality in society is to address the education system: Change school curriculum. Because in Sri Lankan textbooks, this receives minor attention, recently I conducted a study on gender equality and human rights from grade one to eleven to analyze all curricula. Womens rights and human rights are given very minor attention. It has not been given much attention, so that is one other thing we can do is lobby the government to change the curriculum. At the same time we have the National Institute of Education, they are the ones who prepare all this curriculum, and that group is a very old and very traditional, retired old principles. They are not at all interested in these new concepts. So I think we have to change this kind of people also otherwise we can not increase the awareness of even students.

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She further suggested a truly innovative idea with the establishment of human rights and womens rights clubs in the high schools as a means to reinforce the awareness of their rights. Dr. Chandra Gunawardena explained about a Teacher Education program she is involved with: We have a project where we incorporate gender into the Teacher Education curriculum because we think that education is very critical to change the status quo. That can not be done by just adding the course into the curriculum, just adding one more course, because then it has to become an optional course; nobody needs to take serious note of it. So we are saying, Mainstream. Gender mainstreaming is really the strategy. Put it into the Teacher Education curriculum so that both men and women understand why gender equality is important, and then hopefully it can be taken down to the school level. Access to and Participation in Higher Education Another major social-cultural influence is higher education, which is simultaneously influenced by the society it serves. Dr. Chandra Gunawardena discussed women and their access to higher education, In Sri Lanka there is not a problem about equality in education as far as access is concerned. Women do very well in education. Even at the university level we find, except for a few courses like engineering, women are the majority in most subject areas. So the problem is not with access. In regards to the years spent in higher education, few will disagree that the university experience is a time for personal development and growth. For the female students of the university, Dr. Chandra Gunawardena spoke about socio-cultural factors inhibiting their personal development which sets a negative pattern for womens future social and political involvement: So part of it, I think it is fair to attribute to their level of participation in education. They come, they listen to the lecturer, they write down the notes, they work really

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hard and they pass exams. But there isnt much of a visible change in their personality development Girls, they are very passive. They have this goal planted in their mind, how to do very well in examinations. That is the main purpose of getting education, not to have a full student life. So they wont participate in other extra-curricular activities, they dont participate in school politics. Women do very little participation in politics because they think, It is not for us, it is too rough. So we dont want to get involved. Prof. Kamala Liyanage expressed how the social-cultural obstacles interfered with higher education on another level and within the university faculty through an example of academic writing. If somebody has done some academic writings on gender studies, it is not given the equivalent value. Ah, it is something on gender; this is not a piece of academic writing. Despite the attitudinal obstacles regarding gender, she and a select group of colleagues are attempting to introduce a Gender Studies major. We thought in every department we should have at least one course. For the last two or three years it was very popular in every department. We have seventeen departments; in ten or nine departments we introduced this new course. For example, I introduced two courses; Gender and Power, and Gender and Politics. In Economics, Gender and Economics, and Gender and Development; in Education, Gender and Education; and in History, Gender and History. Additionally she mentioned the Certificate Courses on Human Rights offered at Peredeniya University for professionals, targeting not only students but also police officers, army officers, mid-wives and anybody who passed the requirement of three midlevel subjects. Another perception on the introduction of Womens Empowerment courses at Open University was relayed in a story from Dr. Chandra Gunawardena. Yesterday I was at a university meeting and the Vice Chancellor came in and said, Why dont you

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start some programs on the Empowerment of Women? Straight away a senior academic said, No, no. For our country, if you say empowerment of women it wont be perceived well. People will think that women will somehow or other, suppress them. So empowerment is taken in that sense, so you understand the culture. When talking about her own experiences in the university, Kamala sadly acknowledged how gender inequality effects her directly: At the university I am a full professor, there are assistant professors in my department, but when considering my age, they are two or three years older, so always they consider me as a mid-career woman. I am not a senior professor because of my gender. I am not treated equal. I am not selected or appointed or nominated for big posts. If I apply for a vice-chair post or any other big executive post, I will never be given the job. It is everywhere, private or public sphere. And especially at decision making levels, otherwise how can we change or how can we bring all these equality policies and decisions to bring equality? Employment In terms of women and employment, Article 11.1 of CEDAW declares, State Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of employment in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, the same rights (UN CEDAW, 1979). Regarding post-graduation employment of women, Dr. Chandra Gunawardena states, Outcome is the most difficult thing because even after the same level of education women have to wait longer for employment. And when they get employment they have to wait longer for promotions. At CENWOR we are doing a study on decision making. There we find that there they dont seem to be going up to the top as fast as the men do. It is sort of a slow process.

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Maternity Leave Article 11.2.B declares the states duty to introduce maternity leave with pay or with comparable social benefits without loss of former employment, seniority or social allowances (UN CEDAW, 1979). Many interviews shed light on this subject, primarily to highlight that what was intended to be a measure to accommodate women and childbirth had unintended consequences. In relation to the state laws surrounding maternity leave, Dr. Chandra Gunawardena discussed post-graduation employment in both the public and private sectors: So far as recruitment is concerned (in the Public Sector) no problem, but Private Sector, definitely. They try as much as possible to employ very few women. Why is that? Because they have to be given all these consolations, maternity benefits. Now the law is you can get eighty-four days of maternity leave, another eighty-four days of half pay, and another eighty-four days of no pay leave. So they think it is a waste, Why do we have someone on role who wont come work for us for about ten months? And also the fact that in the public sector you have stipulate times of signing in and signing out. Private sector you can be asked to work till night or long hours that women would not like. So they know these problems right off and therefore they resist... To this Seela Ebert added, We will have to make the men realize they are also responsible even for the maternity leave; that it is their responsibility to raise the child. But they just put the blame, put all the responsibilities on the women.

Unions For most Sri Lankan women however, a university level of education is out of the realm of possibilities. Kumari Witharana, a Project Officer at the American Solidarity

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Centre spoke to me about her work with blue collar women in labor unions where sociocultural perceptions of a womans gender role is often internalized and difficult to break: We formed a Womens Trade Union Forum in 1998. And their capacity was beefed up through various activities: litigation, decision making, communication, gender, VAW, and various areas. And now after a few years some of these women came up to executive positions where the decision was taken within the trade unions We work with both parties in a sense, male and female. But with the trade union male members, it is very difficult to convince gender equality. Once we established this forum, the trade unions were upset that we were trying to establish a separate womens trade union, and still they were represented by the trade union. And we were very careful and we explain, No, we are trying to build their leadership qualities and their capacities. Otherwise for the sake of the members, what these women members do is just follow the leader and they participate in their election campaigns, or any other campaign, they are just followers. They are not leaders. For the mens sake they are given a position and kept like a doll In Sri Lanka, always the cultural barriers they bring, and women should do like this; the secondary position they talk about. Sriyani Perera expressed the commonly held view of women. Socially another big issue is people think that women can not lead. Women are not given decision making positions in this country. Maybe they are grassroots leaders, but beyond that they are no longer in the leadership positions still I see invisible obstacles socially and culturally which prevent women from getting where they should.

Equal Pay Article 11.1.D of CEDAW stipulates women have, The right to equal remuneration, including benefits, and to equal treatment in respect of work of equal value, as well as equality of treatment in the evaluation of the quality of work (UN CEDAW, 1979).

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A few interviewees described the wage labor discrepancies in the informal sector and Seela Ebert expressed her view. We dont have any legal restrictions as such, but legally women should get the same pay. Equal pay for equal work. But they never get it, especially in the informal and casual work labor sector where they are paid separate salaries. Men get higher salaries and women get 2/3 of that salary as wages. Although the problem is there, legally in the labor ordinance everybody has to be paid an equal pay, but rarely this happens. Sriyani Perera described the legal loophole for the informal sector in detail: The trick for day labor is cut down the number of hours for men. In the plantation sector a woman works about 6 hours or 7 hours. The man works for 4 4 hours whereas a woman has to pluck tea leaves till the sun sets. But it is equal wages. See it is very subtle. See you give her equal wages and you can ask the woman to work more. More hours because the justification they feel is the men do the hard labor and then you have to release them early. They never realize this woman who has to work till sunset has to go home and work again. That point is not included in this whole business. You can get equal pay but you go home and do another amount of work equal to this eight hours. Those informal sector things are very subtle You can get away scot-free when the labor laws are applied. Labor evaluations are, to the dot, applied. To this Seela Ebert expressed a rationalization for the acceptance of inequality in remuneration for labor: If we go to insist that equal pay should be given to women, especially in the informal sector, and the labor sector, especially casual laborers, they will lose their jobs If we say equal, because men will not agree to reduce their salaries, so the womens salary has to be increased. So who employs the women or men will now go to the men because they think they can expect more work from the man, especially in the informal sector. It is the legal implementation of the law. If you keep insisting on that, women will be at a disadvantage. It will backlash on the women because the person who employs them will go to the man because for the same pay I can get the man to work.

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Sriyani Perera took an opposing perspective and brought the argument to another level altogether: Actually if you really want to solve that you should really have an equality perspective or a womens rights perspective. For me I think womens rights is very strong, very close to my heart because if you look at it from a rights perspective, the problem is many organizations want to take women say Ok we must have women because there is this. That is not the way we should approach it. We should approach it, Yes women have a right to work. Provide that right. You have asked her to get educated now you had better provide her with employment. That whole idea of right that the woman has the right to mobility, the right to safety and security; that is the way you should approach the whole thing. There is more motion about victimization; victimization and vulnerability. What about agency? What about empowerment? Are we not people with their own agency? Every single village woman has agency of her own. If women could absorb the shock of twenty-six years of conflict in this country, if they could absorb the shock of the tsunami, what vulnerability are we talking about? They absorb the same shocks that men do. Why are they calling women so vulnerable? It is the society that is wrong. Conflict doesnt treat the women differently. It kills both. Income Generation When asked about income generating activities and gender equality at the village level Dr. Chandra Gunawardena responded, women are quite powerful in some communities and some industries, like the coir industry. And even food processing to a certain extent. They are all small industry level. There are bigger enterprises run by women but that is not out of womens liberation, but they are coming from high social class backgrounds, they have a lot of capital to invest, they have the support of their husbands and families, and that has nothing to do with gender equality. They are the privileged.

Access to Technology

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CEDAW Article 14.2.D states a womans right To obtain all types of training and education, formal and non-formal, including that relating to functional literacy, as well as, inter alia, the benefit of all community and extension services, in order to increase their technical proficiency (UN CEDAW, 1979). Leelangi Wanasundera conveyed CENWOR methods to help rural women initiate and maintain income generating activities: We try to get women into different areas of activity not only into conventional areas; not doing the same things, but earning incomes in from diversified occupations, especially. We have tried this approach with CETRAC. They used to conduct technical courses and a couple of years ago other courses were not open to them. Anything mechanical they said, No women, only the men. So we had to talk to them and sponsor a group of women to do motor mechanics. The girls were very good at it and now they have changed their approach so the course is now open to men and women both. Lots of women do take up electrical wiring, even masonry or carpentry. Even in our projects we try to introduce them to new concepts of working. Not confine themselves to domestic related activities like cooking or sewing. But even if they do cooking and sewing we try to make them into a commercial enterprise. That is one thing. And wherever possible we have training in self employment, skills training in whatever areas we think can be used in that locality, then give them basic accounting and management skills so they can start off. Actually what we have done through projects, mainly through income generation is to see that they are economically strong. Most of the problems where women are subject to abuse and maltreatment is also because of the dependency on the man. So once a woman is economically strong it is a big step towards equality. Awareness raising is also important. You are not strong if you are not aware. From the outside it is easy for us to do this, but then you actually have to see the real situation within the household; all the stresses and the strains all coming within those walls. International Migration Article 13.2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country (UN CEDAW, 1979).

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A valuable source of income open to women in Sri Lanka is migration to oil-rich Middle-eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and elsewhere. As a result, womens migration has provided a major source of foreign earnings for the Sri Lankan economy. In the interview, Seela Ebert offered the relevant statistics. The highest amount of foreign exchange is earned by women who are working outside... there are nearly 2 million workers in the Middle-east and other places, and out of those 60% are women. So they are the people who are bringing in the foreign exchange to this country. Additionally Sepali Kottegoda discussed the state responsibility in regards to migrant workers: What we do is actually try to advocate on the right. In that case we would say Women have the right to employment. Now we have this situation in regards to women migrant workers. Now in that situation we very strongly defend the right of women to employment and to choice of employment. We say that women have the right to work, to seek and find employment in South Asian countries and it is the duty and obligation of the state to ensure that they have not been discriminated against in their field of employment. They have to ensure that their rights are protected. To prepare women for migration as well as the social consequences, Leelangi Wanasundera mentioned pre-departure training for women: Women are not discouraged from migrating because we think it is their choice, they have to be prepared for going overseas; the care of children, and the social problems that will arise. We try to raise awareness so that they will make an informed choice, and they know what they are doing and are aware what the consequence will be or what the plus points will be. Since they are going, we encourage them to save their money for themselves not to send all the money back home but to leave something for themselves. And how to invest the money; most of them keep it in savings accounts. So we tell them you can get a higher interest if you put them in fixed accounts.

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When it came to preparing spouses for the women's departure she stated, the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment "try to get the spouses also into the training programs but they don't come. So they know exactly what they are in for, because the men also have a huge impact on changing their role, it is not easy for the man either. Suddenly everything that the woman is doing is dumped on him, the girl-child or the inlaws. Whoever takes care, he also has to pitch in. When the Bureau calls men for training they never come. Even we tried and they didn't come." In the interviews it became clear that on the heels of migration are many social issues. To begin Sepali Kottegoda discussed the socio-cultural perception of child welfare and protection: Government earns a huge proportion of its foreign exchange through the earnings of the workers but they put almost nothing back for the welfare of these workers. If you compare, it is not a drop in the ocean. They should be looking after the children that are left behind and they have to take on the responsibility of letting the population know that there is something called parenting; that parenting is not only the mothers occupation. It is also the fathers job. If you look around Sri Lanka there is no talk about fathering. You cant find any documents if you want to look around. So actually a family means there is a mother. That is it. Sriyani Perera was also quite vocal on the subject and the hypocrisy of the sociocultural construct of a male head of household, and particularly the effect this social construct has on women who migrate overseas: In Sri Lanka you can see a very different scenario now. All this question about male bread winner and this idea, the male headed household. It is all challenged now; you see there are about 20% female headed households in this country. Twenty percent! It is huge and people dont seem to understand or want to understand it. And this whole nonsense about male breadwinner; look at the Sri Lanka labor force. It is quite huge when it comes to females. The main foreign income earner is housemaids. It is number one. So in a country of that nature, you go to the family context and what I see is men know it, but still because of the society has

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demanded to men to control. It gives a mandate unto males to control. So even though sometimes the man is not the main bread winner, he pretends to be the head of the household. Pretends to control everybody Thats the very hypocritical situation I see at the family level. The woman sends money, he is not consulting, but he does what he wants to do. That is hypocrisy and someone else is earning the money. You see, I see a subtle hypocrisy in this society. Indrani Sugathadasa mentioned a reoccurring problem in asserting womens right to work, We encourage women to take up income generating activities, self-employment activities, but we have found out still that the man is controlling her income. She is working but the man is in control.

Domestic Migration Article 13.1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State (UN CEDAW, 1979). Dr. Selvy Thiruchandran of WERC spoke on the legal status of those who engage in domestic migration: We have in view to legalize the domestic aids working in this country by registering them with the Employment Bureau to ask for minimum wages, to ensure they are getting time off, and provision of facilities like a sleeping room and employment benefits. So we have come up and had some demands and after we complete the research which will give us, actually we have things to investigate on domestic aids, to discuss not to coordinate with local house maids from the countryside. So we get people from the plantation from the rural areas who have come to work in Colombo houses. So we are trying to upgrade their status by legalizing them. Leelangi Wanasundera mentioned the specific socio-cultural obstacles women face when they participate in both international and domestic migration:

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Still they have to maintain whatever the parents wish when they go back home, but outside the home and inside the Zones they have plenty of freedom to do what they want. At the same time society looks down at them because they have the freedom Socially they are not ostracized as they were right at the beginning when this whole thing started. I think now it has become like a norm. It is acceptable working, but the gender roles have not changed. Our research found when they are out they are empowered, they can use the money as they want, but the moment they come back they have to slip back into their old roles. The Political Framework Political Participation Article 7.B of CEDAW states women have the right To participate in the formulation of government policy and the implementation thereof and to hold public office and perform all public functions at all levels of government (UN CEDAW, 1979). International Gender and Law Specialist, Rea Abada Chiongson described the most common socio-cultural barriers in the political realm as political power based on cultural, religious and/or ethnic lines and a lack of awareness and understanding on gender from the leadership, whether in the community or in the relevant agencies in government. This translates to lack of support or ineffective interventions. Prof. Kamala Liyanage provided the current statistics regarding womens involvement in government. We have the Womens Bureau, Ministry of Womens Affairs, and we have 0.29% of the budget is given out of the total budget of Sri Lanka. 51.9% women are in this country; and 4.8% women are in the parliament, the lowest we have ever had. Seela Ebert provided historical, local and provincial statistics: Representation has been only less than 5% from 1935, for seventy years. And then also in the local government level it is less than 3%, and even at the provincial level it is less than 3%. So that is a big problem we have in the country, of the political representation of women at the highest level. Unless we are

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represented at the highest level, even at the parliament level or the local government level, we can not make any change. Because when it comes to voting, people dont take it seriously. Although we had the (woman) prime minister and the first (woman) president, they didnt work much for the uplifting of women as a whole. As many of the interviewees did, Sepali Kottegoda clarified the movement to initiate a quota system for womens representation in national and local governance: We have advocated for quotas right through and we see it as time-bound measure. You make it for ten years or fifteen years, or whatever it is, and then we will see the difference as we have seen in India. And we will also see in Pakistan it is somebody who has been put in. But it doesnt matter as far as we are concerned even if it is somebodys daughter or mother or wife or sister or sister-in-law who is put in. Maybe the first time. But the next round and the next round and you go through the years and there will definitely be a very strong cadre of women in parliament or local government or provincial council. So we actually advocated at the local government level to give reservation or give quota. That is the lowest level of entry, and if women do want to stay on in politics they can work at that and come up to provincial council or parliamentary. Preethi De Almeda of SWM explained that a reason for the reluctance of many women to get involved in politics was the unscrupulous behavior of the politicians themselves and how it adversely effects the right of women to participate in local and national politics: I am afraid that these days politicians are not the same. Now I am 50 years old, and as a child I can remember the politicians were real gentlemen. With the kind of politicians now, women have to sacrifice their rights. Before they could go to a politician and even contest in those days. Women had the right for associations and all those things then because politicians were gentlemen. But nowadays it is very difficult for a woman to be among the politicians. Political participation, I dont think a respectable lady will have a chance. How they behave in parliament now, ridiculous. Educated people are avoiding politicians, definitely politics can not be successful without good manners. Women should not get into that kind of politics unless they are respected. Back then women were respected, but not now. Seela Ebert elaborated:

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Thuggery and violence. In politics women do not want to come forward. The mudslinging; most of the politicians, the women who have come forward are related to politicians because they are used to it And their family members also do not like them to come in because of the reputation sometimes. Then the other thing is the system that we have now, it is so bad that each person needs lots of money to contest. It is the district they represent not a constituency. The constituency is too big, so they need a lot of money to contest because only the people who get the highest number of votes in a district under the PR system will be selected so the women are at a disadvantage because there is no one to fund them And the parties also dont fund women. Then the women have no money to contest an election. That is another reason for women not coming up. Prof. Kamala Liyanage expressed her perception of the political parties: Politically when it comes to party politics, the United National Party, or the PA, or the Sri Lankan Freedom Party, they have never done anything against womens movements because most of the time even with the state and with these parties, they listen to those womens NGOs, especially the Colombo-based ones. But they do what is on their own schedule. They do listen and keep quiet. Therefore I do not see a very big political opposition. We dont have any political type of barriers. I know the JVP, and some Muslim parties they really dont want to see womens empowerment. They like to claim the so-called Sri Lankan culture should be protected. The JVP they threaten the University, a higher educational institution, because the JVP is inside. Some undergraduate students and even some teachers, they think that changing attitudes and womens roles and those things clearly change our culture, therefore we should stop We have had symposiums, very big discussions. We have included the Sinhala Urume and the JVP. They think they know everything and they dont even send a representative. It is very difficult. In defiance of the numerous and seemingly insurmountable obstacles inherent in the current political system, there has been a move towards forging a politically active segment of women to contest local elections. Leelangi Wanasundera explained: A couple years ago the Sinhala / Tamil Women's Network contested the elections, but they lost because the party politics are so entrenched. So it is really difficult to have any independent party at the national level, that is a problem. But there are women who are ready to come forward if they are given a chance and an

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opportunity to compete; to use a different type of tactics than male politicians use. Mudslinging - that is the simplest form of violence that has hit. The Conflict with the LTTE Another political situation that pervades the island discourse is the three decadelong government conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the North and East over the formation of an independent Tamil nation. The interviewees who discussed the issue saw the conflict as politically self-perpetuating, each side justifying the continued use of violence for political ends. Unfortunately for this inquiry, none of the interviewees represented the LTTE-controlled areas and surprisingly only a few mentioned it despite the prevailing shroud of fear that permeated the air during the interviews in the summer of 2007. Vivimarie Vanderpooten spoke about the decades of war and the LTTE: The leadership has their own ideas about womens rights which is fairly traditional. I heard recently that women, at one point women were not allowed to wear anything other than a sari and a huge Puritan movement They see anything Westernized as adulterating their nationalistic goals, and women seem to be the site of struggle. The whole thing of, You rape our women, we rape your women. So women are the pawn, the site of some cultural struggle. Like language is being a site. And women have to produce children for their Baby Brigade. They have a Baby Brigade, all under nine years old. At the time of the interviews, the conflict was escalating in terms of rhetoric, violence and counter-violence. To this Sepali Kottegoda conveyed a past accomplishment regarding the inclusion of women in the peace process, albeit only for a short lived period: I think what was successful for us is to advocate, to get womens voices in the peace process between 2000 and 2003. And for that we actually initiated an International Womens Mission into the conflict areas and the report went to the

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talks and finally ended up with setting up the Sub-Committee on Women in the peace process. So that was what we say, We were there at the right time, the right place with the right document. Local Politics and Decision Making Within the political framework, many interviewees discussed local politics and decision making. Sriyani Perera provided an analysis of the political structure at the village level and the adverse effect on decision making it encompasses: If you look at the grassroots level the politics is very much connected to who has the power, who has the power at the village level. If you see, the Grama Seneca is the most important person in the village. You see, if you make one person the most important person in the setting what will happen? It is quite a disaster because one person takes all the decisions for the benefit of themselves. For me this is a structural problem. If the power is concentrated in one or two people, those could be the best people in the village, you never know. Can you allow that concentration of power in one hand is my basic question? You have kind of a dictator there. Despite the inherent structural dysfunctions in the local political framework many organizations continue to work with local women and womens groups to get them involved in local politics. To this end, General Secretary Indrani Sugathadasa stated, We in the Womens Bureau conduct awareness-raising programs for rural women and we encourage women to take up politics; active politics. Not only as voters because we believe that then women are at the decision making level, and they can eliminate certain barriers within the society. Preethi De Almeda discussed what SWMs intended affect in the locality is after raising awareness in a community: Educating them on womens rights doesnt mean that they are completely out of their duties and obligations, that is also part of educating them on womens rights

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and human rights. We want them to have better family life, better society, and to lead the society to avoid family violence, child abuse trafficking of women, that kind of thing can be minimized, I wont say that women will eradicate it completely but every village, if we have a strong group of women that can stand up for their rights and stand up for the helpless, that will minimize the violence against women, child abuse and trafficking. Sepali Kottegoda explained it succinctly, The idea is that you inspire women. You raise community awareness of womens capabilities and present it to them as you have something to say because we have so little space in the public sphere.

Analysis of Data Socio-Cultural Framework The prevalence and constant reinforcement of patriarchy in Sri Lankan society has seriously hindered the movement towards gender equality. For both men and women, it has been the socialization process that has internalized the acceptance of social inequalities over several generations. By identifying patriarchy as a root cause, it can be confronted and challenged in the social discourse. Considering the adverse affect it has on women and the perception of gender within society as a whole, confronting the secular hierarchy incompatible with the traditional order is a first step to bring about much needed social change (Rahnema, 1997, p.168). Religion: As an institution, religion reinforces patriarchy within society; however religion can also be utilized as a medium to bring about social change. An example of access, limited participation and some degree of influence on the religious perception of women was seen with female Muslim leaders of the Muslim Womens Social Forum. Their subtle approach of introducing a discourse on gender inequalities through an

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English teaching forum was a safe, non-confrontational means to bring about a steady change of perception to those who control and participate in religious institutions. Media: This is another powerful institution within society which currently reinforces the status quo of gender inequality, but it also retains the potential to positively influence social perceptions and discourse. Obstacles here are centered in the medias denial of social responsibility, the subordinate representation of women, the commoditization of women in advertisements, and the proliferation of pornography. The Women and Media Collective, CENWOR and others monitor and actively advocate for gender responsiveness in the media. They exercise access and participation in print media and radio to, as Jayanthi Kuru-Uthumpala stated, target the under-forty professional women who actually say, We are not feminists as well as bring the issues surrounding inequality into the social discourse. The Public Forum and Feminist Representations: Utilizing the public forum has been a primary focus for the efforts of the Ministry of Child Development and Womens Empowerment and NGOs. Unfortunately women, particularly of low socioeconomic classes, are almost excluded from the public forum. Access and participation is extremely limited and has mainly come in the form of NGO and governmentsponsored training programs, workshops or symposiums. To use this forum effectively means to do as Prof. Kamala Liyanage suggested, select positive role models as trainers and to improve the training they receive. In the rural areas it is important to present a clear definition and example of gender equality to demonstrate that it is attainable; yet not a threat to the cultural fabric Sri Lanka, but a modification of socially acceptable behaviors and attitudes. Such a direct approach is an opportunity to present a positive

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and undistorted representation of Sri Lankan feminism. Additionally this example can be used to encourage local womens groups to seize the public forum and raise their voice in their locality regardless of the issue. The Feminist Movement and NGOs: Unfortunately, Sri Lanka joins a large number of societies in which Womens groups are not seen as credible spokespersons of culture, as International Womens Rights Legal Counsel, Rea Abada Chiongson stated. The internal and external obstacles to the feminist movement are multi-layered. First the access, participation and control of the feminist movement must be expanded beyond the social-political elite of Colombo. Secondly, the misrepresentation of feminism and how it has been misconstrued must be corrected in order to generate public acceptance as legitimate and non-threatening. Thirdly, the movement must be clearly defined to the general population if it is to impact the nation and not be feared as a western intrusion bent on the destruction of Sri Lankan culture. Lastly, for feminism to take hold is to take the advice of Vivimarie Vanderpooten and create a genuinely Sri Lankan paradigm for the movement. To adjust the erroneous image and truly encompass the women of Sri Lanka, the movement needs to provide an avenue for women regardless of their socioeconomic status or geographical roots to participate and define the Sri Lankan feminist movement. For the leadership, this means to step aside and provide a forum for those most affected by the usurpation and denial of their rights; to provide an opportunity for women nationwide to take to the platform and bring inequality into the social discourse at every level. Non-Government Organizations: As exemplified in the interviews, a clear obstacle across the wide spectrum of NGOs, regardless of their organizational focus, is

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that the leadership and administration is dominated by males as noted by Seela Ebert. To address this imbalance is to consider the large numbers of women involved in the NGO sector. In addition to the gender sensitization of male leadership, provide female staff and officers with training workshops on leadership, organizational management, womens rights, gender mainstreaming and the use of Rights-Based Approaches so that they too can rise to influential leadership positions from within development organizations.

Legal Framework VAW and the Domestic Violence Act: The most glaring obstacle to protecting women from gender-based violence is wide social acceptance of domestic abuse. Secondly, the police and the judiciary are male-dominated institutions and do not consider womens rights or gender equality very important. Thirdly, there is a nearly a complete lack of awareness of the Domestic Violence Act amongst the judiciary, the police and the public. Fourthly, when reporting domestic violence the police are not supportive of the women and can be really nasty about it, as noted by Jayanthi KuruUthumpala. Furthermore, rural and poor urban women in particular have personal financial hurdles to overcome, which is especially difficult considering household finances are typically controlled by men. Lastly, women who do utilize the legal system for help are socially stigmatized as a result. As laid out in the Beijing Platform for Action states must grant women access to their legal rights to protection from violence, provide access to safe houses, promote a social community environment which is supportive and implement social awareness social programs to reduce VAW.

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Ownership of Land: While women do have the right to own property, a primary obstacle to utilizing this right has been the attitude of authorities regarding only men as the legitimate head of the household despite the fact that nationwide 20% are led by women. This was exemplified following the tsunami where new plots of land were provided to the male head of household even in cases where the land had belonged to the woman. For Sriyani Perera and those who take a Rights-Based perspective, this was a clear example of Structural Violence Against Women. Access to Legal Documents: Although the legal documents exist, they are often in a language foreign to most Sri Lankans and far from accessible. Prof. Kamala Liyanage offered a viable means for all people to access the legal framework: The publication of legal documents and information on womens rights and gender equality in a simple Q&A form which is easily accessible to both men and women in the local language. Access to Education: Dr. Chandra Gunawardena noted that although girls have equal access to education and literacy rates are comparably high, an obstacle has been the provision of a quality of education in all fields and to relieve the pressure on children to conform to social constructs through the enrollment in courses which reinforce gender roles. A second obstacle pointed out by Prof. Kamala Liyanage has been the school curriculum itself where there is little attention paid to human rights or womens rights in a nation torn by conflict with flagrant violations of these rights. Viable approaches to these obstacles include changing the curriculum created by the National Institute of Education and to change the Teacher Training curriculum so that both male and female teachers understand why gender equality is important.

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Access to and Participation in Higher Education: With women as the majority in most subject areas, access to higher education is not a problem. The main obstacle in higher education is centered on the womens low level of participation and lack of personality development in the process. A second obstacle comes from faculty members who do not view gender research or gender studies as an academic exercise. A third obstacle has been the overt objection to courses on the empowerment of women out of fear that, as Dr. Chandra Gunawardena described, women will somehow or other, suppress them. However, a successful approach by the faculty of various departments in Peredeniya University was to create a Gender Studies Major and provide Certificate Courses on Human Rights for professionals. Access to Employment: In the public sector there are no remaining barriers for womens employment which is based on merit with steps taken to remove a gender bias. However, in the private sector maternity leave has become an obstacle to the employment of women. As a result, women must wait longer for employment following graduation. A suggested approach to counter both of these obstacles has been the sensitization of Sri Lankan men to accept responsibility for childrearing rather than simply allocating that role to women. When women are employed in the private sector, the next obstacle to overcome is a longer waiting period for promotions. In addition to slow promotions, there is a social conception that women can not lead, and thus they are not given decision making positions in the private sector. This is true within the labor unions as well, where women are typically given a secondary position. To counter this, one successful approach Kumari Witharana stated has been to provide capacity-building workshops in

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litigation, decision making, communication, gender, VAW and various areas, thus enhancing their capability to lead. Informal Sector Employment: A major obstacle to women in the informal sector has been the legalization of lower pay and longer working hours for women. A concern for demanding equal pay for equal work is that employers will cease hiring women because they expect more from men for the same pay. Sriyani Perera offered a RightsBased Approach to the same issue which puts the onus on the state, Yes women have the right to work. Provide that right, but do so with equal pay. An innovative approach to informal sector self-employment suggested by Leelangi Wanasundera has been to open up fields such as electrical wiring, masonry or carpentry where women have opportunity to earn new incomes in diversified occupations. Migration: There are no outright obstacles to women utilizing their right to migrate. However, the social expectation in regards to the control of her earnings from abroad is centered on the patriarchal belief that all finances must be controlled by male heads of household. An approach to offset the expected surrender of migrant earnings is to encourage women to save money by setting up personal savings accounts. Another obstacle to preparing women for migration has been the reluctance of men to participate in training sessions prior to departure. One positive experience of women who migrate, whether as house maids in the Middle East or domestic migrations to the Free Trade Zones, is that they are empowered when away from family and village, however they must submit to their gender roles upon return.

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Political Framework Political Participation: With a meager 4.8% representation in parliament, women face a significant obstacle to participating in governance. The foremost obstacle women face is the unscrupulous behavior of politicians as denoted by Preethi de Almeida and the stained reputations of their family members as a consequence for entering the political arena. Secondly, the hefty expenses needed to fund a campaign are not readily available for women to access. Thirdly, party preference for male candidates has been influential in deterring women from coming forward within the various political parties. One local approach to improve the representation of women in parliament has been to provide capacity building for the new Sinhala / Tamil Women's Network as a political contender. A second, and thus far an unsuccessful approach to enhance womens participation in the political framework has been to advocate for a quota system starting at the district level and gradually introduced into the national parliament. Conflict with the LTTE: Obstacles to womens participation in the peace process, and to attaining peace itself, are centered in the male domination of peace-building organizations. Secondly and horrifically for women who reside in the conflict areas, often times women find themselves the centerpiece in a cycle of revenge in which they pay dearly. Described as a site by Vivimarie Vanderpooten, the conflict is often skewed by politicians as a battleground of Sinhalese vs. Tamil which expresses itself through a mutually destructive and degrading mentality of you rape our women, we rape your women. One successful approach to include women in the peace process was the International Womens Mission.

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Local Governance and Decision Making: At the local level the obstacles to womens participation begins with the political structure centered on the Grama Seneca, which is always a male position. Despite this inherent obstacle to womens participation in local governance, a successful approach has been to raise awareness of womens right to participate in local politics and augment the leadership abilities of women at the village level.

Statement of Conclusion The socio-cultural, legal and political obstacles to gender equality in Sri Lanka are rooted in a social construct perpetuated by a patriarchal mindset of both men and women that was introduced and forced upon the island through successive generations of colonization. As a result of what Ashis Nandy termed the colonization of the mind, the socio-cultural obstacles are the most formative as patriarchy permeates Sri Lankan society. Currently these social norms are being challenged on all fronts by government ministries and bureaus, NGOs, national committees, social forums and womens groups. Within the Socio-cultural Framework, the obstacle encountered within religion has been approached by the formation of womens forums which work to subtly influence the leadership and the religious culture. In regards to the media, the use of open forums such as Letters to the Editor, the close monitoring of media outlets and to conduct multiple studies on media have been a viable means to challenge the perpetuation of inequality. Additionally, the use of print and radio media has been adapted to counter the predominant social norms.

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To counter the misrepresentation and social misconception of feminism and feminists that are the visible proponents of womens rights and gender equality in the public forum is to present a genuine, non-threatening, and culturally adept image. For the feminist movement itself, there exists a need to embrace more outside the realm of the politically elite and socio-economically advantaged of Colombo in order to be considered truly representative of women in Sri Lanka. In the NGO sector the imbalance of power in decision making positions can be approached through the leadership training and capacity building of the multitudes of women working in this sector. Legally there are few obstacles to gender equality. The obstacles encountered in this framework are related to the socio-cultural influences which act to inhibit access to legal framework. The social acceptance and lack of reporting of domestic violence incidents and Violence Against Women can be approached by awareness-raising and gender-sensitization programs suggested by the Beijing Platform aimed not only towards the general public, but specifically target the judiciary and the police as well. The social emphasis on a male head of household in regards to the ownership of land can be approached through the deconstruction this form of Structural Violence Against Women in the social discourse. A general lack of knowledge of the legal system can be rectified through the publication of laws in a simple language and terminology in both Sinhala and Tamil. In the education system, inequality can be redressed through an overhaul of the curriculum taught and is currently being addressed through teacher training. Within higher education inequality is being challenged through the bold creation of a Gender Studies major offering courses which review gender in a multitude of fields. Also

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encouragement of female students to participate in the extra-curricular activities surrounding the university setting is a means to foster personal development. Employment in the public sector has had most, if not all barriers removed; in this arena Sri Lanka is exemplary. Despite this accomplishment, employment in the private sector has many obstacles for both the college graduates and blue collar workers that can be, and in some cases are being approached through skills training and capacity building workshops which focus on the leadership capabilities. Informal sector inequalities are detrimental to the poorest of the poor. Technical training in sectors typically reserved for men has been one way to offer self-employment opportunities and thereby empower poor women economically. For women who migrate overseas for long periods of time, they are taught how and encouraged to save their money rather than simply wire all their earnings back. In the Political Framework, again the obstacles are socio-cultural. Obstacles to political participation are being challenged through the support and training of a new political party which boldly crosses the ethnic Sinhalese / Tamil divide. The lack of womens political representation is confronted through repeated calls for the installment of a quota system in parliament. Locally, the skewed structure for governance and decision making is challenged through the capacity building and encouraging of women at the local level to become involved in their communities. On a national level regarding the conflict with the LTTE, repeated calls for peace are not currently taken into account. However, within the past success of the International Womens Mission there exists a viable precedent and organic example of perseverance.

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Practical Applicability This study provided a forum for insightful views of both obstacles and approaches to gender equality, and of the feminist movement itself. Although this study is not allencompassing of the issues women face, it does provide for a firm foundation from which to review the progress made, as well as offer a concise picture of the varied obstacles and approaches to gender equality in the socio-cultural, legal and political frameworks outlined by Sara Longwe. Thus, this study can serve as an unbiased external evaluation of both the feminist movement, and the overall progress towards gender equality in Sri Lanka through the eyes of those within.

Recommendations for Further Research Many of the current approaches to gender equality utilize UN CEDAW. I believe a grassroots impact assessment and analysis of the approaches would an appropriate means to enhance what is successful, modify what has not been and review the overall movement. However, such an exhaustive study would a major undertaking. Perhaps a more realistic approach would be internal reviews and presentations to the relevant National Committee on Women from which to draft an outline of a clear national strategy and reinforce local support systems. Through the interview process, I believe the best recommendation to overcome a multitude of barriers came from Vivimarie Vanderpooten. She suggested further research in rural areas for the creation of a new model for Sri Lankan feminism, because only when you know what the attitudes are that you can design a program to change them or create a paradigm. This suggestion was quite logical considering 80% of the population

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resides in rural communities. From her suggestion I believe an area for further research is: What would that paradigm of Sri Lankan feminism be in order to change in the social perceptions of and behaviors towards women, and how to promote it? Although this was addressed to some degree by Prof. Kamala Liyanage, further research could provide a key.

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Menon, N., (2004) Recovering Subversion: Feminist Politics Beyond the Law. Chicago: University of Illinois Press. Milani, Leila Rassekh, Sarah C. Albert, and Karina Purushotma. (2004) CEDAW The Treaty for the Rights of Women: Rights that Benefit the Entire Community. www.cedaw.org, downloaded 21 February 2006. Ministry of Health & Womens Affairs (1993) Womens Charter (Sri Lanka). Colombo: Office of the Minister of State for Womens Affairs Momsen, J.H. (2004) Gender and Development. London: Routledge. Mulikita, N.G. and Longwe, S. (2005). Beyond Inequalities 2005: Women in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe: South African Research and Documentation Centre. Muthiah, W., Selvy, T., and Wanasinghe, S. (2006) Socialist Women of Sri Lanka. Colombo: Young Socialist Publications National Council for Research on Women (2006) Gains and Gaps: A look at the Worlds Women. New York: The National Council for Research on Women. Patton, M. Q. (1982) Practical Evaluation. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Petchesky, R.P. (2003) Global Prescriptions: Gendering Health and Human Rights. London: Zed Books Pete, R. (2003) The Unholy Trinity: The World Bank, IMF and WTO. London: Zed Books. Peters, J and Wolper, A. (1995) Womens Rights Human Rights: International Feminist Perspective. New York: Routledge. Quisumbing, A.R. (ed.) (2005) Household Decisions, Gender and Development: A Synthesis of Recent Research. Washington D.C.: The John Hopkins University Press. Rahnema, M. (ed.) (1997) The Post-Development Reader. London: Zed Books. Ramli, R. Lubi, E.T. and Djanaeva, N. (eds.) (2005) Seethings and Seatings: Strategies for Womens Political Participation in Asia Pacific. Thailand: Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development. Rist, G. (2002) The History of Development: From Western Origins to Global Faith. London: Zed Books. Rothchild, C., Reilly, M.A., and Nordstrom, S.A. (2006) Strengthening Resistance:

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Confronting Violence Against Women and HIV/AIDS. New Jersey: Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Center for Womens Global Leadership. Ruxton, S. (ed.) (2004) Gender Equality and Men: Learning From Practice. Oxford: Oxfam GB. Samual, K. (2006) A Hidden History: Womens Activism for Peace in Sri Lanka 19822002. Colombo: Social Scientists Association Saunders, K. (ed.) (2002) Feminist Post-Development Thought. London: Zed Books. Sen, A. (1999) Development as Freedom. New York: Anchor Books. Sen, G. and Grown, C. (1987) Development, Crises, and Alternative Visions. New York: Monthly Review Press. Sen, G. (2005) Challenges to Gender Justice in a Neo Conservative Era. Published in Gender, Society and Change. Center for Womens Research (CENWOR). Colombo: Karunaratne & Sons Ltd. Seuss, T. (1971) The Lorax. New York: Random House Childrens Books. Silva, K.T., D. Herath, and V. Athukorala. (2002) Ravaged Innocence: A Study of Incest in Central Sri Lanka. Study Series No. 29. Colombo: Centre for Womens Research. Sweetman, C. (2004) Gender Development and Citizenship. Eynsham: Information Press. Thiruchandran, S.(ed.) (2006) Gendered Subjects. Homagama, Sri Lanka: Karunaratne & Sons. Thiruchandran, S. (2006) Ideology, Caste, Class and Gender. Homagama, Sri Lanka: Karunaratne & Sons. Tucker, V. (1999) The Myth of Development: A Critique of Eurocentric Discourse in Munck, R. and OHearn, D. (eds) Critical Development Theory. London: Zed Books. United Nations Committee on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (2002) Third and Forth Reports Submitted by Sri Lanka to the United Nations Committee to Eliminate Discrimination Against Women. Downloaded from http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/, 21 February 2006. United Nations Institute for Social Development (2005) Gender Equality: Striving for Justice in an Unequal World. France: UNRISD.

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United Nations Population Fund (2005) State of the World population 2005, The Promise of Equity: Gender Equity, Reproductive Health and the Millenium Development Goals. New York: United Nations Population Fund. Vanderpooten, V. (2007) Nothing Prepares You. Colombo: INSCRIPT (Pvt), LTD. Varadan, S. (2003) The Role of Gender Sensitive International Justice in the Domestic Legislative Framework. Colombo: Women and Media Collective. Welsh, C.E. (ed.) (2001) NGOs and Human Rights: Promise and Performance. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Wijayatilake, K. (2001) Unravelling Herstories: A Three Generational Study. Ratmalana, Sri Lanka: Sarvodaya Vishva Lekha Printers. Wijayatilake, K. (2002) All Her Worldly Goods: Womens Property and Inheritance Rights. Study Series No. 30. Colombo: Centre for Womens Research. Wijayatilake, K. and Zackariya, F. (2001) Sexual Harassment at Work: Plantation Sector. Colombo: International Labour Office Wilkinson, D. (2000) The Researchers Tool Kit: The Complete Guide to Practitioner Research. Routledge. Chapter 4: Research Instruments. Women and Media Collective (2006) Options Magazine, Edition 36. Colombo: Women and Media Collective. Women and Media Collective (2006) Options Magazine, Edition 37. Colombo: Women and Media Collective. Additional websites and web pages accessed: African Womens Development and Communication Network: http://www.femnet.or.ke/default.asp Centre for Womens Research: http://www.cenwor.lk/ Commission on Human Rights: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/2/chr.htm Corporate Watch: http://www.corpwatch.org/ DiaAbled Womens Network Onterio: http://dawn.thot.net/nepad1.html Gendercide Watch: http://www.gendercide.org/case_infanticide.html

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Human Rights Watch: http://www.hrw.org/ International Fair Trade Association: http://www.ifat.org/ International Forum on Globalization: http://www.ifg.org/ International Labour Organization: http://www.ilo.org/global/lang--en/index.htm International Womens Rights Action Watch: http://iwraw.igc.org/index.htm International Womens Rights Action Watch - Asia Pacific: http://www.iwraw-ap.org/ Social Rights Bulgaria: http://www.socialrights.org/spip/article346.html UN Development Fund for Women: http://www.unifem.org/ UN Development Fund for Women, East and SE Asia: http://unifem-eseasia.org/ UN Development Fund for Women, South Asia Regional Office: http://www.unifem.org.in/ United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/text/econvention.htm United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/beijing/platform/violence.htm Virtual Library of Sri Lanka: http://www.lankalibrary.com/geo.html Women and Media Collective: http://www.womenandmedia.net/index.htm Womens Education and Research Centre: http://www.wercsl.org/index.html Womens Ink: http://www.womenink.org/

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Appendix A: Diagram of Sara Longwes Five-step Theory to Gender Equality as described to me by Sriyani Perera, In-country Director of UNIFEM, Sri Lanka.

Equality

Step 5: Control in the legal, political, and social frameworks

Step 4: Participation in the legal, political and social frameworks Step 3: Facilitating Access to the legal, political and social frameworks Step 2: Raising Awareness of Womens Rights
Equity

Step 1: Providing for the Welfare of Women

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Appendix B: Interview Questions used in Inquiry Organizational Approaches to Gender Equality in Sri Lanka 1. What is your organizational definition of gender equality? 2. Is there a legal definition of gender equality that you are aware of? 2a. How does your organization utilize this definition? 2b. In your opinion, does that definition provide sufficient legal support for bringing about gender equality in Sri Lanka? 3. How does your organization raise awareness of womens rights? 4. What (other) legal obstacles do you face in raising awareness of womens rights? How does your organization address those obstacles in a community project? 5. What social or cultural obstacles do you face in raising awareness of womens rights? How does your organization address those obstacles in a community project? 6. What political obstacles do you face in raising awareness of womens rights? How does your organization address those obstacles in a community project? 7. How does your organization approach women and employment? 8. Once you raise awareness of womens rights in a community, what is the next step your organization takes toward gender equality? 9. What are the indicators a community has successfully attained gender equality?

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Appendix C: Inquiry questionnaire submitted to Rea Abada Chiongson via email, complete with her answers received 12 August, 2007. Organizational Approaches to Gender Equality in Sri Lanka 1. What is your organizational definition of gender equality? *Gender equality means that women and men exercise and enjoy equal status, rights, opportunities and benefits. This is consistent with the framework of substantive equality which ensures equality of opportunities, access and results. 2. Is there an international definition of gender equality that you are aware of? *Although not a definition, CEDAW provides a framework of equality which operates to create conceptual clarity on what gender equality is. 2a. How does an organization utilize this definition? *An organization can utilize this definition/framework in many ways. It can use it to recognize inequalities and discrimination. It can also use it as a framework to assess or evaluate the effectiveness of interventions, whether by the State or its own. 2b. In your opinion, does that definition provide sufficient legal support for bringing about gender equality? *It provides a strong legal support as it is based on an international treaty which almost all countries have ratified (185 States Parties). As such, States Parties have the legal obligation under the treaty to abide by its terms and framework of equality. 3. How does an organization raise awareness of womens rights? *There are many ways of raising awareness on womens human rightstrainings, information dissemination, use of media, public hearings, etc. Although methods vary, it is important to show impact of inequality so people are truly able to see the disadvantaged discrimination causes. 4. What are the main legal obstacles an organization faces when raising awareness of womens rights in Asia? *Lack of understanding of the framework of substantive equality (as based on CEDAW standards) and hence, inappropriate interventions/action. As a result differing interpretations are provided, many of which are detrimental to womens human rights.

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*Changing discriminatory cultural or customary practices. Despite the clear provision under CEDAW (Arts/ 2.f and 5), many implementers still cling to the belief that custom/culture must be protected at all costs. *Failure to see the importance of gender equality (it is provided less prominence compared to livelihood projects, peace and security issues, etc) How does an organization address those obstacles in a community project? *Build capacity and sensitivity of all stakeholders, most especially the implementers of the project to understand substantive equality. Ensure that projects incorporate gender equality from its design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Obviously, if the lack of understanding of the framework of substantive equality is not addressed, even if there is intention to address inequalities, it will be insufficient. Ensure participation of women in the community so that one can obtain their views, especially on how the project will affect them. Look into the possible impact of the project on women and continue to monitor this. 5. Generally speaking, what social or cultural obstacles do organizations in Asia face in raising awareness of womens rights? *In many cases organizations working on womens human rights are typecasted as those wanting to change culture but are not supported by a wider group of women ( the latter group being happy with the present social and cultural practices) *In some societies womens groups are not seen as credible spoke persons of culture. *The family is still seen as a private sphere and one should not hang dirty linens in public. *Sharing housework and child rearing is predominantly seen still as womens work. How does an organization address those obstacles in a community project? *To dispel the typecasting and to show the impact of discrimination on women obviously leads to disadvantage and often violence. *To identify allies within the culture or social setting and within the community who can speak for womens human rights *To identify women role models. *Temporary special measures, such as identifying proportion of women to participate in the project.

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6. Generally speaking, what political obstacles do organizations face in raising awareness of womens rights in Asia? *lack of awareness and understanding on gender from the leadership, whether in the community or in the relevant agencies in government. This translates to lack of support or ineffective interventions. *political power based on cultural, religious and/or ethnic lines How does an organization address those obstacles in a community project? *build awareness and sensitivity of leadership on gender issues 7. Once you raise awareness of womens rights in a community, what is the next step an organization takes toward gender equality? Research on collecting baseline information to inform advocacy, e.g. Nepal experience (see attachment from IWRAW materials) Put in place initiatives/projects to enable the claiming of womens human rights 8. What are a few indicators that a community has successfully attained gender equality? *equal participation of women in political and public life (both qualitatively and quantitatively and in all spheres of political and public life. *freedom from VAW *equal access to and benefits from health care services *laws are in place to provide protection and support *participation of women in economic life, including equal access to loans, credits, equal opportunities and conditions of work, protection from sexual harassment *equality of rights in marriage and family *laws and mechanisms in place to claim rights and redress violations *women are able to exercise choice and autonomous decisions making in all fields *others Note that when the term equality is mentioned it refers to substantive equality, rather than simply legal or formal equality.

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Appendix D: Letter emailed to interviewees requesting their participation in my inquiry. Hello, My name is Mitch Teberg, I resided in Sri Lanka last year for a Masters Degree program in Sustainable Development with the School for International Training (www.sit.edu). The focus of my MA is womens rights in the field of development. While in Sri Lanka I worked with Mrs. Seela Ebert of the Sarvodaya Womens Movement to assist in the creation of a program raising awareness of womens rights nationwide. This began with a steady organizational change from utilizing a needs-based approach to womens issues to a rights-based approach to gender equality. I am returning to Sri Lanka this week to conduct interviews on organizational approaches to gender equality and would like to meet with you for an interview. I will be in Colombo ready to conduct interviews from Tuesday the 24 th of July to Thursday the 9th of August and would greatly appreciate an audience with you on any day. My schedule is completely open at this time so I would appreciate it if you could schedule a time and place for us to meet and I will reply to confirm. For the sake of accuracy I do intend to digitally record the interview, please let me know if you object. In my research you are a very important source of expertise, knowledge and experience. Your help is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time and consideration, Mitch Teberg MA Candidate Sustainable Development

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Appendix E: Letter to my academic adviser, Paul Ventura regarding the possible breakdowns of the data collected in the inquiry Paul, I have enough data to formulate a few ideas I want to pass by you. I completed 13 interviews and below I have suggested a few ways to divide up the data for a different focus in each idea presented. I think using all the questions from the interview will be too much data and way beyond the capstone maximum, so I have broken the questions into groups to formulate a more precise layout of selected data. Idea 1: (Probably the simplest and most direct comparison against an existing model) Presentation of data Summarize the answers to selected questions Possible data focus: Comparison of step two of Longwes model raise awareness 1. What is your organizational definition of gender equality? 2. How does your organization raise awareness? 3. Once you raise awareness of womens rights in a community, what is the next step your organization takes toward gender equality? 4. What are the indicators a community has successfully attained gender equality? Analysis of data Compare and contrast Critiques of approaches Statement of Conclusion Practical Applicability Lessons learned through interviews Location within the project proposal Preparation for future projects

Idea 2: (Focus is on the immediate obstacles and devising a strategy for the steps to parallel or follow raising awareness) Presentation of data Summarize the answers to selected questions Possible data focus: Attaining Gender Equality in Sri Lanka - Obstacles and Approaches 86

1. What legal obstacles do you face in raising awareness of womens rights? How does your organization address those obstacles? 2. What social or cultural obstacles do you face in raising awareness of womens rights? How does your organization address those obstacles? 3. What political obstacles do you face in raising awareness of womens rights? How does your organization address those obstacles? Analysis of data Compare and contrast Critiques of approaches Statement of Conclusion Practical Applicability Lessons learned through interviews Location within the project proposal Preparation for future projects

The Process of elimination: I had a few pointed questions towards the legal framework and legal aspects of raising awareness, but I found that there is not enough (critical) data from the interviews to go in this direction. Sri Lanka is pretty well covered in regards to the legal equality of men and women. The only problem here is in the implementation of the law which the interviewees pointed toward socio-cultural attitudes on both sides of the bench The little political opposition that exists is related to cultural attitudes, so that eliminated delving into the political framework as the focus of my research. This leads me to Idea 3 regarding the social framework, and although I did not ask a couple questions below directly, the answers I received definitely fit. Idea 3: (Focus here is on the socio-cultural obstacles and noting the socio-cultural influences spilling into the legal and political frameworks, which must be addressed in all stages of the model) Presentation of data Summarize the answers to selected questions Possible data focus: Socio-cultural obstacles when raising awareness of womens rights in Sri Lanka 1. What is your organizational definition of gender equality? 87

2. What social or cultural obstacles do you face in raising awareness of womens rights? a. What are the cultural influences that interfere in the political framework? b. What are the cultural influences that interfere in the legal framework 3. How does your organization address those obstacles? Analysis of data Compare and contrast Critiques of approaches Statement of Conclusion Practical Applicability Lessons learned through interviews Location within the project proposal Preparation for future projects

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