Saturday, 8 March 2014 00:00
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INTERNATIONAL Women’s Day is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities.
This year’s theme, ‘Equality for women is progress for all,’ emphasises how gender equality, empowerment of women, women’s full enjoyment of human rights and the eradication of poverty are essential to economic and social development. It also stresses the vital role of women as agents of development.
Sri Lanka’s post-war development has in many ways failed to empower women, leaving them to struggle to win rights and fight for space within the policy frameworks that had a second chance to include them. Following the end of 27 years of brutal war, it seemed time to take stock and forge a new future that allowed equal participation for many sidelined groups including the differently-abled, women and elderly. However, the opposite seems to have taken place.
Women were in the forefront of the war. They did and continue to participate in a significant part of the economy. The backbreaking work of the tea-plucker, the housemaid, the garment worker and the housewife continue to fuel the economy earning an estimated US$8 billion in foreign exchange. Yet the social security nets for them are low and they continue to be vulnerable despite the importance of their contribution.
Women continue to be absent from the decision making table. Since the end of the war, women’s participation in politics, especially in the southern regions and parliament, has fallen. In fact Afghanistan has two female Cabinet ministers, which is more than what Sri Lanka can boast of at present. Even the Women’s Affairs Minister has time and again come under fire for his sexist, uneducated and narrow-minded comments that not just reflect attitudes of society but also dim hopes of progress. Ministers and MPs are regularly seen discrediting women politicians because of their looks or professions, but the same yardstick is not applied to men.
Abuse has reached horrific levels. Estimates of rights organisations show 40%-60% of all Sri Lankan women have or will face abuse within their lifetime. Social acceptance of abuse means that women are often encouraged to hide and if they have the courage to speak out often have their virtue challenged. Children, another disempowered group, face even higher levels of violation, but with little attention from policy makers.
Women continue to dominate Sri Lanka’s informal sector, usually facing unfair working conditions including lower pay. As many as 80,000 households in Sri Lanka are headed by women, yet policies that assume man-headed households are repeatedly signed into law. Even the private sector has allowed glass ceilings to form, resulting in female CEOs and board of director members to become limited. Despite the massive amount of services provided, most companies are hesitant to give maternity leave or allow for flexible working hours for women. Childcare policies are also dangerously non-existent, putting extra pressure on women. Career-oriented women are often judged harshly and treated differently from their male counterparts.
Empowerment cannot happen unless social attitudes change. A comprehensive and concentrated effort has to be made so women can win equal rights and space to enjoy the second chance won by the end of the war.
