Sri Lanka

Citation:

Sarvananthan, Muttukrishna, Jeyapraba Suresh, and Anushani Alagarajah. 2017. “Feminism, Nationalism, and Labour in Post-Civil War Northern Province of Sri Lanka.” Development in Practice 27 (1): 122–28.

Authors: Muttukrishna Sarvananthan, Jeyapraba Suresh, Anushani Alagarajah

Abstract:

Keywords: South Asia, Labour and livelihoods, gender and diversity, conflict and reconstruction, Aid-Development policies

Topics: Ethnicity, Feminisms, Gender, Women, Livelihoods, Nationalism, Peacebuilding, Post-Conflict Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Sri Lanka

Year: 2017

Citation:

Wickramasinghe, Anoja. 2003. “Gender and Health Issues in the Biomass Energy Cycle: Impediments to Sustainable Development.” Energy for Sustainable Development 7 (3): 51–61.

Author: Anoja Wickramasinghe

Abstract:

Biomass-based energy generation is at the heart of rural life, food and nutrition in particular. Sri Lanka relies heavily on biomass for energy generation in the domestic sector, in which nearly 8 million tonnes (Mt) of biomass is consumed annually. The household sector has been able to optimize its biomass use, without intervention by the state, through the involvement of women. The role of women has been taken for granted in relation to their traditional gender role, by which socially accepted and culturally sensitive imbalances have been established. Health issues pervade the biomass cycle from the stage of biomass-gathering to its end-use. Women, who link the outdoor biomass resource environment with domestic consumption, initiate the cycle and traverse it repeatedly. This study focuses on the physical exhaustion, psychological deterioration, and ill-health generated by the cycle, as reported by participants in the study. The self-perceived problems are taken as testimonies of the multiple health implications of the biomass cycle. Women in the cycle enhance the consumption value of biomass by integrating it into human well-being, and food and nutritional security. Men's labour appears in the form of a helping hand on occasionally performed tasks. The gender differentiation of activities and their health repercussions gives rise to the need for a wider debate on social justice for women's health, their rights over resources, and also occupational and workplace security. The predominant imbalances in the biomass cycle are nurtured by the conceptualization of biomass as a “free commodity”, “women's work”, and the “gender” ideology. The health risks and the self-reported ailments are disproportionately distributed and the repercussions suffered by women in their effort of ensuring household energy security are serious. Problems that women deal with in the outdoor sphere during procuring and transporting are specific to their occupations in this cycle and their gender. It is clear that these issues confront both the concepts of sustainability and social justice. This paper is organized with the intention of discussing conceptual issues and disseminating the findings of research conducted in Sri Lanka. Data presented in this paper were gathered through a questionnaire-based survey administered to 720 households and through field discussions, observations and ethnographic records. Reference to the spatial location is omitted so as to avoid lengthy discussions on ecological aspects.

Topics: Gender, Women, Men, Gender Roles, Health, Households, Infrastructure, Energy Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Sri Lanka

Year: 2003

Citation:

Hyndman, Jennifer, and Malathi De Alwis. 2004. “Bodies, Shrines, and Roads: Violence, (Im)mobility and Displacement in Sri Lanka.” Gender, Place and Culture: A Journal of Feminist Geography 11 (4): 535–57.

Authors: Jennifer Hyndman, Malathi De Alwis

Abstract:

In Sri Lanka, gender and national identities intersect to shape people's mobility and security in the context of conflict. This article aims to illustrate the gendered processes of identity construction in the context of competing militarised nationalisms. We contend that a feminist approach is crucial, and that gender analysis alone is insufficient. Gender cannot be considered analytically independent from nationalism or ethno-national identities because competing Tamil and Sinhala nationalist discourses produce particular gender identities and relations. Fraught and cross-cutting relations of gender, nation, class and location shape people's movement, safety and potential for displacement. In the conflict-ridden areas of Sri Lanka's North and East during 1999- 2000, we set out to examine relations ofgender and nation within the context ofconflict. Our specific aim in this article is to analyse the ways in which certain identities are performed, on one hand, and subverted through premeditated performances of national identity on the other hand. We examine these processes at three sites-shrines, roads and people's bodies. Each is a strategic site of security/insecurity, depending on one's gender and ethno-national identity, as well as geographical location.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Ethnic/Communal Wars, Displacement & Migration, Gender, Women Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Sri Lanka

Year: 2004

Citation:

Fernando, Weerahannadige Dulini Anuvinda, and Laurie Cohen. 2014. “Respectable Femininity and Career Agency: Exploring Paradoxical Imperatives.” Gender, Work & Organization 21 (2): 149–64. doi:10.1111/gwao.12027.

Authors: Weerahannadige Dulini Anuvinda Fernando, Laurie Cohen

Abstract:

This paper places respectable femininity at the very centre of career enactment. In the accounts of 24 Sri Lankan women, notions of being a ‘respectable’ woman recurred as respondents described how important it was to adhere to the powerful behavioural norms for women in their organizations and society. However while such respectability was vital for women's career progression, it ultimately restricted their agency and conflicted with other requirements for advancement. Based on our empirical findings, we propose that being a respectable woman was experienced as paradox, where at times it was seen as impossible to be both a good woman and a successful careerist. We highlight the implications of our findings for women's careers in South Asia and more widely.

Topics: Civil Society, Economies, Gender, Women, Gender Roles, Femininity/ies, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Households, Political Economies Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Sri Lanka

Year: 2014

Citation:

Banford, Alyssa, David C. Ivey, Thulitha Wickrama, Judith Fischer, Anne Prouty, and Douglas Smith. 2016. “The Role of Natural Disaster in Individual and Relational Adjustment in Sri Lankan Mothers Following the 2004 Tsunami.” Disasters 40 (1): 134–57. doi:10.1111/disa.12137.

Authors: Alyssa Banford, David C. Ivey, Thulitha Wickrama, Judith Fischer, Anne Prouty, Douglas Smith

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to examine the associations between maternal mental health distress symptoms, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, the extent to which the presence of a child's disaster-related physical health problem(s) have interfered with daily functioning, and family cohesion over time among Sri Lankan mothers who survived the tsunami on 26 December 2004. Study variables were measured using a self-report questionnaire administered approximately four months after the event and three years later in summer 2008. Univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses were conducted. Path analysis was employed to assess the relationships between the key variables over time and the correlations in the study variables at each time point. Among other findings, the results of the path analysis indicated that post-traumatic stress symptom distress four months after the disaster significantly predicted variance in family cohesion three years later. Clinical and empirical research implications are presented and discussed.

Keywords: mental health, mothers, Sri Lanka, tsunami

Topics: Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Women, Health, Mental Health, PTSD Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Sri Lanka

Year: 2016

Citation:

Visweswaran, Kamala, ed. 2013. Everyday Occupations: Experiencing Militarism in South Asia and the Middle East. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. 

Author: Kamala Visweswaran

Annotation:

Summary:
In the twenty-first century, political conflict and militarization have come to constitute a global social condition rather than a political exception. Military occupation increasingly informs the politics of both democracies and dictatorships, capitalist and formerly socialist regimes, raising questions about its relationship to sovereignty and the nation-state form. Israel and India are two of the world's most powerful postwar democracies yet have long-standing military occupations. Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Turkey have passed through periods of military dictatorship, but democracy has yielded little for their ethnic minorities who have been incorporated into the electoral process. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh (like India, Pakistan, and Turkey) have felt the imprint of socialism; declarations of peace after long periods of conflict in these countries have not improved the conditions of their minority or indigenous peoples but rather have resulted in "violent peace" and remilitarization. Indeed, the existence of standing troops and ongoing state violence against peoples struggling for self-determination in these regions suggests the expanding and everyday nature of military occupation. Such everydayness raises larger issues about the dominant place of the military in society and the social values surrounding militarism.

Everyday Occupations examines militarization from the standpoints of both occupier and occupied. With attention to gender, poetics, satire, and popular culture, contributors who have lived and worked in occupied areas in the Middle East and South Asia explore what kinds of society are foreclosed or made possible by militarism. The outcome is a powerful contribution to the ethnography of political violence. (Summary from University of Pennsylvania Press)

Topics: Armed Conflict, Occupation, Secessionist Wars, Conflict, Ethnicity, Gender, Women, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Militarization, Violence Regions: MENA, Asia, Middle East, South Asia, Europe, Southern Europe Countries: Bangladesh, India, Israel, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkey

Year: 2013

Citation:

Bloom, Mia. 2011. Bombshell: The Many Faces of Women Terrorists. London: Hurst Publishers. http://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/bombshell/.

Author: Mia Bloom

Abstract:

The ultimate stealth weapon, female terrorists kill on average four times more people than their male counterparts. But why are more women drawn to terrorism than ever before? Do women volunteer to be terrorists, or are they coerced? Does women’s participation in terrorism have any positive impact on their place in society?

In Bombshell, Mia Bloom seeks to understand what motivates women and to redress the gap in our understanding of women’s roles by interviewing women previously involved in terrorist groups. Bloom provides a unique and rare first-hand glimpse into the psychology, culture and social networks of women who become terrorists. Bombshell takes an in-depth look at women involved in terrorism in Chechnya, Colombia, Germany, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Palestine, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkey, the UK, and the USA.

Drawing on primary research and secondary literature, Bloom examines the increasing role of women in terrorism, and considers what it means for the societies from which they come.

(Hurst Publishers)

Keywords: gender studies, terrorism

Topics: Armed Conflict, Combatants, Female Combatants, Gender, Women, Gender Roles, Femininity/ies, Terrorism Regions: Africa, MENA, East Africa, Americas, North America, South America, Asia, Middle East, Southeast Asia, Europe, Central Europe, Northern Europe, Southern Europe, Western Europe Countries: Colombia, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Lebanon, Palestine / Occupied Palestinian Territories, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States of America

Year: 2011

Citation:

Tol, Wietse A., Ivan H. Komproe, Mark J.d. Jordans, Anavarathan Vallipuram, Heather Sipsma, Sambasivamoorthy Sivayokan, Robert D. Macy, and Joop T. De Jong. 2012. “Outcomes and Moderators of a Preventive School-Based Mental Health Intervention for Children Affected by War in Sri Lanka: A Cluster Randomized Trial.” World Psychiatry 11 (2): 114–22. doi:10.1016/j.wpsyc.2012.05.008.

Authors: Wietse A. Tol, Ivan H. Komproe, Mark J.d. Jordans, Anavarathan Vallipuram, Heather Sipsma, Sambasivamoorthy Sivayokan, Robert D. Macy, Joop T. De Jong

Abstract:

We aimed to examine outcomes, moderators and mediators of a preventive school-based mental health intervention implemented by paraprofessionals in a war-affected setting in northern Sri Lanka. A cluster randomized trial was employed. Subsequent to screening 1,370 children in randomly selected schools, 399 children were assigned to an intervention (n=199) or waitlist control condition (n=200). The intervention consisted of 15 manualized sessions over 5 weeks of cognitive behavioral techniques and creative expressive elements. As- sessments took place before, 1 week after, and 3 months after the intervention. Primary outcomes included post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depressive, and anxiety symptoms. No main effects on primary outcomes were identified. A main effect in favor of intervention for conduct problems was observed. This effect was stronger for younger children. Furthermore, we found intervention benefits for spe- cific subgroups. Stronger effects were found for boys with regard to PTSD and anxiety symptoms, and for younger children on pro-social behavior. Moreover, we found stronger intervention effects on PTSD, anxiety, and function impairment for children experiencing lower levels of current war-related stressors. Girls in the intervention condition showed smaller reductions on PTSD symptoms than waitlisted girls. We conclude that preventive school-based psychosocial interventions in volatile areas characterized by ongoing war-related stress- ors may effectively improve indicators of psychological wellbeing and posttraumatic stress-related symptoms in some children. However, they may undermine natural recovery for others. Further research is necessary to examine how gender, age and current war-related expe- riences contribute to differential intervention effects.

Keywords: armed conflict, political violence, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, school-based intervention, prevention, Sri Lanka

Topics: Age, Youth, Armed Conflict, Gender, Girls, Boys, Health, Mental Health, PTSD, Violence Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Sri Lanka

Year: 2012

Citation:

Ruwanpura, Kanchana N. 2007. “Awareness and Action: The Ethno-Gender Dynamics of Sri Lankan NGOs.” Gender, Place & Culture 14 (3): 317–33. doi:10.1080/09663690701324987.

Author: Kanchana N. Ruwanpura

Abstract:

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are the modus operandi in the development arena at this juncture. Many, including feminists, place much faith in these actors for creating a progressive space for social, political, and economic activities to be undertaken. This article employs fieldwork evidence from eastern Sri Lanka, carried out in 1998–1999 and early 2004, to challenge this simplistic reading. The primary social group that was studied during the fieldwork period was female-headed households. This article argues that there are different types of NGO working in multiple ways in the region, and it is important to distinguish between these differences. NGOs that primarily execute development-oriented projects without considering the ethno-nationalist and gender politics are culpable of the violence of development. It is only when NGOs are in local communities for the long haul that they are able to develop a commitment to reassess and evaluate the social transformative potential of their activities. Using a feminist political economy perspective this article argues that it is important and necessary that NGOs confront social, political, and economic structures, including ethnic identity politics, if their activities are to lead to transformative feminist politics. In other words, NGOs would have to do more than pay lip service to gender mainstreaming, as is more often the case. These actors need to recognize and understand the potency of ethno-nationalist politics, social structures, social exclusion, and social injustice in order to create social spaces that are enabling of women's agency in the local communities within which they work and operate.

Keywords: ethnic-dynamics, NGOs and civil society, community activism, social/political transformation, eastern Sri Lanka

Topics: Civil Society, Economies, Ethnicity, Gender, Women, Gender Mainstreaming, NGOs, Political Economies, Political Participation Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Sri Lanka

Year: 2007

Citation:

Kulatunga, S. T. K., and R. W. D. Lakshman. 2010. “Gendering Livelihoods in Protracted Conflicts.” Paper presented at 2010 Annual conference of International Association for Feminist Economics, Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 22-24.

Authors: R. W. D. Lakshman, S. T. K. Kulatunga

Abstract:

Keywords: civil war, Sri Lanka, livelihoods, Gender, livelihood strategies, vulnerability

Topics: Armed Conflict, Civil Wars, Feminisms, Gender, Women, Men, Gendered Power Relations, Households, Livelihoods Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Sri Lanka

Year: 2010