Northern Provincial Council elections:

People's representatives must help women bread-winners - Geethanjali Naguleswaran

By Dhaneshi Yatawara

The elation of having the Northern Provincial Council Elections after a lapse seems to be felt across the country. It has become a hot topic in all provinces - among politicians and civilians.

"People are demanding for educated, well versed politicians whom they could believe in as their true representatives and who would create a conducive environment for them to live in peace and harmony", said Sri Lanka Freedom Party organiser for the Kilinochchi district, Geethanjali Naguleswaran. Following are excerpts of the interview she had with the 'Sunday Observer'.

Q: How is the campaign going on?

A: We as the SLFP, have already started campaigning for the Provincial Council elections as a team. There is not much of a difference of what we have been doing since day one. We have been working closely with the people throughout and the only difference now is that we discuss and make people aware of how to select a leader or a leading party which would serve them making their lives better each day. People are excited. They want educated, seasoned and understanding politicians as the people are passing a sensitive period in their lives.

Q: What is the situation of the SLFP in the Kilinochchi district?

A: The United People Freedom Alliance, in a joint effort, can have seven contestants for four seats. In my opinion, its best if the allied political parties of the UPFA contest as one team. Thus we must a broader range of issues the people face.

We are awaiting the final decision of the party's Central Committee. There are 68,000 registered voters in the district. And 60-65% of the families are headed by women.

Q: As you mentioned there are a significant number of women bread-winners in the district. Isn't this a different challenge? Do you have as a solution for their problems?

A: These women bread-winners in the North came into being within the past 30-40 years. But those who create a fabricated picture say this number of widows was created within the past three to four years. These women-headed families can be divided into different categories.

In one category the husband has been killed - not recently but thirty years ago. Another section is where the husband is missing. During the terror period the LTTE and other terror groups that existed in the North abducted men.

In some families the men are in prisons. They have been found guilty of having explosives or weapons or parts of it. The fourth category are families with disabled husbands - mentally or physically, by the war. Most of these widows are young. The reason why most of these women are young is because they married early in life to avoid forced recruitment by the LTTE.

A lot of issues are prevalent in the Vanni related to women. We are people's representatives and we need to console and help victimised women.

There is a strong need for women to come up as leaders. In the entire North about 60 percent of the population are women. The lack of support from the community for a woman to become a leader is the greatest obstacle. They only criticise woman leaders and work against them with jealousy.

It is important to let women come up as community leaders as they are the people who understand the needs of a family, children and security of a community. If somebody is against woman leadership they should be embarrassed about it.

Women, specially Tamil women, need to be more involved when talking about difficulties women face in the North. Politicians carry tales and woes of women to international fora, but no woman representative is taken.

Q: What is the situation the SLFP is facing?

A: Considering the Northern Province, its people are culturally bound and sensitive. Since these people have undergone terrorist threats for the past 30-40 years, about 60 percent are not interested in politics. Another reason is they have good jobs and better living conditions. But they are observers of the community.

But the remaining 40 percent in the Vanni community are interested in politics - among them 20 percent are working for the TNA - they demand rights, they want the government to directly separate the land and have it controlled by the Tamil leaders, they demand liberation.

The campaign is kept alive by local and foreign people who enjoy a better life while the true Vanni people are poor and innocent.

The other half of this politically motivated faction are supporters of the main political parties, such as the SLFP, UNP and JVP. Even members of allied parties of the Government are trying to rise up as individuals without giving much thought to the collective nature of the ruling party and thus, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party has to engage in a bigger fight to gain a proper place in the Vanni political sphere.

Q: As you have more access to the grassroots level of the Vanni region what do you see among the common people? What do they feel about this political war?

A: Those who are actually living in these areas are quiet. Those who are not with the ground realities and living abroad are the people who are shouting and carrying on a campaign selling the emotions of the poor innocent people living in the Vanni for their own agendas and political growth.

Q: Do you think the Vanni region is heading in the right direction?

A: Real independence to the North came in 2009. Now terrorism is no more. We have to protect this independence carefully. That is the correct path we should take. Trusting each other is an important thing.

If a political party claims to be people's representatives and if they are genuine, they need to represent people at every table of discussion.

They cannot avoid discussions with the Government if they want to bring a sustainable solution to the people they serve. People have brought them to that level and politicians in the Vanni need to give credit to it.