Empowerment interrupted!

Sri Lanka may have had the worlds first female Prime Minister, but as the August 17 polls proved, women are still a long way from cracking the political glass ceiling:

by Dilrukshi Handunnetti

On August 17, Sri Lankan voters elected 196 members to the eighth Parliament, including ten women. Of the ten, six - Thalatha Athukorala, Hirunika Premachandra, Indunil Amarasena, Vijayakala Maheswaran, Chandrani Bandara and Rohini Wijeratne - represent the United National Party (UNP).

Four - Shriyani Wijewickrema, Sumedha G. Jayasena, Pavithradevi Wanniarachchi and Geetha Kumarasinghe have been elected from the United Peoples' Freedom Alliance (UPFA). This result comes after rigorous and continuous debate and lobbying in the country, generated by progressive women's groups, demanding the inclusion of more women in the new legislature as well as the inclusion of women of substance.

This year, there was strong focus among lobby groups, to have the number of women representatives in Parliament increased, and as a first step, to have more women to be given party endorsement as candidates. The lobbying was not confined to have the numbers increased but significant emphasis lay on the quality of those women candidates.

Long struggle

It had been a long struggle for the Sri Lankan women to get even to this point, in a country where there is a general belief that women already have their due place in society and enjoy equal status. It is a stereotype that had been difficult to break with most refusing to acknowledge that women still have to deal with the proverbial glass ceiling, especially when they wish to knock on parliamentary doors.

It is a fact that, despite vigorous debate and lobbying for breaking the stereotypes, Sri Lankans are yet to overcome their feudal tendencies of voting for family names. In the case of women, those whose lives have been struck by some tragedy linked to politics enjoy a better opportunity of garnering support and being swept into power no a wave of sympathy, that ordinary women who may place their best bets on performance.

If sympathy and family name provided the springboard for the late Sirimavo Bandaranaike to get elected as the island's Prime Minister and world's first, there is little to show that this reflected a progressive tendency among the voters. This inclination towards' 'trusted families' 'feudal tendencies,' continue to influence the electorate in a big way and decades later, women still are not considered a first choice in Parliament.

The question of what would be the role of a woman parliamentarian is sometimes discussed. Such questions of performance or behaviour do not generally arise, with regard to male candidates. "Women often have to socially justify their decision to enter politics and also demonstrate that they have substance, two things men are hardly ever asked," noted Dr. Sepali Kottegoda, Executive director, Women and Media Collective. If substance was the issue, a case in point is the fate that befell a pioneering woman politician who has campaigned for women and child rights - Rosy Senanayake. If performance was a criterion for selection, then Senanayake's political fortunes should not have dipped so much on August 17. It is well -known that she is completely self-made and did not have the traditional support mechanisms to propel her into politics.

Role of political parties

In this context, it is important to consider the role of political parties, in accommodating more women on their nomination lists. In the South, there was some level of 'consciousness' to include women in the nomination lists. The United National Party (UNP) has publicly claimed it was willing to not have a quota yet- in Parliament - but was willing to include 25% quota on the nomination lists. Others did not even pay lip service and the standard response was that women were not forthcoming and if they did, they would have been accommodated.

This claim may be partly true. May be, because at the local authorities level, this is not so. More and more women have demonstrated an inclination to become politically active at the local level. But it is quite different at the provincial or parliamentary level. The level of engagement is much less, and women suffer from lack of support as well resources.

It is also where the absence of affirmative action such as a quota impacts on the level of women's participation. Not being even a second thought, often, the national lists of political parties include only men.

It is hoped that given that women represent 51. 5 of the island's population and do contribute vastly to keep the economy well-oiled, also because of the traditional barriers and the lack of support mechanisms, the national list could be used as a tool to accommodate women who may contribute to the development of the 'other half.'