WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY NEWS archive: SRI LANKA
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UNIFEM WOMEN, WAR AND PEACE WEB PORTAL: SRI LANKA

2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002

2006

Sri Lanka: Curtailing choice in the guise of preserving culture
June 4, 2006 -(wluml) "A lifestyle marked by the purchase and adornment of fancy clothes, jewellery and make up, along with a shift toward "provocative" and "unrespectable" behaviour leading to unwholesome sexual liaisons, unwanted pregnancies, and unsanitary abortions was posited as having become the norm among these women'. Does the above quote sound familiar? You would not be mistaken in thinking these lines are from one of the leaflets circulated in the Eastern province a few weeks ago accusing women of several "transgressions" and calling upon them to stop working in NGOs and INGOs.

Female suicide bomber kills eight in Sri Lanka
April 26, 2006- (AP) A bomber pretending to be pregnant talked her way into a military complex Tuesday, then blew herself up in front of a car carrying the Sri Lankan army commander, killing eight people and wounding the officer and 26 others.Government warplanes quickly struck at areas held by the Tamil Tiger rebel movement in a new round of escalating violence that threatens to shred a four-year-old truce in the island's civil war.

2005

International Campaign on Women Human Rights Defenders opens global consultation meeting in Sri Lanka
November 30, 2005 - (Amnesty International Canada) Hundreds of activists from roughly 70 countries gathered in Sri  Lanka for global consultations on Women's Human Rights. According to Amnesty International: "The consultation is focusing on the challenges  faced by women human rights defenders in their political organizing, including violence, harassment, and intimidation. Conference participants will promote a more nuanced understanding of the experience of women human rights defenders, and will devise practical strategies to address  challenges such as a global rise in fundamentalisms and militarism, and a climate increasingly hostile to the work of political activists in various social movements."

LTTE violates the rights of women and children -- Ambassador informs UN Security Council
November 2, 2005 - (Asiantribune.com): Reviewing the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women and Peace and Security adopted five years ago, Ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, informed the Security Council that the LTTE is in "gross violation" of the rights of Tamil women and children.

ASIAN MEET FOR ACHIEVING MDG'S THROUGH GENDER MAINSTREAMING
May 20, 2005 - (OneWorld) : 2005 being the year for the Beijing +10 and MDGs + 5, is a year for reflection and moving forward. IFAD, UNIFEM and IDRC collaborated to organize a three day regional conference on 'Development Effectiveness through Gender Mainstreaming'. Over 120 representatives from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Fiji, India, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka attended the conference.

WOMEN, NOT SRI LANKA, BEAR TH RISK IN MIDEEAST MAID BUSINESS
May 11, 2005 - (Gulf times) : The teacher held up an electric cake mixer and told the class of wide-eyed women before her how to clean it properly.

SOUTH ASIA CONFRONTS TREND OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
May 5, 2005 - (Reuters) Changing laws is the easy part, changing attitudes is something else.Shameful stories in recent days of horrific rapes in Pakistan and India, murders in Afghanistan and an impoverished Bangladeshi mother offering to sell an eye have all underscored how far South Asia has to go to give downtrodden womenfolk justice.

"GIVE WOMEN THEIR DUE"
April 30, 2005 ( Daily News): Men and women are equal in terms of human rights and this is recognised by Sri Lanka's constitution. There are no "women's issues" until women are discriminated against and marginalised in society.

21,000 GIRLS IN SRI LANKA'S WAR
April 25, 2005 - (BBC News) Report says over 43% of all children involved in Lanka’s civil war are girls. Girls are the greatest casualty of war all over the world, a leading charity working with children said on Monday.

Women’s Groups appeal for an inclusive framework for disaster response
January 2005 - (Press Release) A collective of women’s rights groups who have conducted a series of fact-finding missions in the tsunami-affected areas over the past week wishes to bring to public attention serious issues concerning the safety and wellbeing of women which have not been addressed so far in relief efforts.

2004

SLA Humiliates Women in Jaffna
December 7, 2004 -(TamilNet) "Women in Jaffna suffer humiliation daily. Smartly dressed women are asked whether they belong to the Liberation Tigers and whether they received military training.

Tamil Women's Confluence Event Held in Trinco
November 17, 2004 -(TamilNet) Tamil women associations in Varothiar Nagar- Puthukuddiyiurpu, a suburb three km off north of Trincomalee town held a "Women's Confluence (Sangamam)"

Oxfam Launches Campaign to End Violence Against Women
October 30, 2004 –(TamilNet) Oxfam sponsored District Campaign to End All Violence Against Women was launched in Trincomalee with an inaugural event held at Trincomalee St.Joseph's College auditorium Tuesday evening with Mr.Farid Hasan Ahmed, acting Country Programme Manager of the Oxfam (Great Britain), Sri Lanka as the chief guest, sources said.

Tamil Women's Uprising Day Celebrations Begin in Kilinochchi
October 8, 2004 –(TamilNet) Tamil Womens' Uprising Day celebrations and 17th year memorial of 2nd Lt Malathy began at 9am Wednesday at the Kilinochchi Central play grounds, sources in Vanni said. Deputy Director of Heros Memorial, Ms Thamil Arasi, presided the event.

Women's "Coming Together" event held in Kilinochchi
October 3, 2004 – (TamilNet) A "Confluence" of Tamil Eelam Women Associations, Sangamam, was held in Kilinochchi Cultural Hall Thursday where more than 650 women activists from all regions of Kilinochchi took part, sources in Vanni said. Kilinochchi district LTTE Head of Women's Political Wing, Poovili presided the event.

LTTE Women's Unit Releases Film on Liberation Struggle
October 2, 2004 – (TamilNet) Part 2 of the "Akkini Paravaikal" (Volcanic Birds) of Nitharsanam Women Unit of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was released in Trincomalee Friday evening. Trincomalee district political head of the LTTE Mr.S.Elilan handed over the first copy of the CD to the mother of a LTTE martyr at the event held in Trincomalee Town Hall.

LTTE Women Take Part in Mine Ban Conference
August 27, 2004 - (Tamilnet) Two senior female members of the Liberation Tigers are taking part in a conference organised by Geneva Call for former women combatants of Non State Actors to identify how they can contribute to the promotion of the landmine ban and other humanitarian norms. The conference began in Geneva Thursday.

TAMIL WOMEN'S PROBLEMS SPOTLIGHTED IN VAVUNIYA GATHERING
August 17, 2004 - (TamilNet) A gathering of Tamil Eelam Women Associations, Sangamam, was held in Vavuniya Irambaikulam Girls Maha Vidiyalayam Monday on a grand scale. Noting that "women are subjected to more violence than during the war period", Vavuniya district Political Head of the LTTE's Women Wing, Ms Alai, said that the gathering was conducted to study about the violence and the forces behind the atrocities committed against women.

TIGERS ACCUSE SRI LANKAN MILITARY
June 21, 2004 - (BBC) Tamil Tiger rebels have accused the Sri Lankan security forces of
aiding and abetting a breakaway rebel commander.

SRI LANKA: NEW BILL QUIETLY REFERS TO ABORTION RIGHTS
June 15, 2004 - (IPS/GIN) When a participant rejoiced at a recent Sri Lankan discussion on the proposed Women's Rights Bill, others bluntly told her to remain silent. She had spotted a section that subtly deals with the controversial issue of abortion.

SRI LANKA: AFTER THREE YEARS, STILL NO PROSECUTION IN RAPE CASE
April 15, 2004 – (OMCT Appeal) The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Asian Human Rights Commission, a member of the OMCT network, of the continued lack of prosecution against the perpetrators of the rape of Rita in Sri Lanka.

USAID FUNDS TRAINING CENTER FOR WAR-AFFECTED WOMEN
February 26, 2004 – (TamilNet) Regional Programme Manager of the USAID Ms.Brenda Barrett Thursday declared open a bi-lingual sewing training centre in the Trincomalee Government Technical College to assist war affected girls of three communities to find gainful employment. The project is financed by the USAID at an estimated cost of one million rupees, USAID sources said.

GANG RAPE OF A GIRL AND LACK OF DUE DILIGENCE BY POLICE
January 26, 2004 - (OMCT Appeal) The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Asian Human Rights Commission, a member of the OMCT network, of the lack of due diligence by police in the case of a 16-year-old victim of a gang rape in Kengalle Digana, Kandy, Sri Lanka.

LINGANAGAR TAMILS COMPLAIN OF SLA HARASSMENT
January 23, 2004 – (TamilNet) The People Welfare Society (PWF) of Linganagar Friday made a complaint to the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRC) and the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Trincomalee that soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers manning a check point in the area are harassing the residents of Linganagar, a crowded suburb of Trincomalee town, civil rights sources said.

CARING FOR SRI LANKA'S WOUNDED REBELS
January 11, 2004 – (BBC) It is just after dawn and a group of Tamil Tiger fighters lines up in front of the flagpole at a camp in rebel-controlled northern Sri Lanka.

"HARSINI'S DEMISE IRREPARABLE LOSS TO WOMEN LIBERATION"
January 10, 2004 – (TamilNet) North East Provincial Ministry of Education, Cultural Affairs, Sports and Youth Affairs Saturday said that the untimely death of Trincomalee leading women rights activist Miss Harsini Antonysamy was "an irreparable loss to women liberation movement in the NorthEast province."

TRINCO WOMEN RIGHTS ACTIVIST PASSES AWAY
January 9, 2004 – (TamilNet) Miss Harsini Antonysamy (26), a leading women rights activist in Trincomalee, died of cancer in a Colombo hospital Friday. She has been the Trincomalee district organizer of the Theatre Action Group of the Jaffna University, sources said.

2003

JAFFNA MISSING PERSONS'S PARENTS PROTEST IN COLOMBO
December 29, 2003 – (TamilNet) Parents, wives and children of persons who went missing after being arrested by the Sri Lanka army in Jaffna in 1996-97 demonstrated in front of Sri Lanka's Ministry of Justice Monday. In a memorandum to the Minister of Justice they allege that the disappearances were part of a “well planned plot” by the Sri Lanka army “in conjunction” with a Tamil paramilitary group. Mr.S. Satkunam, the secretary of the Missing Persons Guardian Association, was questioned by Sri Lanka Police who wanted the demonstrators to disperse. However, he argued with the Police and a ministry official that the MPGA and the Jaffna Mothers’ Front had a genuine grievance to which they want to draw attention by peaceful means.

ONE MOTHER'S EFFORTS TO BRING PEACE TO SRI LANKA
November 12, 2003 – (Scripps Howard News Service) When Visaka Dharmadasa shuts her eyes, she's right back with the rebels of Sri Lanka.

WAR WIDOWS' WOES INCLUDE STIGMA AND HARASSMENT
November 4, 2003 - (IPS/GIN) Losing their husbands in Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict has been difficult enough for the thousands of war widows here, but putting back the pieces of their lives has not been any easier.

WOMEN IN POLITICS: A PROSPECT FOR CHANGE?
October 29, 2003 – (The Island – Cat’s Eye) Do not throw pearls before swine, for they will turn and rend you ... what suits European women will not suit us, said Sir Ponambalam Ramanathan infamously in his reply to the Donoughmore Commissioners on the demand for women's franchise in 1927.

SRI LANKA'S STOLEN CHILDREN
October 14, 2003 – (CNN) It's a parent's worst nightmare: the peace process is faltering and Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels are recruiting again -- abducting unsuspecting children at the rate of nearly two a day.

LIFE AS A WAR WIDOW
October 12, 2003 – (SUNDAY OBSERVER) War widows....While the loss of war in terms of lives lost and properties damaged has been amply documented, one of the biggest casualties of the two decade long strife, has been overlooked, ignored or taken for granted, by mainstream society.

WOMEN’S ISSUES DISCUSSED IN JAFFA GATHERING
October 3, 2003 – (TAMILNET) More than 1500 representatives of women’s organizations in Jaffna gathered at the Veerasingham hall in Jaffna town Thursday at 9 a.m., and critically discussed the problems confronting women, in particular, the lack of awareness of social issues among women in villages and barriers to women's development in the spheres of education and economics, sources said.

WOMEN’S GATHERING EMPHASIZES TAMIL WOMEN’S POTENTIAL
September 5, 2003 – (TAMILNET ) At the women’s gathering held Thursday at the Vavuniya Town Hall, the leaders and members of the women’s wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam from all districts emphasized the importance of solving Tamil women’s problems together and attaining women’s liberation along with National liberation, and discussed the contributions Tamil women have made to the struggle of the Tamil people for self-determination, sources said.

CHILD ABDUCTIONS HAUNT SRI LANKA'S MOTHERS
July 23, 2003 – (Reuters) Nalini has five children, but when she wakes up in the morning she remembers that only three are safe in their beds.The other two are training to be soldiers.

SRI LANKA, TAMIL REBELS TO HOLD FIRST MEETING ON WOMEN'S ISSUES
March 4, 2003 – (Associated Press) The Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tiger rebels are set to hold their first meeting on women's issues as part of efforts to end a 19-year ethnic conflict, officials said Tuesday.

2002

NIU FACULTY WILL HELP TRAIN WOMEN LEADERS IN SRI LANKA
September 23, 2002 – (NIU) NIU faculty members will soon be helping foster democratic leadership skills in women of Sri Lanka.

1998

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN INCREASES
December 18, 1998 – (Feminist.org) According to reports from police and feminist writers, there has been a tremendous increase in the number of violent acts committed against women in Sri Lanka.

SRI LANKA DRAFTS BILL ENSUING WOMEN”S REPRESENTATION
March 25, 1998 – (Feminist.org) Sri Lankan Women’s Affairs Minister Hema Ratnayake said that the People’s Alliance government will pass legislation that requires a minimum of 25 percent representation for women in all elected groups. Although Sri Lanka’s president and prime minister are both women, historian Lorna Dewarajah noted that most of the area’s female politicians were either wives or daughters of popular officials

SRI LANKAN NUNS ORDAINED AS BUDDHIST CLERGY
March 19, 1998 – (Feminist.org) Sri Lankan nuns were admitted into the Buddhist clergy for the first time in 1,500 years. Women’s rights activist Sunila Abesekera said that the nun’s order was a victory but that significant Buddhist leaders still refuse to accept women as part of the clergy. Abesekera said, “It is important for people to invite these nuns for religious services at their homes and recognize them as part of the clergy .... I doubt if that will happen.”

The opinions expressed in the articles carried by this site are those of the authors and are not necessarily shared by the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, PeaceWomen Project.