03-31-2004, 11:31 AM
Few women in politics in Sri Lanka, despite legacy
By Lindsay Beck
COLOMBO, March 31 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka is the home of the world's first female prime minister, but a glance at the candidate list for its general election reveals a glaring shortage of women.
Nearly 45 years after Sirimavo Bandaranaike took power after the assassination of her prime minister husband and led her party through four turbulent decades, the island has seen little trickle-down effect from her example.
Women formed less than five percent of the outgoing parliament, and when Sri Lankans go to the polls on Friday there will be just 22 women to choose from among more than 500 candidates fielded by the two main parties.
"Women don't get nominations by the parties," said Kumari Jayawardene, secretary of Sri Lanka's Social Scientists Association. "It's heavily patriarchal. The men are very interested in political power and they are not willing to let women into that field."
President Chandrika Kumaratunga -- the daughter of Bandaranaike -- has twice been elected president and wields tremendous power as leader of the United People's Freedom Alliance, the main challenger to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's ruling United National Party.
But Jayawardene said the legacy of female leaders from the island's most powerful political family had not changed the status of women in politics.
"There's a difference between dynastic leadership and women at the top. If you're in a political family it is much easier. I think just about all the women in parliament now are from political families," she said.
Many feel women are unsuited to the violent and cut-throat nature of Sri Lankan politics, but ironically it may be the Tamil Tiger rebels -- who have waged a separatist war for 20 years -- who are doing the most to change their status.
The Tigers have openly endorsed a political party, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), and the rebel group known for its women combat units has made a point of fielding a female candidate in each of the five districts the TNA is contesting.
"Difficulties women face in our society have not been properly articulated or addressed," Pathmini Sithamparanthan, a TNA candidate, told Tamil Canadian Radio in an interview.
Residents in her district in the northern Jaffna peninsula say Sithamparanthan could win a seat, bolstered by a female support base that turned out in droves to see her speak at a recent Jaffna campaign meeting.
"Hundreds of women were enthused that finally there is someone who will be given authority to raise problems related to women in a national forum," she said.
AlertNet news is provided by Reuters
By Lindsay Beck
COLOMBO, March 31 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka is the home of the world's first female prime minister, but a glance at the candidate list for its general election reveals a glaring shortage of women.
Nearly 45 years after Sirimavo Bandaranaike took power after the assassination of her prime minister husband and led her party through four turbulent decades, the island has seen little trickle-down effect from her example.
Women formed less than five percent of the outgoing parliament, and when Sri Lankans go to the polls on Friday there will be just 22 women to choose from among more than 500 candidates fielded by the two main parties.
"Women don't get nominations by the parties," said Kumari Jayawardene, secretary of Sri Lanka's Social Scientists Association. "It's heavily patriarchal. The men are very interested in political power and they are not willing to let women into that field."
President Chandrika Kumaratunga -- the daughter of Bandaranaike -- has twice been elected president and wields tremendous power as leader of the United People's Freedom Alliance, the main challenger to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's ruling United National Party.
But Jayawardene said the legacy of female leaders from the island's most powerful political family had not changed the status of women in politics.
"There's a difference between dynastic leadership and women at the top. If you're in a political family it is much easier. I think just about all the women in parliament now are from political families," she said.
Many feel women are unsuited to the violent and cut-throat nature of Sri Lankan politics, but ironically it may be the Tamil Tiger rebels -- who have waged a separatist war for 20 years -- who are doing the most to change their status.
The Tigers have openly endorsed a political party, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), and the rebel group known for its women combat units has made a point of fielding a female candidate in each of the five districts the TNA is contesting.
"Difficulties women face in our society have not been properly articulated or addressed," Pathmini Sithamparanthan, a TNA candidate, told Tamil Canadian Radio in an interview.
Residents in her district in the northern Jaffna peninsula say Sithamparanthan could win a seat, bolstered by a female support base that turned out in droves to see her speak at a recent Jaffna campaign meeting.
"Hundreds of women were enthused that finally there is someone who will be given authority to raise problems related to women in a national forum," she said.
AlertNet news is provided by Reuters
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