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The e-Newsletter of the Gender Network

March/April 2012 | Vol. 6, No. 1

The situation of widows and female heads of household in post conflict Sri Lanka
by Savitri Goonesekere* Who are the war widows? The post armed conflict period has posed special challenges in addressing the problem of widows and female heads of household affected by the armed conflict and its aftermath. The personal trauma and marginalization of widows and female heads of household in the areas directly affected by the armed conflict has been recorded and acknowledged in the recently published report of the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) (2011). However war widows in Sri Lanka are not a homogenous group. The violence of the conflict affected all social classes and communities in all parts of the country. War widows are therefore women who lost spouses in diverse circumstances such as acts of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) terrorism against civilian populations, abductions and disappearances allegedly caused by state and non-state actors. There are also a large number of widows of armed forces personnel who lost their lives in the thirty year conflict. A southern insurgency and the tsunami natural disaster also contributed to loss of life, including the loss of male spouses and relatives. This has contributed to a higher incidence of both widows and single women who assume family responsibilities as heads of households and caregivers in the family. Officially validated statistics, including from the CEDAW progress review, give a national statistic of 24.3% female heads of household, of whom 64% are said to be without employment. The government recognized that women had been seriously affected by the years of armed conflict in the CEDAW progress review 2011, as well as its report during the Universal Periodic Review to the Human Rights Council. The need for gender mainstreaming, according to commitments under Security Council Resolution 1325, appears to have been recognized in the Thematic Action Plan on Women in the Human Rights Action Plan of government. The National Action Plan for Women 2007-2011 of the Ministry of Women and Children also incorporates a component on women in armed conflict, and addresses the concerns in Security Council Resolution 1325. Yet the progress report to the CEDAW Committee in January 2011 has no information on this important issue, though the NGO shadow report analyzed the problem of widows and female heads of household from the perspective of gender equality standards in CEDAW. The Committee noted this contradiction and made several concluding observations on the issues that must be addressed, and requested an interim report from the government on women affected by the armed conflict. Up to date, the only official figures are from the Minister responsible for Women and Childrens issues in a response made to a question in Parliament, and evidence from his Ministry placed before the LLRC Commission. According to this information there are 59,500 widows in the areas directly affected by the conflict, with 42,500 in the East and

Professor Savitri Goonesekere is a former UN CEDAW Committee and EFG Member. This presentation was made during a Community of Practice (CoP) seminar celebrating International Womens Day 2012 and Gender Month at ADB, on Gender Equity and the Fragile and Conflict-Affected Situation (FCAS) Network with the theme Women, Development, and Some Critical Issues in Post Conflict Sri Lanka

16,900 in the North. Other unverified sources give a figure of 89,000 in both provinces and 40,000 widows in the North. One of the major problems in obtaining statistics is the very definition of widowhood. Sri Lanka has an accessible system of marriage registration, and customary marriages are not in general celebrated as they are void and have no legal consequences unless they conform to the legal requirements such as minimum age of marriage. Widows in other parts of the country will be able to submit marriage certificates as proof of marital status. However, in areas directly affected by the conflict, women may be unable to produce such documents because of disruption of public services, or records are lost or destroyed, or they cohabited in a relationship prior to the death of the man they lived with. Cohabiting couples do not have legal rights in Sri Lankan law, and children are considered illegitimate non-marital children. Social discrimination What are some of the issues of concern? Issues of social discrimination can vary depending on social class and community. Sri Lanka does not have an environment of uniformly applicable negative values and institutionalized and repressive social discrimination against widows and single women, across the country. Some widows who have suffered from violence in situations of armed conflict have been given leadership in organizations providing support for other widows, and also participated actively in politics as cabinet ministers and, (in the case of Chandrika Kumaranatunga) President of the country. Widow remarriage is legal and socially acceptable in Sinhala and Muslim communities. Sinhala widows sometimes do not remarry and form relationships outside marriage in order to assert their claims in colonial pensions legislation. Such male breadwinner concepts still influence state law and policy and deny pension benefits on remarriage. There is however anecdotal evidence that widows in some Sinhala areas face resentment and violence from their families and the community who resent their pension benefits. Widows in the Tamil community have a legal right to remarry but low income women can face social isolation and discrimination as they are considered inauspicious in the Hindu culture. Witnesses before the LLRC drew attention to the constraints on widow remarriage in the North because of social values and customs, even though there is no legal prohibition. Access to health services The disruption of health and reproductive health services and lack of adequate nutrition have been identified as special health needs in the case of widows in the North and East. Yet the Health Master Plan does not address these problems or the special situation of widows and female headed households. Trauma counseling was seen as a significant need in the postTsunami period and non-governmental programs in particular addressed this need. The critical importance of this in communities of the North and East is highlighted in the LLRC report, both by women who appeared before the Commission, and other witnesses. There is an unmet need by community and state support for trauma counseling. Recent unofficial information from state officials reflects concerns with a problem of sex between unmarried adults in the North and pregnancy, in a situation where single women outnumber men. Infanticide is referred to confidentially, as a dimension of this phenomenon. Livelihoods Some poverty alleviation programs of the State provide welfare benefits for widows and female heads of household. There are also livelihood training programs. In the war affected areas, cash grants are given to returnee internally displaced persons (IDPs), and grants of Rs.600050,000 were available on production of death certificates. However the expectation that missing loved ones will be found leads often to reluctance to obtain death certificates.

Studies also refer to problems in accessing benefits and land rights due to womens lack of awareness or bureaucratic arrangements. The male breadwinner concept in public administration reinforces the tendency to introduce gender neutral policies on land distribution in the North and the East. A recently withdrawn circular on land distribution in these areas did not address the particular need to ensure that womens rights in private land where they existed in personal laws (as in the matrilineal customary laws of the East) should be protected. Nor were there provisions to ensure that widows and female heads of household receive equal rights in the distribution of State land and housing. Discrimination in some current personal laws on inheritance rights and powers of management of private lands also impact on widows access to land in conflict affected areas. Besides, even widows and female heads of household who owned land face special problems with regard to proof of title to land. Documents such as deeds may be destroyed or lost, and they are either not able or not willing to produce death certificates. Evidence-based research indicates a lack of awareness of rights and how to claim them, and the lack of professionals like gender sensitive lawyers to protect their legal rights. Gender sensitive resettlement policies on allocation of state land and housing after displacement are critical in this context and are of particular concern to widows and female heads of household. The recent gender neutral land circular relating to distribution of state and private land in the North and East, including a new law permitting acquisition of private land for defined purposes such as national security, conservation and sacred areas have been challenged in the Supreme Court. These initiatives can also deprive women of land rights, unless there is provision for restitution and compensation for lost lands and equal access to state land and housing. Gender-based violence Though peace has brought with it freedom of movement, gender based violence in the community is prevalent and affects widows and female heads of household in a somewhat different manner. Their sense of personal insecurity is greater because of community perceptions that these women are single and available for relationships, or more easily targeted for acts of violence and sexual harassment. The LLRC Commission too referred to the sense of perceived insecurity that women in the North and East experience in a militarized environment. Recent harassment by men described as grease devils who targeted women in lonely locations some months ago received a great deal of media publicity. Womens groups from all parts of the country sometimes articulate their support for women affected by gender based violence and sexual harassment in situations such as the grease devils episode, or cordon and search operations in violation of accepted guidelines. Nevertheless these responses are rare. Women have rarely had an opportunity to participate in conflict resolution mechanisms or peace initiatives in the post conflict period. Only two women were on the Expert Committee of the All Party Conference to seek a political settlement relating to the conflict. Only one woman was a member of the LLRC. However, women, including those in conflict affected areas, have sometimes mobilized on their own, or with their communities and protested against acts of sexual harassment and gender based violence. It has sometimes been argued in research studies that armed conflict is empowering for women, citing the situation of widows who are compelled by force of circumstances to take on new roles and responsibilities that help them obtain life chances and opportunities they would not have had in a patriarchal social environment. Sri Lankan widows have been forced to assume new roles and responsibilities in their families and communities, and now face challenges they may not have faced before the armed conflict. However, there has not been a homogenous environment of disempowerment and this analysis is relevant for only
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some women affected by armed conflict. Besides, war conflicts with core feminist values on zero tolerance for violence against women and the concept of development and peace. The Sri Lankan situation on widows points to the importance of negotiated political solutions preventing armed conflict, and the need to give priority to gender dimensions of conflict in a post armed conflict environment. Addressing issues of widows and female heads of household in Sri Lanka can in fact provide an opportunity to review law and policy and advance the gender equality agenda in general, eliminating discrimination in important areas like access to livelihoods, public policy on male heads of household and pensions, state land distribution, inheritance rights and discrimination against non marital children. Opportunities for peace and development The post conflict period has undoubtedly required the Sri Lanka government to face many challenges, including the resettlement of large numbers of internally displaced people and the reintegration of combatants, including male and female child soldiers conscripted by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The programs for women ex-combatants and child soldiers have received recognition from within and outside the country as effective interventions. Peace has also brought with it freedom of movement and an environment for commerce and business activities in urban areas. People visiting the North and East remark on the impressive infrastructure development that has taken place in the short period of three years. Road construction and the rebuilding of schools and hospitals have been prioritized by the government. Critics however argue that interventions that benefit the people are mostly ad hoc, and do not integrate a holistic perspective on human development. The lower priority given in general to the gender equality agenda and the lack of progress after the end of the armed conflict in 2009 is a reflection of the changes in national development priorities. The LLRC report offers insights on a road map for peace and development for Sri Lanka. Specifically it offers ideas for engendering responses to post conflict reconstruction and development in the conflict affected areas, focusing on widows and female head of household.

The views expressed in this paper are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), or its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. The countries listed in this paper do not imply any view on ADB's part as to sovereignty or independent status or necessarily conform to ADB's terminology.

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