Fighting against that shameful first for women in Wayamba

By Roshan Peiris

Last week The Sunday Times reported some of the violence perpetrated on women at the Wayamba polls, especially at Wariyapola and Galgamuwa.

In one instance B.M. Chandrawathie, a 50-year-old grandmother was beaten with iron bars and rifle butts and asked to remove her clothes. Before this incident a 53-year-old woman had been stripped.

Delani, a 17-year-old student said she was dragged from her sick bed and asked to kneel on a gravel road. When she refused she was pulled by her hair and kicked hard on her neck.

All these incidents happened because the women had canvassed for the UNP at the polls.

Section 345 of the Sri Lanka Penal Code Amendment Act No. 22 of 1995 states that "whoever by the use of words or actions causes sexual harassment to another, commits the offence of sexual harassment and shall on conviction be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years or be fined or both and may also be asked to pay compensation."

Radhika Coomaraswamy, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women said : "This is the first time that the civil rights of women have been challenged and women subjected to violence for exercising their rights as voters. It is a sad first in the long history of elections in this country and all women feel strongly, or should feel strongly, about the harassment women were subject to at the Wayamba elections."

"This sort of thing cannot be tolerated. And we hope that the women will bring cases against the alleged men who perpetrated those shameful acts and not be intimidated. According to Section 345 of the Sri Lanka Penal Code Amendment Act people who perpetrated such crimes could be imprisoned, fined or both. Imprisonment could be as long as five years.''

Kumari Jayewardene of the Women's Education Research Centre said: "As far as I know all women's organisations are getting together to protest and ask for action against those perpetrators of harassment. I have personally denounced the stripping, beatings and harassment at this most disgraceful election."

She pointed out that in India 33 percent of the women vote and so women have got a strong hold in politics. "In Sri Lanka I propose that the quota of women should be at least fifty percent. This should help in the future to safeguard women voters. If we shift gears a bit we can have more active numbers of women politicians and voters."

Sepali Kottegoda, Co-ordinator of the Sri Lanka Women's NGO Forum said they had issued a statement condemning these abuses and harassments.

"I am glad to say that many women's groups have got together to plan out what measures can be taken to stop this kind of thing happening again.

"One measure we are hoping to take is to be present physically at future polls to stop acts like those that happened in Wayamba.

"Also I feel that women should get more involved in the monitoring process. This would most certainly help.

"One must also raise more awareness among women concerning such issues, as beatings and stripping.

"One has never heard of this sort of anti-social and violent behaviour before. We also want to make more use of the media, both newspapers and TV to make women aware of their rights and to protest against harassment.

The Ven. Rambukwella Sri Vipassi Thera, the respected Mahanayake Thera of the Malwatte Chapter has told the Speaker K.B. Ratnayake that he was disappointed with what took place at Wayamba.

These acts of harassment are not academic issues to be discussed at seminars and then forgotten. All concerned citizens, not only women should take concrete measures and that soon, before the elections to the rest of the provincial councils are held in April.

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