WOMEN ( ACCORDING TO SRI LANKA )
Who is a woman?
Women represent more than half of the total population of today's society. But since ancient times, women have not been given good things in various social classes. In such a background, who is a woman? What kind of status did she have in society? I think it is timely to inquire about this.
Human beings are biologically divided into two parts, female and male. The first difference in the world as a man can be recognized with the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics. Secondary sexual characteristics appear only for reproduction. It is only necessary to produce a biological child. In social evolution, the division into sexes is an essential factor for the survival of life. There, the man provides the seed of life and the woman plants that seed, supporting the continued existence of life in the world. That is the only thing that matters in this world is the difference between men and women. But in the course of social evolution, power struggles between men and women have arisen in different eras, and sometimes women and sometimes men have become powerful according to the needs of those eras. For example, in the Greek era, women were even deprived of land rights, and during the Indus Valley Civilization, women were the head of the family. However, due to this sexual change, women and men have different characteristics, both physically and mentally, as well as internally and externally. But society has attributed a much wider difference to both sexes than that difference. Accordingly, women have a different and less important status than men in the family and in society. Even the roles assigned to these two parties by society are different. Also, the social attitudes, traditions and beliefs regarding those women and men are contradictory. Moreover, in some cases, the rules and regulations that apply to women or men are different. As a result, women have become second-class citizens not only in traditional society but also in modern society.
Rather than analyzing the gender gap in society and highlighting the highs and lows, it is more important for both sides to recognize their roles and act accordingly to maintain the relevant conditions in the right way. However, even in historical interpretation, little attention has been paid to women's rights, let alone whether they fulfilled their duties. Many historical sources bear witness to this. However, in the social discourse that is currently emerging, there is an attempt to give women equal status with men.
Women's thinking, which was imprisoned by tradition, has started to come forward by breaking unnecessary traditions. International Women's Day can be named as a major approach that has helped to create that new atmosphere. 2
Although women can be seen to be imprisoned in accordance with the tradition in Asian countries, women have also contributed greatly to the development of Western countries not being a mirage. East Asian countries such as China and Japan are excellent examples of this.
In almost every religion and culture we know, there are vivid, wise stories about women as well as foolish, insulting stories. Women have been elevated or trampled on from era to era based on religious background. It is fair to say that this has happened based on the ideas and religious beliefs of the people of that era. This is not the idea of a single person. It is a combination of the ideas of a social group.
In Brahminism, women have been insulted and ridiculed. She is a person created for sexual intercourse. When you see her, your mind goes crazy. ‘Woman is the box of illusion, made of all the beautiful objects and all the poisonous substances in the world.’ The Vedic literature has introduced the woman. She is a wise woman. One should not believe a single word a woman says. (Nari chittam navisvaseth) Such sayings show that a woman should be beautiful and should be under the control of a man.
However, according to the teachings of the Buddha, a woman is praised as a mother, wife, and daughter with good qualities. The noble quality of a mother’s blessings and the praise of a woman’s qualities as a mother are well expressed in the Matuposhaka Jataka.
An action is wrong or right not because it is done by a woman or a man. The basic thing is the intention. That is also explained in the suttas of Buddhism such as Vasala, Parabhava, Mangala, etc. If we consider the path of Vesagana to attain the fruit of arahantship, it is confirmed that women can also come to self-realization in order if they have the right discernment. But in the Chullapaduma Jataka, the fickleness of women is revealed.
As shown in the Holy Bible, a modest, godly woman is always praised. The Bible also proves that lowliness or sinfulness is determined not by birth but by deeds.
A modest woman wins self-respect. An immodest woman is a disgrace.
(Holy Bible – Proverbs)
In ordinary life and literature, women have been given a lot of space. That too is to tell about her virtues and vices. In ordinary conversation as well as in literary art, many things have been used as metaphors to praise women.
In folk poetry, women are mentioned as follows.
Man –
Holding the girl by the hand, what is it?
Covering her with both hands, what is it?
When there is no owner, what is it?
Shall we stop and go?
Woman –
Because the girl is getting dirty, covering her with the milk of the baby,
Because the younger cousin is following,
I will go to Ayandi village, the country is far away,
Man –
The mosquito that eats in the darkness of the forest,
From a dog barking up and down, its evil,
From a girl, the door is open, her evil,
I will eat a bag of ants, I will open the door
Woman –
Whose are you, who is eight or five?
Who told you to come without a word?
Where are the branches without a tree?
What do I need to eat to the flowers?
Looking at these four poems, I have the opportunity to meet the man side by side, and the Her discipline and her ability to escape from men's clutches and tricks without becoming a victim of them are clearly evident. The poet's intellectual standards are also revealed through these poetic dialogues. Although it is said that a woman's wisdom is as long as a spoon handle, such examples make her wise.
We find many such poems in folk literature. In general, women often submit to the pen of men. Men are so attracted to that beautiful elegance and femininity. The words Gattissi, Lamissi, Patikki, Poditthi, Gomari, etc., which were often used in rural areas, have not yet lost their usage. Going beyond folk literature and examining the classical literature of this country, there are also instances where women are praised in poems. In it, the story is sometimes exaggerated according to the creator's wishes. This preserves the flavor of the poem. There is no shortage of romantic descriptions. But it contains both her virtues and vices.
The beautiful story that the poet saw in classical Sinhala literature can be summarized as follows.
The cool breeze can be enjoyed by the wind,
The right path, the Therefore, it seems that the modern Sinhala poet has treasured a body of virtues about women in his poetry, highlighting their social essence rather than their physical appearance.
The beauty who was near me in the middle of the night
The beauty who did not know the beauty of the world
The beauty who ate food in the middle of the night
The wife who decorated the bed with bitter vines
(Yamuna Malini Perera – ‘Kuli Maliga’ – 1991)
In the world, men and women should have equal rights and equal humanity. But it is a pity that in some eras, women did not even have the right to citizenship. Because of this, they could be sold, bought, beaten, and given as many jobs as they wanted without paying for them. They did not even have the right to vote and education. According to sources, it seems that they have been used as chattel property since ancient times. Such a fateful situation has befallen women since ancient times.
But there is also evidence that there were matriarchal societies during the time of female dominance. In such matriarchal societies, it is not important who the father of the child is. Marriage is only for the legitimate right of the child. In a matriarchal society, the child receives the mother's name. Examples - Moggallana, the son of Moggallana the sister of Moggallana
In Sinhala literature, various restrictions have been imposed on women. Otherwise, ideas that arouse feelings of displeasure towards women are raised.
Examples - Azaar Kal Rada Thana
Who is a woman who is not guilty
Sina Nomasan Dasan Upa
The female race is a bad race and is stoned to death
The male race is a noble race and is killed by offering flowers
I also feel that injustice has been done to women in lyrical literature. Even in the context of Virahava, the fault is highlighted in an unfair way for women. Even in a love relationship, even after it stops, the idea of her character being killed is presented in a way that is bad for the woman.
Examples – Your princess whom you loved says she loves you
The moon that I loved the other day has said she loves me too.
In a dark moment at the end of the theater
Today, she who sits next to you and comforts you
The moon that sits next to me the other day
She has said she loves me too
In this way, even in song literature, restrictions have been imposed on the female sex, injustice has been done, disregarded, and downgraded.
Against such a background, since ancient times, women have been subjected to various types of injustice and have been fighting shoulder to shoulder with men for their rights and entitlements.
At this moment, a struggle must be built to recognize that women are not objects. Throughout history, women have been shaped as beautiful or ugly objects by powerful groups. It is cruel to socialize the same history over and over again through television, radio, and social media.
A woman is not a beautiful or ugly object. She is only a human being. In order to understand the problem of women, we must avoid subjecting her to objectification. It is the man himself who shapes women as objects, a discourse that has dominated society.
In fact, men cannot objectify women, and it is a consequence of the power relationship. The identification of a certain gender as an object is accompanied by the power that is used to identify that gender. Therefore, a woman is shown as the other of a man, subjected to a certain power, and the exercise of that power is in the hands of a man, a woman, or a transgender person.
Women must understand the power to subjugate themselves, and they must lead their struggle against this forced subjugation, humanely and feministically. In Sri Lanka, the focus of the feminist movement at this time is to create space for solving the women's problem through democratic reforms. 25% women's representation in the local government elections is one example of this. Whether such reforms can bring the women's problem to governance should be further investigated.
Where is the women's problem located? As mentioned earlier, the objectification of women is the beginning of the problem. Also, not only is she objectified, but the power to decide whether she is beautiful or ugly has further exacerbated this problem. Why? Does the woman not oppose this objectification? Here, unconsciously or consciously, she herself has accepted herself as an object. With this acceptance, a competition is created to become a beautiful or ugly object of the feminine. Women who are eager to escape this objectification do not add themselves to their tribe. The struggle of women should begin against this objectification, but what has happened is to work towards obtaining further reforms for the sake of objectification. As I see it, the 25 percent political quota is only one reform of that objectification.
Although the 25 percent representation quota was given by the government, the absolute power to implement it belonged to the political parties built on a patriarchal basis. It was reported that the party representatives even resorted to taking sexual bribes in exchange for women’s representation. Thus, the woman had to continue to deal with party representatives who forcibly sexually harassed her, and it was reported that she was also subjected to harassment by various political representatives in local government institutions. Also, a concept was created that the women who were appointed in this way had entered ‘politics for the sake of women’, and even when allocating funds for development projects proposed by her, she was ignored or treated differently. I do not propose to abolish the 25 percent quota, but I point out that the quota should eliminate the possibility of objectifying women and should make women in politics aware that they are not objects but individuals, and if they are so objectified, they should be empowered to take strong action for that.
Women in the South and the North are currently trapped in a debt trap. Due to microfinance loans, a strong increase in suicides can be seen. In the North as well as in the South, women, unable to afford the cost of living and suffering from severe poverty, take loans from microfinance institutions that operate without any regulation to make ends meet. Without any investment, the loan taken for daily expenses and its interest, which is taken for the sake of the poor, is identified as the solution that she identifies as suicide. States and governments, which are of the view that killing people can solve problems, can never be expected to be responsible for suicides due to the inability to repay debts. Also, the other tragedy here is that men with the power to collect debts bring forced sexual proposals to women who are unable to repay debts. The most tragic situation here is that women, who were victims of war, are further victimized through these microfinance loans.
their forcibly disappeared loved ones. From a makeshift shelter set up in front of the post office in Vavuniya, they have been demanding that the government find out what happened to their forcibly disappeared loved ones. The normal life we live in the South has fled from them. Without food to eat, mosquitoes tossing, and dusty shacks, they are demanding justice. That justice is for their loved ones.
It must be accepted that a woman is a human being. Otherwise, no matter how much women struggle and strive to protect their rights, those reforms will only recreate the suffering that exists in a male-dominated society.
Women, are you aware of your rights?
.jpeg)
Beginning and History
Women's rights can sometimes be interpreted differently from society to society. But taken as a whole, women's rights mean the existence of a legal framework that allows a person born as a woman to live her life with dignity and well-being. Not only in ancient Asian societies, Even during the European feudal era, women were considered second-class citizens. Women had lost many of the privileges enjoyed by men. Education and the right to vote were just a few of them. However, by the 1920s, women had launched a fight for equal rights in many European countries, including America and England. The most notable of these was the right to vote. Obtaining universal suffrage was truly a victory for women. Accordingly, women did not hesitate to engage in battles such as equal pay for equal work. Feminists, who initially worked to win women's property rights and educational rights, later fought to secure women's equality. By the 1960s and 1970s, they had taken on the challenge of securing women's civil and political rights and economic rights. Accordingly, achieving equality within the family and in the workplace They also focused on achieving their reproductive rights.
Contribution of the United Nations
In 1946, the United Nations established a Special Commission on Women, which later became part of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Since 1975, the United Nations has been conducting various programs to improve the lives of women in its member states around the world. The year 1975 was marked by the designation of the United Nations Year of Women. This was announced at an international conference held in Mexico City, Mexico.
In parallel, a series of special conferences were held in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1980, in Nairobi, Kenya in 1985, and in Beijing, China in 1995. The aim of all these conferences was to bring together various women from all over the world. The goal is to build a single legal framework to address common issues of concern to women from all religions, cultures and social classes. As discussed at the conference held in Mexico, the world community had already focused its attention on the process of developing a special mechanism to eliminate discrimination against women. After a long period of time, in 1979, the UN General Assembly, with the vote of 130 state parties, adopted the “Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women” (CEDAW). This convention came into force in September 1981, and it was unanimously recognized as the final result of the UN’s consolidation of women’s rights legislation. Another special feature of CEDAW is that it is the fastest legal framework to be enacted by the UN. This The Convention includes 30 articles, including women's equality rights, marital rights, economic rights, and social and cultural rights.
.jpeg)
Comments
Post a Comment