- The dark side of advocating for change in a patriarchal world
Public conversation over the last week or so has been dominated by the protest led by Hirunika Premachandra near the private residence of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Premachandra demanded to meet the Prime Minister to hand over a letter but was refused, while the Police placed barricades and prevented the protesters from approaching the Prime Minister’s residence.
We’ve all heard about this incident in some capacity over the past week – the Hirunika Premachandra exposed breast debacle – with people dubbing it ‘breast politics,’ when in fact it was simply a brief wardrobe malfunction during a clash with the Police.
The meeting of the two sides led to a tense situation and all eyes were on Premachandra as the leader of the protest. Since the images have emerged, it has been incredibly disappointing, yet not surprising, to see the angle from which Lankan society has chosen to look at this incident. They refused to see a leader, someone fighting for a cause on behalf of her community, but chose to see an object, and sexualised those images in their conversations.
If it were a lesser person, perhaps they would have been discouraged to continue in their fight. However, Premachandra has since issued a statement on her social media addressing the matter: “I am proud of my breasts! I breastfed three beautiful kids. I nurtured them, comforted them and dedicated my whole body for them. I am sure people who make fun of my exposed breasts (due to the clash with the Police) also sucked their mother’s nipples until they were raw when they were infants. Anyway, when you are done talking, making memes and laughing about my breasts, ANOTHER civilian died in a queue… Just so you know!”
Women in the public space
A female politician facing objectification and comments about her body, criticism which has nothing to do with her political stance, is nothing new. Our patriarchal structures have ensured that women are more often than not told that they are not valued and are not able to contribute.
Public response to this latest incident does however, indicate that it doesn’t seem to matter which cause a woman is championing – the moment you step out into the public space, you become fair game to the male gaze. There’s no amount of good points, sick burns, and public take-downs that could really change the minds of men who feel entitled enough to comment on anything other than the point being expressed.
The experience is universal and not exclusive to politicians – activists who champion causes that are not women’s issues regularly face criticism purely on the grounds that they are women.
As Rally for Animal Rights and Environment (RARE) Sri Lanka Founder/Executive Director Panchali Panapitiya shared: “They call me a prostitute, NGO ‘gani,’ ‘balu gani’. Because I have a big foreign following they say I am lifting my skirt for these foreigners. All the criticism aimed towards me is gender-based.”
She shared that much of the harsher criticism was from the captive elephant industry, those who lobby in favour of keeping captive elephants. “They have carried out full-blown campaigns against me, all gender-based.”
Panapitiya shared that activism was very difficult for women, highlighting certain other more nuanced elements in the way that women were treated in activism. She pointed out that women were not taken seriously and the only time they were deemed useful was as an object to gain something.
“I have found that many male activists in our field do not take women’s opinions too seriously. They feel that the only occasion a woman belongs in a meeting is when she may be used to encourage the male individual in charge to adopt a softer attitude when in the presence of a woman. This too is because women are not taken seriously and are not respected enough to have a valid point.”
She added that there were occasions when women themselves had to participate in furthering these patriarchal norms, often as a means to an end. “There are even occasions where we will choose a male representative to be the face of the cause to counter the narrative that animal rights is a cause championed by women who have nothing to do. We force a man in there so that we can counter this narrative and inadvertently we too are normalising the belief that a man must be present to legitimise an opinion.”
Finally, she added that even when it came to furthering their cause and encouraging the younger generation to fight for these rights, they faced challenges: “This country is not safe for women, so when you want to get young people to volunteer with us, mothers are scared to send their daughters alone because they will get raped or harassed. There are so many things to consider, it is not like sending a boy out.”
Women’s issues vs. others
An interesting observation was made by The Grassrooted Trust Director Paba Deshapriya, who said that when it came to women’s issues, women were expected to be present as there weren’t any men championing these causes, however when women entered other areas almost exclusively dominated by men, then suddenly harsher criticism would come their way.
“In general, women who are in public spaces get treated this way, get discriminated against, and are put down constantly. I think there is a kind of acceptance that it is okay for women to work on women’s issues, but if you’re working on other issues, especially in mainstream politics, I think there are more challenges for women in those spaces,” she said.
“Women’s rights issues are spoken only by women most of the time, which is also problematic because women’s rights is a concern of equality and equal opportunity and it is not only up to women to address. At the same time women in other places face more challenges, notably in the mainstream political sphere, because those areas are highly male-dominant,” she added.
Commenting on the matter in relation to Hirunika Premachandra and how her own experience was perceived by larger society, Deshapriya said: “It is a matter of the power dynamic. You can see from the way that society treats women and how they treat men. Within these patriarchal beliefs, we always try to put women down based on the way they talk, the way they dress, and how they behave. The public space is considered a place where women don’t usually belong.
“This is not the first time that a female politician has been put down or ridiculed because of her body, the way she was dressed, or her behaviour. I think it is an example of the sense of entitlement felt by men in our society, where they feel they can say anything about women’s bodies and that it is the only way to put them down. If there is a criticism about Hirunika Premachandra’s politics, then that is welcome, but not about her dress and her body.
“It is unfortunate that Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis. We have never seen anything like this before, this level of scarcity is unheard of – there is no food, no fuel, no petrol, and despite all this they focus on a female politician’s body and her sexuality. It is highly unfortunate that society focuses on these unnecessary things rather than the issue at hand.”
It’s all about the patriarchy
Expressing her thoughts to Brunch, Member of Parliament Dr. Harini Amarasuriya also shared that while what happened to Premachandra was deplorable, it was not surprising because of how transparently patriarchal our society was.
“It is something that all women in Sri Lanka in public spaces have to face. This objectification of women’s bodies and their sexuality – be it in culture, politics, activism, anything – is a reflection of how misogynistic our society really is and that is a fact,” she said.
She added: “What happened to Hirunika though not surprising is utterly deplorable especially given the fact that a lot of these comments come from people who claim to be liberal and progressive, enlightened at another level, but when it comes to women, their misogyny and patriarchy is loudly exposed. I think Hirunika provided a fantastic comeback to it and she is not the type of person who will be intimidated or allow herself to be bullied by things like this. More strength to her.”
In a society like Sri Lanka’s, which for the most part is a man’s world, there is a real fight for female representation in all arenas, and lack of representation coupled with a disregard for the authority of such representation only contribute to the continued upholding of these longstanding patriarchal norms.
Paba Deshapriya pointed out that this lack of regard was present not only in activism, but in general participation too. “Even within the protests and the uprising, we see women participating, but when it comes to decision-making, we don’t see much female participation. I think more comprehensive conversations need to be had about more inclusive and wide participation, because even today we see women being used as tokens on political stages but that is not what is required,” she said, stressing that everybody should have equal representation, in all decision-making bodies.
