- A closer look at the struggles of war widows 13 years since the conflict ended
By Heshoban Thavakumaran and Divya Mascranghe
On our usual journey to the North, we rarely witness the actual hardships faced by many families. As we go deep into the villages, miles away from the main road and other highways, we see the reality in the North. It is also the same in the East. One rarely comes across middle-aged men while walking through these villages.
As a result of the 30-year war and its consequences, including shelling, bombings, and abductions, large numbers of men in the North have died or been maimed. Hence, there is a major imbalance in the gender ratio in these regions after the war.
Some reports suggest there are at least 86,000 war widows in these areas, and at least 40% of the households in these areas are women-headed – the male breadwinner has been lost.
General lifestyle of women
The women are the sole breadwinners of the family and are also made responsible for caregiving their children and other family members. A lack of job opportunities within a close range of their homes forces these women to travel long distances along underdeveloped roads using poor public transportation, or engage in self-established Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), such as tailoring and poultry, at minor scales.
They are forced to walk miles to find a rare bus and are forced to start their day as early as 4 a.m. with less than six hours of sleep.
Financial issues
Culture dictates that women to be emotionally and financially dependent on men and men are expected to be the breadwinners of their families, although this perspective is gradually changing in the North.
Most women-headed households are resilient and face their daily challenges well. Yet, weak buying powers and lack of skills mean their efforts to start a SME only cover basic expenses. Many SMEs run at a loss, especially given the economic crisis.
Factories are seen providing employment opportunities for women in the North during the recent past. Many are also recruited to work as sales personnel in other parts of the country.
Some women engaged in dangerous work such as mine clearing during the early stages. There are, however, others who are pushed to engage in “unsavoury” work such as producing illicit alcohol (kasippu) to make ends meet.
Physical, emotional, and mental health
Women are compelled to become the breadwinners of their families. This forces them to leave their children at home or under the care of a relative. Having already lost their fathers, this further affects them mentally. It also leads to a lack of nutrition for children.
Many remaining men are accused of making use of lonely women, having multiple relationships and leading to familial disharmony in already struggling homes. These relationships affect women and their dependents, especially children. It also leads to more antisocial behaviours in the post-war context in the region, including an increase in drug use and smuggling. This has worsened the unsafe environment for women. Thirteen years since the end of the war, mental health has not been given the required priority.
Militarisation
Continued militarisation in these regions has re-traumatised women and remains a constant reminder of their lost husbands, fathers, and brothers to extra-judicial killings and the loss of war. Camps near villages, observations, and routine inquiries have further burdened and traumatised these grieving women.
Researching and documenting stories of war widows have also been challenging under the radar of the military. Many living in the North have faced severe intimidation by security forces. Yet most incidents either remain allegations, or investigations dropped while impunity prevails, the truth known only by the victims of these violations.
Sexual violence
Widows are seen as vulnerable and easy targets, without male protection. They are also vulnerable to sexual assault, rape, and other crimes by State and private perpetrators, who often go unpunished. Workplace harassment too is highly prevalent due to male co-workers capitalising on these circumstances. As elsewhere in the country and the world, many such cases go unreported.
Statistics also indicate that 7.2% of pregnancies in Kilinochchi are school-going children, out of which a significant number are below the age of 16 years. The law in Sri Lanka recognises that a girl below 16 years of age cannot consent to sex, and these relations are considered rape.
Housing
Many were promised housing, and yet most projects remain incomplete. Families living in tents or half-built houses covered using various waste materials are a common sight.
Consequences of the war and financial constraints have forced people to give up occupations held prior to 2009. Unlike in Southern resettlement programmes by the Government, resettlement in the North has failed to consider the original livelihood of these families when resettling.
While men primarily engaged in skilled occupations, women often assisted them and gained their own set of expertise of the trade. For example, those involved in fisheries are resettled inland. However, women from traditionally fishing communities, despite having knowledge of pricing and auctioning, had no knowledge nor training on farming or other work that may be available in resettled areas.
Smoke and mirrors while struggling for survival
Despite establishing the Office of Reparations and the Office on Missing Persons in 2017, no concrete measures have been taken to provide reparations for the loss of life, addressing other grievances and trauma, or finding missing persons.
Various commissions and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) report have called on theq Government to demilitarise, set up financial and livelihood support, and to address issues pertaining to mental health for those affected by the war. Recommendations regarding legislature, independent institutions, and transitional justice process have remained mere recommendations. Except roads and some infrastructure developments in towns, consecutive governments have not done enough to fix issues related to livelihoods or mental health.
Numerous women are seen living with trauma and other mental health-related issues. Many women-headed households, unless supported by NGOs or external parties, are struggling to make ends meet. Single mothers are often heard lamenting in breaking voices that they haven’t fed one proper meal to their children.
Many women still believe their husbands and children are not dead as their deaths have not been proven or accepted by the State. These women are now leading their own families in the absence of their men, while surviving through unimaginable hardships every day.
(Heshoban Thavakumaran currently works for a prominent intergovernmental organisation. He has also served as an advisory board member for a project that focused on professional skills, building social cohesion and reconciliation among the youth in Sri Lanka. His professional and educational experience revolves in the fields of mental health and human rights. Divya Mascranghe is a lawyer and is currently a postgraduate student of the University of Colombo. Her research interests are gender, women’s studies, and ethnicity)
