In celebration of the month of International Women’s Day, Brunch together with Brunch.lk will be celebrating women in Sri Lankan politics. For Episode 1 of the series, we had a conversation with rights activist, academic, and Parliamentarian Dr. Harini Amarasuriya about women in politics, what it takes to make a difference in Sri Lanka, and why it is so important that we have more female representation in politics.
Considering your journey in politics and how everything started, what was it like to make the move from being an academic and activist to a full-time politician?
I don’t see it as a switch from activism to politics, it was more a decision to pursue politics full-time. For me, activism was also very political and part of my activism was about creating a platform where people with shared values and shared political ideologies could come together within a political movement. That was how National People’s Power (NPP) was actually formed.
Despite being part of forming the NPP, I never intended to be in politics full-time, so that was a huge decision and a switch. However, when the NPP asked me to be on the National List and we were advocating for more women to be on the National List, I agreed to it, not really thinking that there would be a situation where I would actually need to get into Parliament, since the National List consists of only 25 names.
After the election results came out and the NPP wanted the National List seat to be given to me, I had to make that choice. And I did. It wasn’t very planned or something I had considered, say about two years ago. I came into Parliament in August 2021 and it was certainly not something on my mind in July 2021, so that was a bit unexpected. But to be a part of a political movement and to be active in that had become a gradual thing that I wanted to do, given my engagement with activism.
For me, the difficulty was the shift from being in academics to politics, and it was a huge learning curve. As an academic – as a public intellectual – you are basically representing yourself. You say what you want. But when you are a politician, you are responsible for a party. You are responsible for a movement, for the people whose votes got you into that position. You realise then that you can’t be a freewheeling, say-what-you-want kind of person. You have to be much more thoughtful because what you say can also have a bigger impact and you have to take responsibility for what you say.
As an academic, you are used to taking time to think, taking time to react. Being objective, trying to weigh all possibilities and considerations. You don’t really have to think about whether your ideas are going to be implemented or not. You are making a theoretical argument, you are making a theoretical point. But in politics, you have to say and do things that will have an impact on people so you have to think much more about how you are going to effect change and not just talk about it. These were the major learning curves for me.
On a personal note, what have you found attractive in politics – could it be status, or even the power that you get to wield? Has this role you have had to assume changed you in any way?
I would hope not. I have not changed, but I can say that I have become more patient. I’m much better at listening to people than before, when earlier I was much more argumentative.
There is an attraction, but it is a dangerous attraction, one that I am very aware of. It is the fact that you can start believing the hype that is around you and you can be stuck in a little bubble. Because politics in Sri Lanka is also a little performative, and people either love you or hate you, you can start believing in that – the sort of adoration that you get and people saying ‘oh how wonderful you are’. You might actually start believing it and that is very dangerous. I think you really need to make sure that you belong to a party or be part of a movement that is grounded, a party that doesn’t have a system of blindly following leaders, and also that you have friends and family to give you a sense of normalcy, especially those who do very different things; these ensure that you are constantly exposed to the world outside politics.
Why should there be more female representation in Parliament or in Local Government?
I think places where decisions are made or where laws are made, like Parliament, should reflect the society outside and that means we need more diversity in Parliament. Right now, there is very little diversity in Parliament.
Having more women is one of the more obvious things. In society, more than 50% are women but here, where the decisions are being made, that is not reflected. I also think there are other forms of diversity which need to be reflected in Parliament – other identities, sexual orientations, classes, ethnicities, castes, etc. All these things.
Parliament comprises the representatives of the people and if it doesn’t in fact represent the people, then what’s the point? That is one of the biggest problems in politics today – the fact that they don’t represent the people they work for. The fact that there are so few women is one of the more obvious problems in the system, but that is not going to fix the entire thing. I acknowledge that.
You made a statement recently that current female politicians were merely falling in line with the current patriarchal political culture instead of taking any feminist initiatives. Why do you believe this is the case?
If it was numbers alone, we shouldn’t be worried at all, correct? We are actually 52% of the population, but that doesn’t reflect in any way the power and the influence we have in society. That is due to patriarchal structures and institutions that women are very much a part of as well.
Let me give you a simple example of the confidence a woman feels in politics. I think it is very different to the way men are in that space, because we have been so socialised into thinking that politics is not something suitable for us. We are also socialised into thinking that speaking out, interrupting someone else, being a little aggressive verbally are just not things that women do. So you hold back, you don’t believe, and you question your own ability to do things, which I think male politicians don’t do. I sometimes think I know this but I am still hesitant, whereas a male colleague would plunge straight in, there is no hesitation. It is just an example of how patriarchal values shape the way in which we engage in these paces.
I am not necessarily saying that you have to be that type of aggressive male politician to be successful, but it means we have to work a little bit harder, because we are so defeated, so full of self-doubt about our own capacity. We’re so used to being in the background, taking a step back, and letting the men speak for us. These are all things you have to overcome yourself.
Since being elected into office what kind of discrimination and sexism have you faced, whether it’s from the opposing party or within the Parliament? And, what kind of protections are there for a parliamentarian who faces such discrimination?
I would say, it is very subtle. I haven’t faced overt discrimination, and I think it is partly because of the fact that there is some level of respect for education in this country and that gives me some level of protection. And also the fact that I have male colleagues who are pretty tough and they recognise that I am not some woman on my own who is vulnerable. It is not that they (male colleagues) are there to protect me, but because I am from a party that is strong on these things.
The form of sexism is very subtle and I will give you a few examples; the fact that my dress or saree is something people comment on. I don’t think people comment on male politicians’ outfits the way we would when it comes to women. Or even the way we are addressed – Dr. (Miss) Harini Amarsuriya; you don’t say Dr. (Mr). Harsha de Silva, do you? Because you are a woman, that femaleness must be acknowledged. I have said, so if it is Dr. Harsha de Silva, then it’s Dr. Harini, it is the same thing, but people are very puzzled when I question this. Subtle things like that always seek to establish that you are different.
I have also had to push back a little bit on not being pigeonholed into what are seen as women’s issues only. In the media or in Parliament, because you are a woman, automatically you have to get into a women- and children-related ministry and you have to talk about those things. You don’t really want to talk about the economy; that’s not your thing.
In the media also, it is only myself and Kokila Gunawardena whom I have seen on panels with other men, otherwise you see it’s all women or all male. Very few of us get invited to panels simply for being members of Parliament. Things like that, where your gender is acknowledged and considered in the way you are positioned.
We continue our conversation on the Brunch YouTube channel, where Dr. Amarasuriya goes on to speak about the ways in which we can actually increase female representation in Parliament, the specific steps that young girls and women can take to get started in politics, and some advice for Sri Lankan women and girls who are keen on entering politics in the future.
Visit BrunchLK YouTube for full video.
