In September of last year, the National Police Commission granted approval to promote a female police officer as a Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), paving the way for the appointment of Bimshani Jasin Aarachchi as Sri Lanka’s first female DIG.
Her appointment came with glowing recommendations owing to her work with the Children and Women Bureau of the Police Department. However come 2021, a petition was filed by 32 Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs), including SSP Ruwan Gunasekera, seeking an annulment of the promotion of DIG Jasin Arachchi.
The petition states that the appointment was made in violation of the standard promotion procedure, claiming that no female police officer in the country can be appointed as a DIG of Police as the word “women” is not mentioned in the regulations pertaining to promotions. The Supreme Court has since set a date for the hearing of a fundamental rights (FR) petition in that regard.
Since the filing of the petition, numerous community-based organisations and individual experts in the field have come forward to speak up for justice for DIG Bimshani. The National Forum Against Gender-Based Violence released a statement stating that they are deeply disappointed in the recent petition, with the forum expressing that it’s a serious concern. It noted that this is indeed an act of workplace discrimination and sexism.
The Women Parliamentarians Caucus of Sri Lanka has also extended their strongest support, announcing that their forum will stand up for the professional rights and job security of Jasin Arachchi. The Saubhagya Foundation together with Kantha Saviya Women’s Organisation held a press conference last Tuesday (23) condemning the discriminatory actions.
The gathering brought together numerous women’s representatives who each spoke of the discriminatory actions that DIG Jasin Arachchi has had to face in the wake of her promotion, sharing also that it is discrimination aimed at not only one individual but all women.
The women collectively asked the question as to why it is that in Sri Lanka we witness this disparity between male and female representation and whether the powers that be genuinely believe that women are simply incapable or are less equipped to take over decision-making positions.
The panel collectively agreed that laws must be reinterpreted to suit the current socioeconomic context of our society; they mustn’t still read what was intended nearly a century prior, adding that there is a necessity for a gender quota to be introduced.
Considering that many women have come forward to speak on behalf of DIG Jasin Arachchi, we reached out to a number of leaders in the corporate world to share their opinion on this matter and whether men in Sri Lanka truly do feel threatened by the possibility of a woman holding a decision-making position in their respective industry.
It’s a no-brainer, this is discrimination
The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) Chairman Sanath Ukwatte commented that if you are to consider the corporate sector, they tend to encourage women to hold decision-making positions, adding also that in Sri Lanka, we are proud to boast of a woman having held the highest position in office, so we can take a cue from our past.
Referring to the incident regarding the petition, he said that, personally, he believes that this may be an isolated incident, because if he were to speak from experience, companies and organisations in the present context encourage women to take up higher managerial and senior positions, as that is simply the way forward.
He stated, however, that when you are making your way up the corporate ladder, it is certainly a challenge, and progress is no easy thing. However, women do tend to face some additional challenges, particularly when it comes to perception. He said: “What really should be done is to educate the public.” He added that, thankfully, this gender gap mentality has changed somewhat in recent times, stating that in the hotel industry particularly, they have mechanisms and programmes in place to encourage more female representation, especially considering how, for a number of reasons, Sri Lankan women tend to shy away from the hotel trade.
Also sharing his thoughts, LOVI Ceylon Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Asanka de Mel said that while he himself wasn’t entirely familiar with the nuances of the case at hand, he shared: “Nowhere, in any industry, is it a smart decision to alienate and exclude 50% of the talent pool. It is never a clever strategic decision to pursue this kind of thinking.” Adding to the conversation, Sensory Indulgence Managing Director (MD) Udaya Wickramage said: “I am very much pro-gender equality; a gender disparity absolutely should not exist.” He pointed out that as someone from the tourism industry, he can easily see how harmful this kind of backward thinking can be, particularly for our country’s development.
He stressed on the fact that Sri Lankans are quick to take pride when CondeNast named Sri Lanka as one of the must-visit destinations in the world, and also when various other internationally recognised publications made note of Sri Lanka’s natural beauty and our country’s many resources. However, he said that all of this will mean nothing if we are a country that discriminates against half of the global population.
“These kinds of incidents are extremely damaging to our reputation as a nation. People do not want to visit a country which is discriminatory, and that is what we are portraying to the world,” he said. He added that if we are to look at other countries that were well behind us just only a couple of decades ago, they have all surpassed us, and we have managed to remain exactly where we started. He attributed this to our narrow-minded thinking. He said that he hopes justice prevails with regards to the unfortunate predicament DIG Jasin Arachchi has been forced to suffer, and while it is unfortunate that it comes at her expense, perhaps this could serve as a wakeup call to adjust our patterns of thinking in Sri Lanka.
Gender quota
With the conversation surrounding gender inequality taking front and centre, there has been discussion of introducing gender quotas to even out the disparity. In 2016, Sri Lanka’s Government passed a 25% women’s quota for local elections through the Local Authorities (Amendment) Act (No. 1 of 2016), and it has allowed for the meagre female representation we currently see in local government.
With regards to this matter, however, we received mixed opinions, with de Mel sharing that if you are to consider tax breaks that are offered, and certain incentives that are offered to kick-start industries and businesses, it is done in order to redistribute and incentivise, so that we arrive at a position representing our values; the right values. In a similar way, something like a gender quota can certainly be a starting point, perhaps something to be implemented with a time limit, for example, for 15 years moving forward, until we are able to address the existing imbalance, he opined.
He said that procedures must reflect a society’s current value systems, adding that perhaps in the past there may have been an acceptance of a gender gap. However, we have our own values now, and the laws and regulations we adopt in moving society forward must represent that.
However, Wickramage shared a different perspective. He suggests we shouldn’t put stringent measures like quotas because in an instance where you must fill 10 positions – five men and five women – if we do not have a total of five men to fill the position or vice versa, are we to hand over the position to a less-qualified person simply because the quota demands it? He opined that in that backdrop, a gender quota can be viewed as a form of discrimination based on gender as well.
He said that the solution lies in systematic change; progressive thinking must be built from the ground up, and what we must do is incentivise progressive behaviour.
