Sri Lanka still lagging behind in women political leadership

Out of the 2,378 candidates vying for the 102 seats in the Western provincial council only eight are female candidates. However, according to the 2001 census 53% of the vote base of the Western province is women. Sri Lanka has lagged behind while South Asian neighbours have put in place quota systems to encourage female participation in local government

By Poornima Weerasekara

Political violence, character assassination and the lack of participatory policies within party hierarchies were highlighted as the key reasons for women being overlooked when parties select candidates.
Furthermore, most female politicians have been stereotyped as women entering politics to continue the legacy of a male relative, who had already built a vote base.
However, there are several women who challenge these beliefs
B. M. Ashoka Lankathilaka , the only UPFA candidate from Colombo, became part of a political campaign at the age of 14, even before she was eligible to vote.
“I entered politics as a member of the Sri Lanka Independent Students movement established by T.B. Illangaratna despite the severe opposition from teachers and the principal,” Lankathilaka recalled.

By 1997, she had become a rising star in the youth corps of the People’s Alliance and has earned her name as an orator, who travelled with the election propaganda team on islandwide promotions.
“But after the UNP victory in 1977, they bombed my house. My parents managed to smuggle me out of the village at the last minute,” she said.
Although Lankathilaka escaped the bomb attack, the opposition dealt a crippling blow to her family by snatching her job at the National Tractor Corporation.
“A month later my sister also lost her job. Then they targetted my father, who served as the chief fire officer at the government textile mill in Thulhiriya. He was interdicted without any prior notice because of my political involvements,” Lankathilaka said adding that her father passed away from a heart attack soon after the summary dismissal.
Lankathilaka’s quickly learnt how to deal with the violence driven underbelly of Sri Lankan politics.
“I filed legal action and the Court reinstated my sister and me, to our government jobs. But I had to endure severe mud slinging and character assassination during this time,” she added.
But Lankathilaka’s spirit could not be shattered by political slandering.
“The people watched as I struggled to revive my family from the economic black hole that the opposition tried to push us into. I have seven siblings and I spent for their education by sewing throughout the night,” Lankathilaka said.
Even during these troubled times, she was an active member of social service organisations
“We used to have floods in Kolonnawa at least twice every year. I played an active role in organising relief measures for families who were stranded. Slowly, people started recognising me as a social activist,” she said.
In 1991, Lankathilaka was invited to contest for local government elections from the PA list.

“A party senior said that obtaining the nominations would cost between Rs. 65,000 to 150,000. I didn’t have any savings at the time. So I refused. I did not want to borrow from businessmen and then become their puppet once I was elected to power. But the party felt that I was needed to mobilise the women in Kollonawa. Therefore, they funded the entire campaign, she said, recounting her entry into mainstream politics.
She slowly progressed within the local government hierarchy to become the first female president of a local government institution.
“There were many who were skeptical as to whether a woman could head a local government body. During my tenure I did not sell out to contactor. I tried to accomplish local development projects through Shramadana campaigns,” she added.
In 1999, Lankathilaka became the only woman to be elected to the Western Provincial council as the representative from Kollonawa.
“Many women, who are social activists are deterred from coming into politics by funding constraints. But I have learnt that if you gain the confidence of the people and attempt to broad base your funding without depending on a few individuals, then the people will support you,” Lankathilaka said.
Lankathilaka also feels that female candidates have the ability to withstand the political thuggery that has infested the current election culture.
Grappling with violence
Margeret Rose Fernando, the UNP candidate from Gampaha who faced a recent attack, while on the campaign trail however complained about the lacklustre attitude of the Police, specially when giving protection to female candidates.
“My convoy was attacked on March 18 by a gang of about 25 UPFA supporters, while travelling to an election rally. They also took one of my supporters by force and forced him to make a statement to the Police, saying that our group assaulted them first,” Fernando said.
“It is very difficult to deal with violence,” she said, adding that the Police had refused to provide any security for her despite having requested for it after this incident.
Ms. Fernando, who is contesting for the first time was pushed into the political ring after she stood up against the destructive mining cartel run by a former UPFA strongman in Katana.
A lawyer by profession, she took legal action against an illicit mining ring operating under the patronage of a former minister. She won mass appeal after winning her legal battle against this mafia who had also thrown out many self employed people involved in the tiles and bricks business in Kochchikade.
Mrs. Fernando also voiced resentment about the lack of transparency about election funding sources.
“It is illegal for candidates to paste posters, but not everyone can afford to advertise using mass media. This gives an unfair edge to those with massive budgets and also corrupts the system by making candidates more dependant on a few large donors,” she said.
Funding challenges
Mali Maduwanthi Algama, who is contesting from the UNP ticket from Gampaha mourns the degeneration of the electoral system into a “bribing match.”
Algama who has been a member of the local government for the past 12 years says that local government elections have become a way for some people to make a quick buck by promising to cast their vote for any candidate who is willing to give them monetary support.
“This culture of dependency is now perpetuating even further as many people, specially in the informal sector are facing job losses,” she said.
Algama, who obtained party membership thanks to a 15% quota reserved for youth members feels that a special reservation fro women is a long overdue requirement to encourage female participation in local government. But she cautions that there is a need to ensure that female leaders are built within the party, lest the quota is manipulated by male relatives to obtain power by proxy.
“A quota system is a good idea but our political culture is different from that of other countries. In South Asian countries where the system has been put in place like India or Bangladesh, it is sometimes misused where the women elected are mere figureheads,” she said.
Algama, who is following her father’s political footsteps, also said that “politics has to be in your blood, to get into this minefield.”
However, other women leaders feel that the fact that most women in Sri Lankan politics have entered the political arena through family connections have undermined the ability of independent women to step into this volatile sphere.
Rosy Senanayake, a UNP candidate vying for a seat from the Colombo District, who has championed the cause for the implementation of a quota system feels that many women come in by default, following the footsteps of their fathers’, brother’s or husbands’.
“They have a readymade voter base for them. But there are also fresh entrants who are really capable. They are fast learners,” she added.
“There is a women parliamentarian’s caucus that is taking up the issue of quotas to encourage female participation in local politics. A special commission has also been set up under the aegis of Minister Dinesh Gunerwardena to revamp this electoral system,” she said.
However, there needs to be more than a just a quota in place to ensure proactive female participation.
“At the party level males don’t clearly understand the need to encourage female participation, mainly because in the present political system they do not perceive women as candidates who can win,” she added. “They also at times fear loosing their places in governing institutions like the parliament.”
“Even the women who are currently in existing governance structures are not strongly pushing for reforms that encourage greater participation,” she added.
According to Senanayake the current preferential voting system, has resulted in infighting among candidates of the same party.
Sirima Ramani Kariyawasam, the sole UNP female candidate from the Kalutara District said that the political undercutting from candidates from your own party was a challenge.
“Some party members try to sideline us and not call us for public rallies. –
Kariyawasam has served in the local government for 20 years. She was pushed into the political arena following her husband, Meryl Kariyawasam a junior minister in charge of teaching hospitals, was assassinated in 1989.
At that time I had to come forward as there was no other candidate to replace his position. But since then I have achieved a lot,” she added.

Fighting for the preference vote
Chandrika Gunawardane Sakalasooriya, a UPFA candidate from Gampaha, Divulapitiya was also forced into politics under similar circumstances.
“Facing the political mud slinging, especially as a widow is difficult,” she said, adding that there were systematic character assassination attempts from within the party, by fellow candidates while trying to bolster their preferential votes.
Kokila Harshani Gunawardana, a UPFA candidate from Meerigama is continuing her campaign despite personal death threats.
“I entered politics after my brother was assassinated by people from within the party who were jealous of his Meerigama division organiser post. I have received several death threats. But I will continue on my journey,” she said adding that she managed to obtain the highest number of preferential votes among female candidates in the 2005 local government elections.
U.A. Nandaseeli, a JVP candidate from Gamapaha said that her parties stance of not scurrying for preferential votes has been a boon for female candidates. The JVP had put forward the largest number of female candidates for the current elections.
Samanmali Gunasinghe and Malkanthi Perera, both contesting from the JVP ticket said that the party’s collective campaigning strategy creates a common ground for both male and female candidates to participate in electoral activities on an equal footing, without being sidelined.
Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga appointed a Commission of Inquiry on Local Government Reforms in 1998 to address the issue of increasing women’s participation in local politics. However, this only proposed to create forums to encourage dialogue between youth and women’s social movements and local government institutions.
The Western Provincial Council is made up of 102 members appointed to represent Colombo Gampaha and Kalutara Districts and two members appointed for bonus seats. Although it is the smallest province geographically, it has the highest number of elected representatives at the provincial council level.