If you

recognize
me
safeguard
the rights
of
war affected
women
Lessons learnt
and the facts
unearthed
through
4 district
dialogues

rightsnow
Collective for Democracy
Forum for woman and
development
 2

l meeting
The inaugura en
held betwe
Rights
the Human
and Civil
Commission
anizations.
Society Org

dagama -
Dr. Deepika U
Human Rights
Chairperson of
Commission of
Sri Lanka,
unawardane -
Sudarshana G
aw, Shyamala
Attorney-at-L
ika Perera
Gomes and Sum

During
the district
dialogue in
ura
Anuradhap

gues also
District dialo
rkshops
included wo
ing media
on develop skills

Galle
 3
Introduction

A dream
that
look for a
name
Of course, we are the women affected
by the war. But what do we call the
struggle we make to survive after that
menace
A widow of a fallen soldier in Galle

Rights Now and FOKUS WOMEN decided to address the issues faced by women living
in the South who are affected by the war instead of North and East that were severely
affected. Our two organizations believe that engaging on a dialogue about the war
affected women in the mostly forgotten South is very important, as their role would be
vital in a backdrop where dialogues are being held on national reconciliation.
There are two kinds of women in the south who were affected by the war:
1. Widows of soldiers died in the war and wives of disabled soldiers.
2. Women lived in areas directly affected by the war.
Our discussions mainly focused on these two groups. We also hope to hold discussions
with Muslim women who are displaced and live in large numbers in various areas in the
south. However, this report would not accommodate their views.

We thought that everything happens in

this country are against the war heroes,
and against us the wives of those
war heros. But after this discussion we
understood that there is no such thing,
but in fact our voices are better heard
now than before
A widow of a soldier killed in duty
4

If the women affected by the war are to be a part of the reconciliation process,
there should be a state sponsored mechanism that is able to solve their day to day
livelihoods problems as well as issues they face related to their rights. When these
women become a group that receives the protection of the state, skepticism they have
over state sponsored Reconciliation activities would be allayed.
We were motivated to launch an activity to safeguard the rights of these women to
achieve following objectives:
1. Urging those women to obtain the protection of independent commissions exist in
the country to solve their day to day issues.
2. Improving their abilities in communication and using media in order to share their
experiences with the society at large with their own voices.
Accordingly, discussions of war affected women were organized in Anuradhapura,
Kurunegala, Galle and Katunayaka areas in which officers from the Human Rights
Commission also participated. We met women who were directly affected by the war
while we also met widows of military personals killed in the war, and wives of disabled
soldiers in Kurunegala and Galle. In Katunayaka we talked with military widows as
well as wives of disabled soldiers who work in the factories in the Free Trade Zone
in Katunayaka. Programs were also included to enhance their communication skills.
We selected 25 women from them and provided further training in the Kothmale
Media Training Academy of the SLBC on communication, effective use of language and
handling communication equipments.

In the courts I pardoned the LTTE

member who killed my husband.
Would this affect my eligibility in case
the government decides to grants any
compensation to victims like me?
A widow of a civilian who was killed by the
LTTE in Kebithigollewa

It is not amazing that these helpless women were neglected from the benefits of
governments relief organizations and the legal systems. The bureaucratic red tape as
well as the hectic lives they lead fulfilling their social duties as widows of soldiers or
as wives of disabled soldiers lead to this situation. Moreover, relief organizations,
too, overlooked these women due to lack of a voice, lobbying or advocacy. Even after
08 long years, many of the problems of these despondent females have not been
addressed let alone are solved. Ironically many new problems are sprouting for them
at present due to their vulnerability. And no known mechanism has been created to
address them.

We thought that the Office for the

Missing Persons is being established to
further trouble us. Now I understand
that we could be benefitted by this
office
Wife of a soldier who has gone
missing in action, in Galle
 5

If the contribution of the women affected by the war could be secured for fortifying
widely spoken initiatives such as democracy, human rights, rule of law, economic
development etc, it would be a significant achievement not only for those women, but
also for everyone who is advocating for a progressive reform. We, at present, are able
to identify several strategies that could be utilized in the country as follows:
1. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka displayed a profound concern since the
very beginning in this regard. This concern could be invested for an effort to establish a
mechanism to help women affected by the war with the participation of these women
and civil society led by the Human Rights Commission.
2. The voice of these women should be directed to the mainstream by using Right to
Information Act and mass media as this is a time in which matters such as freedom of
expression, right for information are being largely discussed.
3. Efforts should be made to urge the proposed reconciliation process to account the
rights issues faced by the war-affected women.
4. The socio-political barriers in womens political representation should be removed
in order to reap maximum benefit from the structural changes that are being made to
increase female involvement in active politics.

Many believe that wives of war heroes

do not have any problems just because
they get a pension. In the meantime,
many are exploiting us. What many
people do not understand is that with
the loss of love, protection and care
we suffer due to the deaths of our
husbands, and it can be replaced or
compensated by a mere pension. They
also underestimate the strength we
have presently achieved as a result of
our single-handed struggle in the life
for the past several years
A widow of fallen hero in Kurunegala.

Initially, we named this program of discussions as Let Us Protect the Rights of the
Women affected by the War. However, the females who came to training workshops
taught us that their grief and the struggle with life cannot be merely summed up with
this title.

Now the challenge

we face is working
collectively to
find a
new identity for their
lives and problems.
DECEMBER 2017
6
Issues faced by the war-affected women-findings of the discussions
their
their
problems
problems
Issues related to pension and other benefits for
those served in the armed forces.
Wage disparities of those who served
in forces and retired before 1996 was
removed by a particular circular issue.
However, there is a wage disparity for those
who were retired after 31.12.1996 and
between 01.01.1997 and 2006. Another
circular was issued entitled Adjustments
for 2006 with regard to pension disparities.
It is mentioned in it to pay except for those
who perished and disabled persons in the
armed forces According to this circular,
the disparity remains only for those in the
military. According to the 2006 circular
dead soldiers should be considered as
they are living and wages should be
paid according to their posts until their
55th birthday along with others matters
changing every year. Full wage would
be paid regardless of how he died after
2007. However, there is a large number of
soldiers who died before 2007 and they are
not entitled to this benefit.
ment
Commence t
of the distric
dialogue f o
Katunayaka
25% of the salary of a soldier who died
between 21.11.2007 and 18.05.2009 would
be paid to his parents provided they are
alive while his widow gets the remaining
75%. When 55 years are completed for the
dead soldier, his widow would only get the
75% even after the death of his parents.
without adding parents share to the wife.
There are two kinds of pension schemes for
those who served in the military in the form
of pension for the orphans and allowance
for widows and dependants. When the
soldier reaches the age of 55 the wage is
stopped and 85% of it would be added to
the pension. It is stated in the circular that
the living index should be added to the
orphans and widows allowance. However,
this is not implemented in some districts.
According to the circular of 21.11.2017
when a widow of a soldier remarries a bulk
payment would be made worth ten years
wages and after that all the privileges would
be stopped. No one would be entitled to
wages and benefits after remarriage.

Classification of solders and non-soldiers
Only those who die while engaged in military
operations would be referred as soldiers
and they would duly become entitled to
all the related benefits and remunerations.
No benefits or pension would be paid to
those who die due to other causes (ie heart
attacks) even if they were in the service of
the military by the time of their death. It is
the wives and the children who suffer due
to this categorization.
Not providing details of internal investigations
Not providing details of crimes occurred
within the military, to the victims. If the
accused is found to be guilty, his wife
does not get access to the details of the
punishment(s) given.
Inability to obtain the death
certificate of a deceased husband
Not issuing a death certificate for the
death occurred while in active duties is
a common issue. In certain cases, the
body of the soldier has been handed over
with the verdict death by suicide and in
some cases, even after five years a death
certificate has not been issued.
7
Demanding monetary and sexual bribes
Monetary and sexual bribes are demanded
from war-affected women who come to
government institutions for various needs.
Women have experienced such malice
even in the very offices of the military where
their husbands served.
Views of the society and social network
based attacks
It is easy to distress wives of soldiers who
live alone through social networks and this
trend has increased in recent times.
Difficulties in repossessing lands
acquired by the military
Intricacies have sprouted when trying to
repossess civilian lands even with clear
titles, from the military that was acquired
by the military during war time. People
complain that in some cases due to the
bungle of Forest Department, elephant
fences are erected over private lands
making it difficult for the rightful owners to
claim it back.
Issues related to domestic violence
Women are widely suffering from the
oppression and violence of family members
and in some cases even their own young
children unleash violence against these
women.
A war-
affected
woman
detailing an
injustice of a
on
state instituti
Kothmale
8

Land issues Issues of the displaced

We met several women who are hindered Disparities in obtaining compensation for
with legal issues when the household head the displaced.
who is the title owner of Mahaweli and
crown lands are no longer alive and also
Oppression of soldiers unions
when these women need to change the
Such unions due to its patriarchal
occupancy they face similar issues.
dominance severely affect war-affected
women in matters such as education and
Issues of women in the Free Trade Zones welfare. These women are not allowed
Women face problems just because they are to engage in any independent activities
women or for being Tamil women, working either.
women, or women working on daily-wage
basis. They are not provided with proper
Skeptic situation about the
wages, accommodation, medical benefits
reconciliation process
etc. The companies who employ them do
False propagation of the media as well as
not accept any responsibility for them.
that of soldiers unions over Reconciliation
These women frequently become ill by
efforts of the government has negatively
infectious diseases due to lack of proper
affected the women.
sanitary facilities.

Disparity in common issues

Social issues
Many of the widows of soldiers who were
killed in the war are still in their young ages.
However, they are frowned upon by the
society if they try to reenter a relationship
with a new male acquaintance or when they
try to remarry. This makes them to become
mentally depressed and they do not even
have access to any counseling service to
overcome their depression.
Bureaucracy
Certain government officers use
bureaucracy to obstruct if anyone tries to
complain against them to institutions such
as the Human Rights Commission.
Lack of proper housing facilities
Lack of a stable income
Having to deal with severe financial
difficulties after retiring from being
employed in the private sector
Certain problems that emerge when
engaging in self-employment
Difficulties in obtaining information about
certain matters
Kidney ailments
Lack of facilitation or opportunity for war
affected women to involve with activities
during natural disasters. Eventually this
leads them to think that they are being
discriminated.

During
a district
dialogue
in
G a lle

Some of the answers from the district dialogues
Recommendations
Recommendations
Government policies should be changed
in order to eliminate pension disparities.
Such amendments to the policies should
thoroughly account the present situations
into consideration. Further, they should be
able to focus on special situation faced by
war-affected women in this matter.
Government should explore the possibility
of considering war-affected women as
a group with special requirements when
making welfare policies and plans.
Death certificates of perished soldiers
should be issued and if they are not issued,
reasons should be clearly stated for not
doing so.
Solutions should be provided to problems
emerging when granting compensation to
the displaced.
Widows of soldiers are sexually exploited,
especially when they go to government
offices for various needs and this should
be curbed by taking stern actions against
offenders.
9
War-affected women should be
educated about institutions and
organizations they should contact and
about available services, when they are
sexually approached and when they are
discriminated or ill treated.
The Bribery Commission should develop
mechanisms to fight the sexual bribery
issue faced by the war-affected women.
Such mechanisms should also focus on
fighting the corruptions associated with
the government agencies mandated
to ensure the welfare of former military
personals/war-affected women.
Many women affected by the war speak
only Tamil language and this has become
a handicap for them to access information
only available in other local languages.
Therefore, all the necessary information
should made available in Tamil along with
other languages.
Police stations should have officers who
converse in Sinhalese as well as Tamil
according to the need of the area and
service of interpreters should be made
available as necessary.
District
lso
dialogues a
th e
discussed
TI
impact of R
law in p u b lic
life
ura
Anuradhap
10
Many people do not make use of the
Right to Information Act due to their lack
of awareness about the RTI law. Programs
should be held to increase awareness
of such acts and on how to benefit from
them, especially for war affected women.
Legal and counseling service should be
made available to war affected women.
Special counseling services should be
held focused on children in war affected
households with the aim of eliminating
domestic violence.
Special counseling services should be
commenced in government hospitals to
help mentally depressed war affected
women. Special attention should be given
to language issues.
Obstacles prevailing to women to own
properties should be eliminated. When
granting government land to families,
women in the household should be stated
as joint owners.
Government should launch an initiative
to minimize the poverty of war affected
women by helping them to start self
employment ventures and providing them
with employments relevant to their regions
while providing them with training and
necessary guidance.
During
discussion
in
Kurun e g a la
Cottage industries and home based
self employments could be introduced
to women in rural areas while providing
access to needed resources and markets.
Women should be encouraged to capitalize
on their traditional skills as business assets
and become successful entrepreneurs to
sustain their familial and personal needs.
Gaining access to competitive markets
have never been easy for females and
more so for rural women. They should be
taught how to penetrate male dominant
markets with success.
Policies should be made to assist war
affected women with welfare programs.
Problems faced by war affected women
in obtaining welfare services should
be addressed along with eliminating
discrimination of women.
If women are empowered it would increase
their negotiating capacity and it would
lead them to provide active contribution in
decision making processes.
 11

A method should be devised to gather Steps should be taken to avoid possibilities

accurate and factual information on war of distress against women which have the
affected women. tendency of emerging in the future.

A program should be created to consolidate A majority of the laws prevailing in the

a network of civil society organizations country are male dominant that have made
that strive for the welfare of war affected women suffer and steps should be taken to
women. Such a network should be linked reform such laws.
with relevant state institutions.
Women should be made aware of the
A long term strategy should be made to ongoing Reconciliation initiatives.
encourage productive inputs by women in
decision making processes. Hatches of the media should be opened
for war affected women.
Male - female awareness should be
instilled within the staff of the Human Rights
Commission.

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 National
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for war
affected
women

Special thanks
Dr. Deepika Udagama, Chairperson of
Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission
Menaka Herath, Attorney-at-Law,
Director of Education and Special Programs,
Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission
Nihal Chandrasiri, Director of Research and
Investigations, Sri Lanka
Human Rights Commission
Shiromee Priyanga, Regional Coordinator,
Anuradhapura Regional Office of the
Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission
Daushka Chamal, Education and Data Officer,
Anuradhapura Regional Office of the
Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission
Nirosha Ratnayake, Attorney-at-Law Regional
Coordinator, Matara Regional Office of the
Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission
D M R Dissanayake, Research and
Investigations Officer, Matara Regional Office
of the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission
Kumudini Vithana, Regional Coordinator, Kandy
Regional Office of the Sri Lanka
Human Rights Commission
M. I. Daluwaththa Research Officer, Kandy
Regional Office of the Sri Lanka
Human Rights Commission
Erananda Hettiarachchi
Director General of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting
Corporation and its staff.
Staff of the Media Training Academy of the
SLBC, Kothmale
Sri Lanka Rupawahini Corporation
Rupa Gamage, and the staff of the
Rajarata Praja Kendraya
Design by - samabima (www.samabima.com)
Chamila Thushari and the staff of
Dabidu Collective
Sriyani Pathirage and Kanchana Kodithuwakku
and the staff of the Rural Womens Front
Sumika Perera and the staff of the Womens
Recourse Center

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Forum for woman and
development

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