Shanthi Sachithanandam- Chief Executive Officer of the Viluthu Centre for Human Resource Development

Shanthi Sachithanandam works in devastated areas in the North and East of Sri Lanka, particularly with women. She discussed some of the improvements and setbacks in women’s rights in Sri Lanka since the war with warzonewomen.

Tell me about yourself and the work you do with women in Sri Lanka.

At the Viluthu Centre for Human Resource Development our mandate is ‘mobilise, educate and encourage’. We are a non-government organisation but we work in conjunction with the government to encourage women to take part in all aspects of politics. Our objective is to teach people. We do workshops according to the needs of the people. ‘Viluthu’ means ‘the newest leaf of the tree’ in Tamil, it’s a metaphor for becoming renewed through learning.

Share some of your most memorable experiences working with women in Sri Lanka.

Everything has been memorable, this job is very satisfying, as soon as women learn, they’re empowered and they can transform their lives and when we see that we are very happy. Our role is to educate, to tell women about laws and the rest is up to them. A lot of memorable moments are negative, dealing with government and getting permission for various projects has been a nightmare. I remember the negative incidents very clearly. Every project needs approval from a different ministry. A lot has to be monitored by the Criminal Investigation Department, they come and sit with us and observe our work even before the women we want to help get here. Civic education, house-building projects and training programs for example are looked upon suspiciously by the authorities.

Talk about some of the recent work you have done to help improve conditions for women in Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka.

We’ve been trying to bring communities and the government together. We monitor The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC). The LLRC is a commission enquiry set up by Rajapaksa that looks into everything from disappearances to medical care. We discuss the shortcomings of the LLRC, tell the government about deadlines they have to meet and engage with politicians.

In what ways do women suffer differently from men in war zones?

After the war, women were at a loss, they lost their livelihoods, they’re family members and their surroundings were destroyed. Women in the communities I work in usually don’t go far. Men go in search of work when they become displaced, for example, they’ll go from Killinocchi to Batticaloa but women aren’t used to that. Men usually do labour so they can be out of the house for months, women often made a living with the use of goats and cows for example, but if their animals were killed during the war then they are left with nothing. They suffer deeply on a psychological level if they’ve become displaced, it is like suddenly moving from London to Russia- surroundings become unrecognisable. It’s often not safe for women to go out at night unlike men. Rape is a huge concern, there a lot of people I work with who say that rape happens a lot here, but no one will say it happened to them. I’ve worked with a lot of women in these areas and not one person has come forward about being raped.

What other issues do women face that are not discussed often?

I’ve seen many families break-up, sometimes men leave their wives for other women when they travel elsewhere. Something we haven’t discussed is the issue of shrapnel in the body, women haven’t had good medical care here and that’s something we have to look into. There are other smaller issues, in terms of the government housing programme, an individual will receive more benefits if they have a big family. However, many women live alone, they’ve lost their families in the war and they live in shacks, we want the government to change this. Shacks are open so there is no security, women need proper housing and government delivery has been lacking in this area.

How have women’s rights in Sri Lanka changed over time?

There have been some improvements for example, the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Prevention of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Acts which came into force in 2004/5, but implementation has been a problem. The improvements do not apply to Tamil women that much because they’re a minority and human rights organisations are looking into this. The Prevention of Terrorism Act, which many women have been arrested under is draconian- it virtually means the authorities can do anything to women and I want to work on having it repealed.

In your opinion do Sri Lankan men and women generally embrace the concept of feminism?

Women do not embrace the concept of feminism that much, there are only a handful of us. Some of the women who work here will not say they are feminists but still work to uplift women. I call myself a feminist, the response from men when I say this is not great and the media is not friendly towards feminists- they say the concept goes against our culture.

What do you think needs to be done to improve women’s rights in Sri Lanka?

Progress is very slow but we are doing a lot of work within our organisation and eventually we will get there.

Shanthi's TEDx talk on social change

#interview