War Widows Turn to Sex Work in Sri Lanka By Feizal Samath – Inter Press Service (IPS) Posted on September 27, 2023September 27, 2023 By Admin COLOMBO, May 11, 2012 (IPS) – On May 18, some 800 women in Sri Lanka’s northern region will hold Hindu religious ceremonies for the welfare of thier husbands who disappeared or surrendered to the military as it moved in to mop up nearly three decades of armed Tamil separatism. “These women continue to live in hope even though many of those Tamil men may have died in the last days of the fighting,” says Shreen Abdul Saroor, a prominent rights activist working with conflict-affected women in northern Sri Lanka. “On the other hand, even if they do acknowledge that their men have died, they don’t want to be known as widows as that could result in them being seen in a negative light in the community,” Saroor explained to IPS. “They prefer to be known as single women or as women heading households.” Traditionally, Hindus consider widows to be inauspicious and the religion does not favour remarriage. Tamils, who form 12 percent of Sri Lanka’s 20 million population, mostly follow Hinduism while Sinhalese, who make up 74 percent of the population, are predominantly Buddhist. According to government estimates, the ethnic conflict has widowed 59,000 women, the bulk of them in the Tamil-dominated north and east. With rehabilitation tardy and options to earn money few, many women have been compelled to resort to sex work to earn a livelihood and provide for their families. Read Full Article Uncategorized
Navi Pillay: Speaking Truth to Power – The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights shares her Concerns Posted on September 27, 2023 “I think Christianity is under threat [in the Middle East] … I am very alarmed about what is happening to them.” Referemce on Sri Lanka, specifically threat on the Catholic Priests who defend Human Rights. Headlines and sharp rhetoric about war crimes and crimes against humanity seem so common that… Read More
Book Review on Sri Lanka Genocide & War Crimes Posted on September 27, 2023 An Invaluable Reference Book by Prof. V. Suryanarayan Ramu Manivannan, Ed., Sri Lanka – Hiding the Elephant: Documenting Genocide, War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity (Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Madras, Chepauk, Chennai – 600 005), Price Rs. 2000/-http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2014/08/book-review-sri-lanka-genocide-and-war.html Read More
Girl was raped by Navy Men for 11 Days – TNA MP Posted on September 27, 2023September 27, 2023 The 11-year old girl, who was raped by navy personnel, said that the men kidnapped her during the day, raped her and released her in the afternoons for 11 days, TNA MP Saravanabhavan told media, after visiting the victim’s parents in Karainagar. The MP said that the victim revealed that… Read More