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
Will UN Report bring Justice for Sri Lanka War Victims? Posted on September 27, 2023September 27, 2023 Will UN Report bring Justice for Sri Lanka War Victims? By Amantha Perera UNNICHCHI, Sri Lanka, 2 September 2015 (IRIN) – Thavarasa Utharai says she isn’t exactly sure where Geneva is, but she is anxiously awaiting a report soon to be made public in the Swiss city that is expected… Read More
Government reverses policy on War Crimes Probe in Secret, says UNP Posted on September 27, 2023September 27, 2023 The main opposition United National Party has accused the Government of a stealthy reversal of its policy on probing alleged war crimes by surreptitiously taking steps to launch a domestic investigation using foreign expert advisors in the face of mounting international pressure. Issuing a statement yesterday, the UNP, which previously… Read More
OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL) Posted on September 27, 2023September 27, 2023 Terms of Reference Mandate and reporting obligations In its resolution A/HRC/25/1 adopted in March 2014 on “Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka”, the United Nations Human Rights Council requested the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to “undertake a comprehensive investigation into alleged serious violations and abuses of human… Read More