scholarly journals Fear of Small Numbers and Political Behaviour of Ethnocentric Majority of Sri Lanka: Undeclared War against Upcountry Tamil Females

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-125
Author(s):  
Harsha Senanayake

Abstract The United Nations Human Development Report (UNHDR) mentions that the rights of women and female children are inalienable, integral and indivisible. It further highlights the full and equal participation of women in every segment of the social process without any discrimination or without considering sex - gender hierarchies.1 The legal frameworks of the international system and local political space is accepting of the normative values of gender equality and the eradication of gender-based discrimination. But most of the majoritarian societies challenge these legal frameworks to address their political, social and market-oriented interests. These actions are driven by political, social and structural frameworks which have been accepted by the majoritarian societies in the liberal democratic world. Tamil women in upcountry tea plantations in Sri Lanka were subjected to systemic and structural violence because of Sinhala majoritarian statecrafts in post-independence Sri Lanka. The ethnocentric violence directly problematises human security, survival and the personal rights of the upcountry Tamil female labour force. This paper discusses the survival of Tamil female plantation labour forces, focusing mainly on the security crisis of female reproductive rights under the ethnocentric Sinhala Majoritarian Society.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Udeni De Silva Perera ◽  
Brett A. Inder

Abstract Background: High rates of child malnutrition are a major public health concern in developing countries, particularly among vulnerable communities. Midday meals programs can be effective for combatting childhood malnutrition among older children. However, their use in early childhood is not well documented, particularly within South Asia. Anthropometric measures and other socioeconomic data were collected for children below the age of five years living in selected Sri Lankan tea plantations, to assess the effectiveness of midday meals as a nutrition intervention for improving growth among young children.Methods: The study exploits a natural experiment whereby the provision of the midday meals program is exogenously determined at the plantation level, resulting in comparable treatment and control groups. Longitudinal data is regularly collected on heights and weights of children, between 2013-2015. Standardized weight-for-age, height-for-age, BMI-for-age and weight-for-height are calculated following WHO guidelines, and binary variables for stunting, wasting and underweight are constructed. All modelling uses STATA SE 15. Random-effects regression with instrumental variables is used for modelling standardized growth variables whilst random-effects logistic regression is used for binary outcome variables. Robustness analysis involves different estimation methods and subsamples. Results: The dataset consists of longitudinal data from a total of 1279 children across three tea plantations in Sri Lanka, with 799 children in the treatment group and 480 in the control group. Results show significant positive effects of access to the midday meals program, on the growth of children. A child with access to the midday meals intervention reports an average standardized weight-for-age 0.03 (±0.01) and height-for-age 0.05 (±0.01) units higher than a similar child without access to the intervention. Importantly, access to the intervention reduces the likelihood of being underweight by 0.45 and the likelihood of wasting by 0.47. The results are robust to different model estimations and across different subsamples by gender, birthweight and birth-year cohort. Qualitative data analysis suggests a high viability of implementing similar programs within tea plantations in Sri Lanka.Conclusions: Midday meals programs targeting early childhood can be an effective intervention to address high rates of child malnutrition, particularly among vulnerable communities in developing countries like Sri Lanka.


Author(s):  
Maria Louis

Gender-based violence (GBV) has grown into a pandemic. It has spread its tentacles so far and wide that no country or community in the 21st century is immune from it. There are, of course, laws to prevent GBV and punish the perpetrators of GBV. But, the laws, in general, pathetically fail to yield the desired result and fail to play the role of an effective deterrent as lawmakers themselves, most often, become lawbreakers. It is well known that patriarchy has a vested interest in gender inequality, which is the root cause of GBV. The dominant gender, male, uses violence against all other genders, including female and third gender, as a lethal weapon to prove their muscle-power, pseudo-superiority, and enjoy what is not morally and ethically and legally right. GBV is undoubtedly a human right violation. However, in the land of nonviolence, India, marital rape, among others, is still legal. Things are slowly changing, and it gives hope.


2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (Suppl 2) ◽  
pp. A5.3-A6
Author(s):  
Achini Jayatilleke ◽  
Sumithra Tissera ◽  
Asanka Pathirathne ◽  
Badra Udawatta ◽  
Prasanna Jayathilaka ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muliani Ratnaningsih ◽  
Heribertus Rinto Wibowo ◽  
Nicholas J Goodwin ◽  
Ade Ayu Kartika Sari Rezki ◽  
Ridwan R ◽  
...  

Abstract ObjectivesThis study aims to assess child marriage acceptability in the two locations in Indonesia by gender inequality, financial security, education rates, legal frameworks, dowry, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).MethodsThis study used a quantitative approach with a cross sectional study design. A total of 1,000 respondents consisting of 500 households in Bone District, South Sulawesi and 500 households in Palu, Sigi, Donggala District in Central Sulawesi participated in the study. Data analyses were conducted based on the Acceptability Child Marriage Index (ACMI) by using the bivariate correlation, ANOVA (analysis of variance) and logistic regression.ResultsThis study found several significant factors contributed to child marriage acceptance in Central and South Sulawesi: household financial security (p=0.016), dowry (p=0.000) and legal frameworks (p=0.017) based on ANOVA analysis. After conducting bivariate correlation, dowry (p=0.000) and sexual and gender-based violence (p=0.000) remain significant factors. Dowry (p=0.000, with expected B=0.122), and sexual and gender-based violence (p=0.001, with expected B=0.064) remains significant after the linear regression analysis.ConclusionsDowry practice and sexual and gender-based violence were the most significant factors contributing to the child marriage acceptance in Central and South Sulawesi. There is a need to conduct interventions to prevent child marriage including providing sexual and reproductive health education.


2003 ◽  
Vol 34 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 1481-1497 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Ananthacumaraswamy ◽  
L. S. K. Hettiarachchi ◽  
S. M. Dissanayake
Keyword(s):  

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