Leadership Initiatives of Women in Post-War Development in Sri Lanka
Ms. Kanthi Hemamalee WIJETUNGE (Sri Lanka)

Sri Lanka spent a very difficult period due to the armed conflict prevailed in the country for nearly
three decades until 2009.Actuallyit turned the country into one of the most dangerous places in theworld. It caused the loss of lives of a large number of people including civilians and also enormous
damages were caused to the country’s infrastructure.
Women and children suffered the most during the war. A large number of civilians including womenand children were internally displaced and were forced to live in refugee camps. Women underwent
enormous hardships to nourish their children and take care of disabled and injured siblings with thelimited resources available in those camps. In addition, they had to struggle against sexual
harassments and violence too.
The biggest challenge faced by the Government during the post-war development period is theprovision of housing and other facilities for the Internally Displaced People (IDP). These people werenot able to go to their own places immediately as their properties were damaged by the war and eventhe land was not safe due to land mines.
Women played a big role in resettlement programmes as they suffered a lot in refugee camps, andwere eager to go back to their villages and start normal lives. They participated in resettlement
activities in many ways. Some women even took part in the land clearance and putting up temporary
huts for living. Older women engaged in cooking and child caring work. While engaging in these work,
they gradually began to form groups to discuss their problems and identify their problems to be
forwarded to the authorities concerned. This process facilitated the emergence of women leaders
who were instrumental of obtaining assistance to re-build their livelihoods.
By this time many women have become ‘war widows’, single parents and heads of households in allcommunities across the island. Disabilities and injuries resulting from war and exposure to land mines
made large numbers of young men ineligible for employment, marriage and the ability to support
families. Because of this situation women began to face many challenges not only for their own
survival but also for the survival of their families. This caused the redefining of gender roles andwomen were to take on traditional male roles and behaviours to support their families. Many women
engaged in non-traditional economic activities such as farming and fishing to support their families.
Although many organizations were willing to offer credit facilities for self-employment, majority ofwomen lack confidence to accept money as they didn’t have land ownership and technical knowhow
to initiate income generating activities. In view of this situation the Government agencies and NGOs
tried to use capable women in those areas to support these activities. It paved the way to identify
number of women community leaders who possess skills to advocate potential women to comeforward and obtain the benefit of available support services. They helped to organize training andprovide credit support to the needy women.
During the post-war development period, gender concerns were focused in almost all projects andthere was a heavy flow of aid packages which were aimed at the promotion of women’s leadership.
The Government also has employed women as rural development officers to liaise with women’sgroups and establish women’s committees to provide a space and means for them to discuss andaddress livelihood issues and housing needs.
Despite the security threats and cultural barriers, Sri Lankan women also became active inpeacemaking efforts even early in the war. The organizations such as Mother’s Front in the northeastand south which protested against disappearances, abductions and killings of their sons emerged
during this period.
Women’s groups have also protested the military’s abuse of female IDPs and advocated for thedeployment of women officers in the police and armed services to provide security in thesecommunities. They advocated for greater female participation in reconciliation processes andstrengthening law enforcement on violence against women.
Women community leaders and women - led organizations not only provide support and enormous
services for needy women but also strive in filling the gaps that exist in the current reconciliation andreconstruction processes. The government also has to place more emphasis on gender sensitive
processes and should take key steps to provide targeted assistance to women. In additioninternational donor agencies also must adopt a gender sensitive approach and provide direct
assistance to much needy women such as war widows and female heads of households to rebuild theirlivelihoods and gain economic independence.