Time to stop the harassment of women and girls

Sri Lanka, like the rest of the world, celebrated International Women’s Day (IWD) on 8 March. The day was marked by highlighting the achievements of women, a noteworthy gesture but what a lot of these celebrations overlook are real issues that women face on a daily basis such as harassment on public transport or the streets. Be they elected representatives occupying a seat in Parliament, garment factory workers, tea pluckers or daily wage earners, women in Sri Lanka generally suffer due to the misogynistic attitude of men.

Two weeks ago, Education Minister Susil Premjayanth used an obscene word when SJB MP Rohini Kaviratne raised some questions related to his Ministry. Later he made a half-hearted apology, not admitting that he had used an obscene word but saying he was sorry if he had hurt her by what he said, a usual tactic to escape censure. This is not the first time that women MPs have had to face sexist comments from their male colleagues but given that no Speaker has addressed the issue seriously, it’s unlikely the mindset of a majority of the male MPs will change.

What we see in Parliament is the snapshot of a wider problem that women of this country face.

A study commissioned by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Sri Lanka in 2015 found that 90% of women in Sri Lanka have been subjected to sexual harassment on public buses and trains, an alarming find but one that is ignored as it’s a women’s problem. In addition to this, catcalling, wolf-whistling, vulgar gestures are forms of harassment most females experience on the streets on a regular basis.

There is also workplace harassment, both in the state and private sector, but it’s another for those women’s problems that usually gets brushed under the carpet so that women continue to endure such unpleasant experiences.

In the State sector, attempts to bring regulations to safeguard women from sexual harassment have not materialised while in the private sector, some rules have been made within institutions but there is no effort to come up with common rules to deal with this serious problem.

In Sri Lanka, the State has done woefully little to safeguard the basic right of girls and women to travel safely in public transport and walk the streets without fear. This is one area where there must be government intervention because ignoring the problem thinking it will go away on its own will not happen. The Government must look at other countries which have introduced laws to safeguard girls and women from public sexual harassment and do the same here. The British government announced last year that it was backing legislation to criminalise public sexual harassment, which would make offences such as catcalling punishable by law. Sri Lanka too needs this kind of proactive government intervention if there is going to be relief for Sri Lankan women.

For too long, issues faced by women have been relegated to the wilderness because they were not considered important enough, but this attitude must change. A good place to start is by acknowledging the everyday safety and security issues women face when they step out of their homes. There must also be more public discussion and debate so that there is acceptance that the majority of the women of this country are forced to endure public sexual harassment. Living in denial believing there is no such problem is the biggest injustice that can be done to the women of this country.

Females make up over 52% of the country’s population but their basic needs are ignored so that men’s issues can take priority. It’s time for this discrimination to stop. This International Women’s Day is a good time to start to stop the harassment of women and girls.