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Notes from the Filed Widowhood and Religious Perception international journal of asian christianity 1 (2018) 307-328 brill.com/ijac Notes From The Filed ∵ Widowhood and Religious Perception Rasika Pieris Radboud University, The Netherlands [email protected] Abstract This article is based on the author’s doctoral thesis, Breaking the Barriers: A Reflec- tion on Suffering in Buddhism and Christianity in the Perspectives of War-widows in Sri Lanka.1 Using theoretical and empirical lines of investigation it attempts to discover the theological possibilities, challenges and relevance of the survival strategies of Bud- dhist and Christian war-widows by critically describing, analysing, interpreting and exploring an inter-relatedness in their situations, and relating these findings to exist- ing systematic theological concepts. Since the research is also empirical, it includes fieldwork done with a selected group of Buddhist and Christian war-widows – Tamil Christian, Sinhala Christian and Sinhala Buddhist – in post-war Sri Lanka. These wom- en are from different social, religious, political, cultural, economic and educational backgrounds in select provinces of Sri Lanka. The theological research is partly based on interviews, dialogues with unheard voices, and a critical analysis of the daily experi- ences of widows –‘everydayness’,2 which help to reflect both on the notion of suffer- ing in Buddhist and Christian thinking that is different, and on their influence on the perception of widows and their suffering. 1 Cf. Rasika Sharmen Pieris, Breaking the Barriers: A Reflection on Suffering in Buddhism and Christianity in the Perspectives of War-widows in Sri Lanka (Colombo: Nashua Lanka (Pvt) Ltd., 2017). 2 H. Lefebvre, ‘The Everyday and Everdayness,’ Yale French Studies, no. 73 (1987), p.7. © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2018 | doi 10.1163/25424246-00102008Downloaded from Brill.com10/01/2021 11:59:49PM via free access <UN> 308 Pieris Keywords war-widows – post-war Sri Lanka – suffering – marginalisation – resistance – culture – religion – kamma – inter-religious dialogue – feminist theology Introduction According to the data of the Department of Census and Statistics in Sri Lanka (2009/2010), 1.1 million households are female-headed families and 50% of these women are widows.3 Female-headed households emerged in Sri Lanka due to the deaths of husbands as a significant social phenomenon after two types of war.4 In Sri Lanka, women were widowed firstly due to, the three-de- cade long war between the Sri Lankan State (sls) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (ltte) (mainly Sinhalese and Tamils); and secondly, due to the armed struggle conducted by the People’s Liberation Front or jvp (Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna) in 1971 (the struggle began in April 1971 and lasted until June 1971),and again, from 1987 to 1989, with the movement resorting to attacks on civilian and military targets. A large number of Tamil, Sinhala and Muslim women were widowed after the war between the sls and the ltte (1983–2009). The Deputy Minister for Women’s Affairs and Child Development (2010–2013), M.L.A.M. Hizbullah, in 2009 announced “that he had a list of 89,000 war-widows – 49,000 in the East- ern Province and 40,000 in the Northern Province whose husbands had died or had disappeared during the conflict. Among them were 12,000 below the age of forty and 8,000 who had at least three children.”5 These widows do not form a homogenous group. Some of the Tamil widows were active members, combatants of the ltte, workers or helpers of the ltte, and some of them were housewives. Similarly, many Sinhala widows are wives of members of the armed forces. These women were mainly involved in office work and nursing, some of who were victims of the ltte attacks and suicide bombings. The latter caused severe damage in the Southern part of the country. 3 Cf. The Department of Census and Statistics, Sri Lanka (2009/2010). 4 Cf. Nira Wickramasinghe, Sri Lanka in the Modern Age: A History of Contested Identities (Ho- nolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2006), p.8. 5 M.L.A.M. Hizbullah, Daily Mirror: http://www.dailymirror.lk/6838/890 [accessed 28 Decem- ber 2017]. In terms of statistics, the number of Sinhala war-widows is not available for public access, due to which the number of women being widowed among Sinhalese cannot be stated. international journal of asian christianityDownloaded from 1 Brill.com10/01/2021 (2018) 307-328 11:59:49PM via free access <UN> Widowhood And Religious Perception 309 Even though Muslims were not directly involved in the war, as they live mainly in the Eastern part of the country, they nonetheless became victims of the war between the sls and the ltte. This transformation from being housewives to being female heads of the household meant participating in a dynamic labour market, that saw some en- gaged in jobs such as land-mine clearing, fishing, working in hotels, and road mending and construction. This meant moving away from certain cultural norms and customs for these women, especially Tamils, who found work that was hitherto almost unknown to women.–. Some, even remarried in spite of cultural restrictions. Many widows became the breadwinners of their families and the main decision-makers, which was quite rare in Sri Lankan culture.6 There is no doubt that widowhood is stigmatized in Sri Lankan society. The reality of war-widows in Sri Lanka is associated with generational cultural and religious customs, rituals and perceptions throughout the country regarding widows. When women become widows, they are not only oppressed by men through oppressive rules and customs, but also by other women who attach a stigma to widowhood. Since culture and religion are two inter-connected ele- ments that affect widows in society it is important to study the perception of widows in Sri Lankan cultures and religions. In studying widows in the coun- try, it is important to note that belonging to the same country does not mean that the situation is identical as they belong to different nations and religions and have different social status. Also, belonging to the same community does not mean that the situation is identical due to the sub-cultural system of those communities that have a significant effect on people’s lives. Hence, the situ- ation of widows needs to be viewed and analyzed in its totality if we are to understand it adequately. The Perception of Widows in Sri Lankan Patriarchal Culture Culture is a way of life, with shared norms, values and beliefs as its key ele- ments. Culture is also a double-edged sword. On the one hand, culture gives a community its identity, but on the other it is used as a means to justify op- pression or suppression of people, especially women. Sri Lanka, like any other Asian country, is rich in its cultural diversity, which makes the culture unique, and this in turn contributes to the country’s identity. Although diversities pre- vail in Sri Lanka’s multiple cultures, male supremacy is a common feature that runs through them all. Patriarchy has been a part of Sri Lankan culture for 6 Cf. Wickramasinghe, Sri Lanka in the Modern Age, 334–335. international journal of asian christianity 1 (2018)Downloaded 307-328 from Brill.com10/01/2021 11:59:49PM via free access <UN> 310 Pieris many centuries, and therefore, male supremacy is prevalent across religious, social, political and economic spheres. Sri Lankan women have always been framed in relation to men: in childhood, to the father; in marriage, to the hus- band, and in widowhood to the son. “Patriarchy normalizes constructed di- chotomies. It normalizes practices and relationships, so that gender becomes hidden, unessential and irrelevant.”7 The construction of ‘family’ gives power to men – the father being the head and in his absence the eldest son – who ‘control women’ as wife, sister and daughter, thus forming the hierarchy of patriarchy. Although ‘motherhood’ is a sacred concept that is venerated in the cultures, the social structures control women irrespective of their roles. A woman plays her role as a mother in nur- turing children, while decision-making lies with men. This was clearly seen in Sri Lanka, especially during the past decades of war: mothers as a ‘recurring motif in national/revolutionary discourse’8 and mothers resisting the prevail- ing violence in the state. Women as wives and mothers are bound to fulfil many traditional roles such as childbearing, nurturing children, cooking and house- hold work. The tradition of women being dependent on men has led to the control of women in family life, religious life, social life and political life. This subordinat- ed position of women in society was strengthened by the foreign missionaries during their rule, and eventually, during the post-colonial nation-building in Sri Lanka. In Sri Lankan society, many women have accepted their culturally ascribed sex role as natural. For example, “sex-stereotyping of occupations or the acceptance of some occupations as suitable only for the females and oth- ers only for males still persists.”9 Also, the roles of wife and husband are clearly defined. Woman as a wife and/or a mother has a subordinate role in family life. Consequently, they tend to justify their oppression and marginalization within family, society and religion, by thinking “this is our culture”. For some, culture is an unalterable factor that overwhelms the lives of people, especially of women. In the midst of oppression women are silent about the suffering they undergo and justify the notion that a culture is unchangeable. 7 Gunhild Hoogensen and Svein Vigeland Rottem, “Gender Identity and the Subject of Secu- rity,” Dialogue 35, no. 2 (Colombo: The Ecumenical Institute for Study and Dialogue, June 2004), p.164.
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