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An Ethnic Portrait of Women As Labour Force in Colombo, ! Sri Lanka ! !

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An Ethnic Portrait of Women As Labour Force in Colombo, ! Sri Lanka ! ! ! “People with clenched fists can’t shake hands” ! ! ! An ethnic portrait of women as labour force in Colombo, ! Sri Lanka ! ! ! Pamela Grebe - 10918809 MSc. International Development Studies Graduate School of Social Sciences University of Amsterdam ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Pamela Grebe - 10918809 MSc. International Development Studies Graduate School of Social Sciences University of Amsterdam Thesis supervisor: Nicky Pouw Second reader: Linnet Taylor Date: 07.01.2016! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Table of Content ! !—————————————————————— Acknowledgement………………………………………………………………………….………5! Dedication……………………………………………………………………………………..……6! ! List of Figures, Tables and Boxes………………………………………………………………….7 ! ! List of Acronyms……………………………………………………………………………………8 ! ! Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………….….……9 ! ! Chapter 1: Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..10 ! ! Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework…………………………………………………………..…14 ! 2.1 Looking through the wellbeing lens…………………………………………………….…14! 2.2 Women’s empowerment and decision-making processes…………………………….……17! 2.3 Ethnicity: manifestations, relations and implications…………………………………..….23! 2.4 Conflict theory: variation in theory……………………………………………………..….25 ! 2.5 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………..….….29 ! ! Chapter 3: Research Methodology………………………………………………………………32 ! 3.1 Methodological approach……………………………………………………………….…32 ! 3.2 Main research question and sub-questions…………………………………………….…..33! 3.3 Research methods, scope and location………………………………………………….…34! 3.4 Data analysis………………………………………………………………………….……35! 3.5 Limitations, research challenges and ethical considerations………………………………36 ! 3.6 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………38 ! ! Chapter 4: Empirical Context of Sri Lanka……………………………………………………39 ! 4.1 Research location and brief historical context…………………………………………….39! 4. 2 Expressions of nationhood……………………………………………………………..…41! 4.2.1 The lion flag…………………………………………………………………………42! ! 4.2.2 The national emblem and anthem………………………………………………….43 ! 4.2.3 One country, two languages………………………………………………………..46 ! 4.3 Females as labour force in Sri Lanka…………………………………………………….48 ! 4.4 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………..55 ! ! Chapter 5: The Dual Axes of Marginalisation, Unfolded……………………………………56! 5.1 The vicious circle: patriarchal system and gender-roles…………………………………..…57 ! 5.2 Socio-economic differentiators: labour and conflict…………………………………………62 ! 5.3 Choosing not to choose………………………………………………………………………68 ! 5.4 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………71! ! Chapter 6: Conclusion and Final Remarks……………………………………………………72 ! 6.1 Revisiting the main research question……………………………………………………..…72 ! 6.2 Policy recommendations…………………….………………………………………………..76! 6.2.1 General recommendations………………………………………………………………76 ! 6.2.2 Specific recommendations………………………………………………………………78! 6.3 Research agenda………………………………………………………………………………80 ! 6.4 Critical reflection on the project: theoretical, conceptual and methodological remarks……………………………………………………………………………………………81 ! ! Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………..84 ! ! Appendices…………………………………………………………………………………….…90 ! Appendix 1: Details of the research participants………………………………………..…….90 ! Appendix 2: In-depth interviews themes and questions………………………………………94 ! Appendix 3: Operationalization table……………………………………………….……..….97 ! Acknowledgement! ——————————————————————————————————- ! ! A big thank you to:! ! Hema Goonatilake ! For helping me during the very first steps of the project when I needed to establish key contacts to carry out my research, consolidate my ideas and get fully infiltrated in the Sri Lankan lifestyle. ! ! ! Chulani Kodikara ! For sharing with so much transparency and accuracy her stories, experiences and investigations. For capturing my entire attention with each of her wise and inspirational words and reflections. ! ! ! Sonali Dayaratne! For providing me with assistance to fill in the gaps with official documents, empirical information and her clever insights and interpretations. ! ! ! S. Satgunarajah ! For his contagious sense of humour and honest answers, no matter the topic. For being a person that simply stays in your memory throughout time. ! ! ! Nicky Pouw! For her constant supervision and for all her effort, time and dedication to guide me through this period. For her patience and feedback that helped me redirect both insignificant details and major missteps.! "5 Dedication! ——————————————————————————————————- ! This master’s thesis is for my beloved ones, for my mom who always encouraged me to interact with different cultures and to understand other perspectives than mine, for my dad who has always shown me the bright side of things no matter how difficult a situation can be, for my sister for her ever-lasting support, company and understanding and for my love, who travelled miles and miles to see me and be part of my adventures. ! ! Specially, this thesis is for my research assistants who were my eyes when I could not see, my voice when I could not speak and my feet when I was lost.! ! Dear Safna and Paviththira, thank you for all your time and dedication to this project. For treating me like a sister and for adding humour and fun to one of the most exciting but also challenging periods of my life. For your patience, sincerity and for coping with my foreigner’s smell of sweat, mosquito repellent and sunscreen. Through your questions dear friends, I found my answers…! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! This, is also for you dear Malika, Kodithuwakku, Nayana, Indra, Sadaseeli, Kala, Dhevi, Nisha, Chanthra, Pavith, Farima, Naeem, Fasmina, Jisthiya and Jainambu. Thank you for your smiles, your reflections, your kindness and your beautiful and inspiring spirits. Every day you thought me a lesson (even on how to kill a cobra)…! ! Ayobowan Sri Lanka and its big-hearted people… "6 List of Figures, Tables and Boxes ! ——————————————————————————————————- ! Figure 2.1: The Triangle of Wellbeing ! Figure 2.2: The Process of Change ! Figure 2.3: Trans-theoretical Model! Figure 2.4: Actors within the Three Conflict (Sub-) Systems in Sri Lanka ! Figure 2.5: Conceptual Scheme ! Box 3.1: Main Research Question and Sub-questions ! Figure 4.1: Map of Sri Lanka! Figure 4.2: Sri Lankan Flag! Figure 4.3: Sri Lankan Emblem ! Figure 4.4: Sri Lanka’s North under Military Occupation ! Figure 4.5: Cartoon - “Sinhala-only Act”! Table 4.6: Percentage of Population by Ability to Speak, Read and Write Sinhala, Tamil and English! Figure 4.7: Unemployment Rate of Females in Sri Lanka! Figure 4.8: Representation of Women in Parliament in Sri Lanka ! Figure 4.9: Reasons for Being Economically Inactive in Sri Lanka - 2012! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! "7 List of Acronyms ! ——————————————————————————————————- ! Bodu Bala Sena! BBS Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of CEDAW Discrimination Against Women! Centre for Poverty Analysis ! CEPA Coping with Internal Conflict! CICP Department of Census and Statistics! DCS Focus Group Discussions! FGD’s Growth and Economic Opportunities for Women ! GrOW International Centre for Ethnic Studies! ICES International Labour Organization ! ILO Jathika Hela Urumaya ! JHU National Freedom Front ! NFF Social Institutions and Gender Index! SIGI Transtheoretical Model! TTM United Nations Development Programme! UNDP United Nations Research Institute for Social UNRISD Development! Wellbeing in Development countries Research WeD Group! ! ! ! "8 Abstract! ———————————————————————— ! Throughout history, women have made considerable inroads in labour markets all over the world breaking and modifying some of the most constraining barriers that have been systematically imposed upon them. Nonetheless, gender differentials in the market economy remain obstinately persistent and are continuously translated in substantial divergences when it comes to economic rights and independence such as access to employment, labour force participation and engagement, overall working conditions and lastly, control over economic resources. Particularly, in developing countries, where the bulk of world’s labour force is concentrated, interrelated social labellers such as gender and ethnicity, are used as markers of the injustice and abuse which can be found, deeply intertwined, with extreme cases of vulnerable employability. In many countries corresponding to the global south, including Sri Lanka, exploring the roots of the multifarious challenges that emerge from ingrained patriarchal social systems and conflict-prone societies, which often remain concealed in rigid societal structures, can be of vital importance to understand the real elements that contribute on a daily basis to maintain women at the margin of the labour market. ! Departing from inductive reasoning and with the use of qualitative data collected through a combination of in-depth interviews and focus groups discussions, the aim of this research is to explain how ethnicity as well as its implicit and explicit manifestations play a role when delineating women’s involvement and empowerment in Colombo’s labour market. As the findings show, which will be discussed thoroughly in the last chapter, identity attributes are still considered social facilitators or constrainers, particularly when it comes to gender and ethnicity which ultimately can be considered as the dual axes of marginalisation. In the current Sri Lankan post-war society, enduring gender-roles and staggering ethnic labelling handicap its population by coming to arouse memories from the past whilst constructing fragile and uncertain prospects for the future. The country’s
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