Exploring Women’s Empowerment Edited by Ranmini Vithanagama International Centre for Ethnic Studies February 2018 Exploring Women’s Empowerment © 2018 International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES) 2, Kynsey Terrace, Colombo 8, Sri Lanka E-mail: [email protected] URL: www.ices.lk ISBN: 978-955-580-217-8 This work was carried out with financial support under the Growth and Economic Opportunities for Women (GrOW) initiative. GrOW is a multi-funder partnership with the UK Government’s Department for International Development, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC). The opinions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect those of DFID, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, or IDRC. Copyright to this publication belongs to the International Centre for ethnic Studies (ICES). Any part of this book may be reproduced with due acknowledgements to the author and publisher. The interpretations and conclusions expressed in the study are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the ICES or the donors. Front Cover design: Ranmini Vithanagama Cover Photograph: “Angel of Love” by Leonid Afremov ii Exploring Women’s Empowerment Edited by Ranmini Vithanagama International Centre for Ethnic Studies February 2018 iii iv Contents Acknowledgments ix Contributors x Acronyms xii List of Figures xv List of Tables xvii Chapter 1: Exploring women’s empowerment: 1 experience from Sri Lanka’s North Ranmini Vithanagama Introduction 1 The Context 3 Economic Empowerment of Women in the North 10 Conclusion 30 References 34 Chapter 2: Women’s Economic Empowerment: 36 A Literature Review Ranmini Vithanagama Introduction 36 Defining Empowerment 37 Why Empower Women and Why Economic Empowerment? 51 Factors that Influence Women’s Economic Empowerment 57 Women’s Economic Empowerment in the Sri Lankan Context 87 Conclusion 94 References 96 v Chapter 3: Women’s Labour Market Outcomes and 110 Livelihood Interventions in Sri Lanka’s North After the War Ramani Gunatilaka and Ranmini Vithanagama Introduction 110 Data and Overview 148 Factors Associated with Labour Market Outcomes 206 Livelihood Interventions and Self-Employment Outcomes 269 Conclusions and Implications for Policy 317 References 329 Chapter 4: Post-War Realities: Barriers to Female 338 Economic Empowerment Kethaki Kandanearachchi and Rapti Ratnayake Introduction 338 Background 339 Methodology and Theoretical Framework 343 Findings and Analysis 347 Conclusion 374 References 378 Chapter 5: Doing This and That: Self-employment and 380 economic survival of women heads of households in Mullaitivu Chulani Kodikara Introduction 380 Reconstruction, Development and the Dominant Approach to 385 Livelihood Development in Post-War Sri Lanka vi Seven Women Living in Post-War Mullaitivu 399 Making a Living in Post-War Mullaitivu 406 Women’s Labour in the Aftermath of Violence 427 References 440 Chapter 6: Impact of Intimate Relationships on Livelihood 445 Activities of Women Affected by War in Northern Sri Lanka Iresha M. Lakshman Introduction 445 Background 446 Conceptual Framework 450 Research Methods 458 Intimate Relationships of War-affected Women and their 459 Livelihoods in Northern Sri Lanka Impact of Marriage and Severance of Marriage on Women’s 461 Livelihoods Conclusion 483 References 487 Chapter 7: War and Recovery: Psychosocial 491 Challenges in Northern Sri Lanka Jeevasuthan Subramaniam Introduction 491 Conceptual and theoretical approach 496 Methodology 505 Psychosocial challenges 507 Economic Challenges 508 vii Social Coping Strategies 534 Conclusion 544 References 547 Index 551 viii Acknowledgements I would like to extend my gratitude to the Principal Investigator of this research project Dr. Mario Gomez for being a constant source of guidance, inspiration and support throughout the study. I am also indebted to Dr. Ramani Gunatilaka who has been a kind mentor to me and taught me more than I could give her credit for here. Special thanks go out to Danesh Jayathilaka, the coordinator of this project, and Viyanga Gunasekera, for their support in the finalization of this book. I am thankful to everyone who reviewed the papers in this collection, which have immensely benefited from the constructive and thorough feedback that was received. I am also grateful to all the staff at the International Centre for Ethnic Studies for their assistance in the administrative, financial, IT and library services. The International Centre for Ethnic Studies would like to thank the Growth and Economic Opportunities for Women (GrOW) initiative for its general financial support which facilitated the project. GrOW is a multi-funder partnership with the UK Government’s Department for International Development, the William and Flora Hewett Foundation, and Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC). ix Contributors Ramani Gunatilaka works as an independent consultant in Sri Lanka and the region, conducting econometric analyses related to labour markets, income distribution, poverty, education, and subjective well-being. She holds a BSc in economics from University College London, an MSc in development economics from the University of Oxford, and a doctorate in applied econometrics from Monash University. Her recent work has looked at issues related to women’s employment and education in Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and the Maldives, while ongoing research focuses on the gendered dimensions of migration and poverty in fishing communities in Sri Lanka, India and Cambodia. She has several publications in internationally refereed journals. Iresha M. Lakshman (PhD, Monash) is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Sociology, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Her fields of interest include education, gender, urban studies, international migration, and forced migration. Jeevasuthan Subramaniam is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Sociology, University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka and a researcher at the International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES) in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He obtained a Ph.D in Social Work from University of Science, Malaysia and has a Master in Social Work at the University of Madras. He is also a visiting lecturer at the Sri Jayawardenepura University, Ruhuna University, Sri Lanka Open University and National Institute of Social Development. Chulani Kodikara is currently reading for a PhD at the University of Edinburgh.She worked as a Researcher with the International Centre for Ethnic Studies from 1998-2002 and 2008-2016. She has also worked as a researcher with the Consultation Task Force on Reconciliation Mechanisms the Muslim Women’s Research and x Action Forum and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 2004- 2006, she worked with the government of Sri Lanka’s Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process which was responsible for coordinating peace talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eealm (LTTE), following the ceasefire of 2002. She is the author of Muslim Family Law in Sri Lanka: Theory, Practice and Issues of Concern to Women (1999) and Only Until the Rice is Cooked? The Domestic Violence Act, Familial Ideology and Cultural Narrative in Sri Lanka (2012). Ranmini Vithanagama is a researcher attached to ICES. She holds a B.A. in Economics and a Masters in Economics from the University of Colombo, and is currently reading for her Ph.D. in Economics at the University of Colombo. Her research interests include women’s labour force participation and economic empowerment, internal displacement and its effects on livelihoods as well as disability and its economic implications for households with disabled individuals. Rapti Ratnayake is currently an O’Brien Human Rights Fellow at McGill University where she is completing her LL.M. She completed her LL.B from the University of Edinburgh in 2014. In 2015, she received The Asia Foundation’s Lanka Corps Fellowship to work in research and advocacy at the International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES). Kethaki Kandanearachchi was a Programme Officer at the International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES) from 2015 to 2016. She graduated from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura with BA (Hons) in English Language and Literature. She also completed the Diploma in International Relations offered by the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies (BCIS) and the Diploma on Human Resource Management offered by the Institute of Personnel Management (IPM). xi Acronyms and Abbreviations ADB Asian Development Bank AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome AIPW Augmented Inverse-Probability Weights A’ Levels Advanced Level ATE Average Treatment Effect ATET Average Effect of the Treatment on the Treated BA Bachelor of Arts BSc Bachelor of Science CBO Community Based Organizations CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women CEFE Competency Based Economic Formation of Enterprise CENWOR Centre for Women's Research CEPA Centre for Poverty Analysis DCS Department of Census of Statistics DFAT Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade DFID Department for International Development DS District Secretariat EGLR Employment Generation and Livelihoods through Reconciliation ESCWA United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia FAO Food and Agriculture Organization FHH Female-Headed Households FTZ Free Trade Zone GA Government Agent GAD Gender and Development GCE AL General Certificate of Education Advanced Level GCE OL General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level GDP Gross Domestic Product GIZ Gesellschaft für Internationale