THURSDAY, MAY 30, 2002
Women most affected by Lankan civil war
FARAH MIHLAR AHAMED
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
JAFFNA: For two decades now, Jaffna has been the epicentre of fighting between the LTTE and government forces. And the war has done much more than just destroy buildings and damage homes - it has impacted the minds of hundreds of thousands of people.
While they're ostensibly living normal lives, more than 40 per cent of the people in Jaffna are psychologically affected by the war.
And the most affected of them are women.
In Jaffna alone, there are an estimated 15,000 widows who've lost their husbands fighting for the LTTE or in military attacks.
And if the direct impact of the war wasn't enough, young women in Jaffna are being subjected to exorbitant dowry demands because of a dearth of eligible bachelors.
"The men are demanding Rs 2 million as dowry even if the girl is educated," says a schoolteacher in Jaffna town.
Saroja Sivachandran of the Centre for Women and Development says many young widows were forced to take over as their family's breadwinners when their husbands were killed in attacks by the Indian forces. However, lack of proper employment and training has left many of them in abject poverty.
And that isn't all. Not only are women being trained and used as combatants by the LTTE, they are also being sexually exploited by the soldiers in Jaffna.
"While a large number of women living close to the army camps are being exploited by the army, only a few cases are reported to us. Besides, we can't even term all such cases as rape because, mostly, there is some consent by the women," says a human rights activist.
Add to that the fact that people in Jaffna live in broken, bombed out houses, and the security threat facing young girls and children becomes all the more stark.
"There is absolutely no security for women here. Even a next-door neighbour can take advantage of her," says Sivachandran.
Prof. Daya Somasundaram of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Jaffna says that most people, worn out by years of fighting, need psychological help. And this is evident from the fact that they often turn up at the hospital complaining of ailments they don't really have.
For some, even the peace talks are a disaster in disguise as they now have the time to stop and remember the horrifying experiences they underwent all these years.
Copyright © 2002 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved. |