Saila Ithayaraj's father was killed in shell attack in 1981 in Kantharmadam, Jaffna and her husband was shot dead at sea in 1996 in Araali, Jaffna
Sri Lanka’s total population 20.27 million consists
of 53% women (2/3 of total population) according to the latest census. More and
more women are becoming breadwinners all over South Asia. Women are forced to
bear multiple burdens due to poverty, conflict and displacement and climate
change.
There are more than 40,000 widows including 26,340
in Jaffna District according to Centre for Women and Development. And, there
are 89,000 widows in north and east of Sri Lanka according to the Ministry of
Child Development and Women’s Affairs. The latest Household Income and
Expenditure Survey (HIES) 2009/2010, which was conducted by the Department of
Census and Statistics, and the estimates reveal that, out of five million
households in Sri Lanka, 1.1 million (23%) households are headed by women. And,
most of the women heading households are in 40-59 age group, while 50% of them
are widows, and 4.5% are reported as never married. The high percentage of
widows can be attributed to the prolonged war in Sri Lanka. Recently published research
study book “Invisible Forgotten Sufferers:
The Plight of Widows Around the World” reveals that, there are an estimated
245 million widows worldwide, and 115 million widows live in poverty and social
stigmatization. These women are in constant search for a sustainable source of livelihood.
Women, whose husbands have been killed in the war
gathered to share their grievances at “Strengthen
Women Headed Households, and their Right to Life” symposium held in Trincomalee
District, which was organised by National Fisheries Solidarity Movement (NAFSO).
Some of these women have also lost their fathers and brothers due to war, and
have been pushed to bear the family burden from their childhood. And, some of
their husbands and sons have either been killed in war or have been disappeared
over the past years or in detention.
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