Gender roles in Sri Lanka
 Sri Lankan woman and child | |
| Global Gender Gap Index[1] | |
|---|---|
| Value | 0.670 (2021) |
| Rank | 116th out of 156 |
| Part of a series on |
| Women in society |
|---|
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All ethnic groups in Sri Lanka have clear distinctions regarding the roles of the sexes.[2] Sri Lanka was the first nation in the world to elect a female head of government, Sirimavo Bandaranaike. Bandaranaike won the election in 1960 after S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, the preceding leader who was also her husband, was murdered by a spy.
While Sri Lanka relatively excels when it comes to gender equality indices, there are still many underlying issues pertaining to gender inequality in Sri Lanka.[3]
Generally speaking, women in Sri Lanka are responsible for cooking, raising children, and taking care of housework.[2] In families relying on agriculture, women are in charge of weeding and help with the harvest.[2] Among poor families, women also perform full-time work for upper class individuals.[2] Moreover, the man's role used to be seen as providing his family with material support by looking after his business.[2]
At the center of the hierarchy are children, who mix freely and receive a great deal of affection from both sexes.[2] Among the middle- and upper-income classes, education of children may last into their early twenties, and women may mix with males or even take on jobs that were in the past reserved for men.[2]
Gender inequality
[edit]In comparison to other countries in the region, Sri Lanka is ranked well on several gender equality indices. However, there are also some sources that question the validity of these indices.[4] Furthermore, globally, Sri Lanka ranks relatively low on gender equality indices.[5] Overall, this pattern of social history that disempowers females produces a cycle of undervaluing females, providing only secondary access to health care and schooling and thus less opportunities to take on high-level jobs or training. In a study by Dr. Elaine Enarson, this cycle in turn worsens the issue of low political participation and social rights.[6]
Further reading
[edit]- Perera-Desilva, Vidarshani Nadeesha (January 2015). "Psychological counselling for women garment factory workers of Sri Lanka". Asian Journal of Women's Studies. 21 (1): 65–76. doi:10.1080/12259276.2015.1029231.
References
[edit]- ^ "Global Gender Gap Report 2021" (PDF). World Economic Forum. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g Heitzman, James (1990). "Family". In Ross, Russell R.; Savada, Andrea Matles (eds.). Sri Lanka: a country study. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. p. 88. OCLC 311429237.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link) - ^ "Gender Inequality Index (GII) | Human Development Reports". hdr.undp.org. Retrieved 2015-10-22.
- ^ Dijkstra, A. Geske (1 July 2006). "Towards a Fresh Start in Measuring Gender Equality: A Contribution to the Debate". Journal of Human Development. 7 (2): 275–283. doi:10.1080/14649880600768660. ISSN 1464-9888.
- ^ "United Nations Statistics Division - Demographic and Social Statistics". unstats.un.org. Archived from the original on 8 April 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
- ^ ILO, Elaine Enarson, Crisis Response and Reconstruction (1 September 2000). "Gender and natural disasters". www.ilo.org. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
