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| Wednesday, 10 March 2004 |
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Sri Lankan woman in our cultural milieu by W. T. A. Leslie Fernando
By nature woman is different from man. Man is strong, rough and active. Woman is dainty, serene and quiet. Man is designed for manual work and adventure. Only women could give birth to children and they are meant for lighter work. In sex life man is provocative and aggressive. Woman is more or less passive. When a man and a woman cohabits it would not make any difference to the man. But the woman could become pregnant. The woman has to be more conscious about the outcome. In the hunting age, man had to procure food and other things necessary for life. The role of woman was limited to the household. As a result woman was considered inferior to man. However, with the changes in society woman has progressed a long way. By and large in the present world women enjoy equal status with men. Nevertheless still there are some rights to be won by women. We could now and then hear of "Sathi Puja" in some communities where the wife had to sacrifice her life at the pyre of the dead husband. In some societies there are taboos for women and they are covered from the sight of men except the members of the family. In certain religions women are prohibited from entering sanctorium in holy places. Dominant force Christianity has been the dominant force in the formation and development of Western civilisation. according to the Bible God first created Adam - the first man on earth and then created Eve, the first woman from the rib of adam as a helper fit for him. (Genesis 2 - 18). When Adam disobeyed God by eating the forbidden fruit on the instigation of Eve, God said to Eve, "In pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you'" (Genesis 3 - 16). During the time of Christ, adulterous women were stoned to death. Once Pharisees brought before Jeasus a woman who had committed adultery and said:" This woman was caught in the act of adultery. Moses in the Law has decreed that such a woman should be stoned to death. What do your say?" Christ replied; "Those among you who have not committed a sin, let him cast the first stone at her". There was no one left to stone her. By that memorable words Christ insisted that woman should not be treated differently from man for a sin and there should not be any discrimination. On the other hand there were many women who were prepared to serve Christ and sacrifice their career. But Christ never conferred priesthood on women. The position of woman in Christianity is aptly described by St. Paul - "But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ and the head of woman is her husband". (1 Corinthians 11-3) It is Buddhism that has guided and moulded Sinhala society for centuries. It is true that a woman cannot attain Buddhahood and the Buddha established Bhikkhuni order after some hesitation. Nevertheless Buddhism does not place any impediments on women in society. In our society based on Buddhist concepts a virtuous woman is being considered a "Kula Kanthawa" (noble lady). The position of woman in our society is well expressed by the term "Gedera Budun Amma". (Mother is the venerated one at home). Special place The Sri Lankan housewife has a special place in the home. She had to attend to the husband who came home tired after work, look after the children, do the cooking and keep the house and garden clean. She performed all these tasks without any complaint. Though the wife is not a slave of the husband as described in "Kavyasekeraya" it was a pleasure for her to perform her onerous duties in the interest of husband and children. In our history we find that women have stood side by side with men for the progress of the nation. Several women in Sri Lanka have been ruling monarchs in our country. The outstanding roles played by heroic women like Vihara Maha Devi and Soma Devi have added glamour to our history. Nevertheless, women in Sri Lanka have never relegated their role as a mother and housewife. The first woman prime minister in the whole world was from Sri Lanka. The whole world admired her when Madam Sirimavo Bandaranaike was appointed the prime minister of Sri Lanka in July 1960. She on her part well proved that the hands that swing the cradle could govern a country as well. Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike stood firm against all the opposition in explosive issues like schools take over, nationalisation of banks, insurance companies and petroleum products. She withstood with courage a conspiracy of armed forces in 1962 and the insurgency of 1971 to overthrow her government. She not only excelled as an efficient prime minister but also brought fame to our country as a real "Kula Kanthava" all over the world. Her daughter President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga too has shown indomitable courage in the affairs of State. In our law, both men and women are considered equal. Both are treated as separate entities. The women could own property as men and deal with them as they like. Married women have a right to get maintenance from their husbands who neglect them. Even an unmarried woman could get maintenance from the father of her illegitimate child. Women have come to the forefront with the development of society. Women who were mostly housewives in the past - today compete with men for employment in various fields. Even in professions like law, judiciary and engineering, conventional fields meant for men, woman have made a breakthrough. In some countries you get even women pilots. With changes in society the attitude towards women has also changed. This is part of social development. Today almost all the job opportunities available to men are open to women as well. As a result young women could get employment at an early age. Development In Sri Lanka the parents take a special care of girls before they are given in marriage. This does not mean that in our society the girls are inferior to boys. It is a device falling in line with nature. Our culture dictates that a woman should be a virgin at the time of marriage. There is no such tradition in Western countries. It is a separate issue as to what is better. The young girls who are employed are not so closely protected by parents as it used to be. Because of this freedom, there is also some danger of young girls going astray. There are some men who take advantage of the sincerity and innocence of young girls and ruin their lives. The employed young women should guard against pitfalls and protect themselves from vultures in society and in working places. As many women are employed today, there should be a change in the traditional role of woman as a housewife. In case of many employed women, before going to and after coming from work, they have to do the cooking, look after the children and keep the house as well. This is too much and the life is a misery to some employed women. The men should give some relief to employed women and provide some assistance to them in their household chorus. Motherhood The highest position a woman could aspire to is motherhood. It is in the bosom of the mother that the character of the child is moulded. Children who do not get the love and warmth of the mother in their infancy could form unbalanced personalities. Whatever the position a woman could attain in society, whether they are employed or not, they must see that the children get care and protection of the mother. In the natural world among animals and birds, the male is more handsome than the female. In human society woman is considered more beautiful than man. There is a saying in our country 'Kata athi puthath ruva athi duwath hondai' (The son eloquent in speech and the daughter with good looks are ideal). A beautiful, simple and serene woman pleases everyone. It is said that Sri Lanka is one country where you get beautiful women. We are blessed with sunshine all throughout the year, which gives a pleasant complexion to the skin. The simple and unsophisticated women in Sri Lanka have a special beauty of their own. There are some young women in Sri Lanka who apply layers of perfume and try to be mod slavishly imitating the Western counterpart. Due to this some beautiful women mar their beauty and those who are not beautiful look worse. The Sri Lankan woman is most beautiful when she is simple. There is no more pleasant sight than a Sinhala Kula Kanthava clad in a white osariya carrying a tray of flowers to the temple. Our women would look more beautiful when they appear in simple and serene dress that suits their age. There are many organisations in Sri Lanka for the welfare of women. Some of them have sincerely worked for the advancement of women in our country. They have obtained equal pay for equal work, maternity leave and other benefits for women. They fight against exploitation of women in the form of cheap labour, look after women subject to social evils, stand for women subject to domestic violence and sexual harassment. The Lanka Mahila Samithi organisation has done a lot for the uplift of rural women. Organisations There are some other organisations that make a big noise about the liberation of the woman against male domination in our country. They want to place the Sri Lankan woman in par with the women in the West. They go to villages and instigate women to fight for their liberation. One such organisation concluded the annual conference with a ballroom dance party. They are funded by foreign agencies. In our society women were never degraded or looked down upon so as to fight for their liberation. It is true our women never enjoyed the privilege of going out with males before marriage and with other men except their husbands after the marriage. Our Kula Kanthavas were always faithful to their husbands. They never danced embracing other men. They always respected our traditional cultural values and as a result there is stability in family life in our country. In the West where woman is supposed to be liberated there is a breakdown of morals threatening the stability in family life. Divorce is common in Western countries and married couples living in adultery is not rare. If our women were to get unlimited freedom, there would be similar damage to morals and the vice in Western society would invade our country as well. The advancement of women in Sri Lanka should be in harmony with our much cherished traditional, spiritual and cultural values. The writer is a former High Court Judge **** Back **** |
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Produced by Lake House |
Today so much enthusiasm is generated on the rights of women. Thousands
of organisations have been formed all over the world for emancipation of
the woman. The activities of them range from fighting against
exploitation, discrimination, domestic violence, harassment of women-to
obtaining equal status to them to be on par with men.
