Due to war, disasters:

Over 59,000 widows identified

Ridma DISSANAYAKE

The government has identified over 59,000 widows and a large number of children who have been displaced during the past three decades due to the civil war, tsunami and other disasters,said Child Development and Women’s Affairs Minister Tissa Karaliyadda.

Most of those displaced women and children are residents of the North and East. Because of that, several parties are trying to build up a misconception about those widows. They say that all those women had become widowed by the war. However Minister Karaliyadda noted that all those identified women may not have been widowed by the war.

It had happened due to other causes as well.

According to the minister there are so many organizations trying to find the accurate number of women who have been widowed by the war, but there is no correct detail about the number of women who became widows by the war.

The Child Development and Women’s Affairs Ministry has taken measures to implement programmes to assist mothers and children affected by the three-decade long war in the North and East in collaboration with several ministries.

The Economic Development Ministry,Social Services Ministry,Resettlement and Rehabilitation Ministry are the ministries which are assisting with the Child Development and Women’s Affairs Ministry to uplift above women’s and children’s livelihoods.

According to ministry sources, Child Development and Women’s Affairs Ministry Secretary Sumitra Rahubedda has reportedly held discussions with representatives of several United Nations bodies and International Non Governmental Organizations (INGOs) in Colombo. A team of representatives appointed by the ministry and officials of international organizations are to visit the North on September 5 and 6 on a fact finding mission. The main target of this visit would be to meet the women and children affected by war in order to identify their specific needs.

The group is to hold a meeting with District Secretaries, law enforcement authorities and Local Government officials on September 8 in this regard, ministry sources added.