fredag 15. februar 2013

But those in office, with authority and power, are all Sinhalese: it’s almost as if a victim of rape were to complain of rape to the rapists. The women who do complain are humiliated, abused and driven away – if not worse.!!!

Recently, and quite by chance, I came upon the end of a television programme on the molestation of women in countries such as India and Sri Lanka. India is (a) vast and (b) important in political, economic, cultural and numerical terms, and what happens there attracts international attention, unlike Sri Lanka which is small - in many senses. But the situation of women in the North and East of Sri Lanka, the traditional Tamil areas, now occupied by the Sinhalese army and police in their tens of thousands, is far worse than that of women in India. Unlike the Indian woman in India, Tamils in Sri Lanka are seen as Para Dhemmala, that is, as “foreign Tamils” – and treated as such. Many of the Sinhalese uniformed men stationed in the North and East are without their wives and female friends. More importantly, they can now freely express contempt towards the vanquished people, the once-feared Tamil Tigers being no more. Where rape occurs, the victim is silent out of a sense of shame, both for herself and her family. Secondly, justice can be secured only by approaching officialdom. But those in office, with authority and power, are all Sinhalese: it’s almost as if a victim of rape were to complain of rape to the rapists. The women who do complain are humiliated, abused and driven away – if not worse. It’s better not to protest or complain. (The same applies when a Sinhalese civilian in the North or East acts unlawfully against a Tamil.) The molestation of women is a cruel violation, one with long-term, if not permanent, damage to the victim. The suffering of Tamil women in the North and East of Sri Lanka, being endured silently, is unknown. Being unknown, the international community does not protest. There being no investigation, no outcry, the molestation of totally helpless women continues. PROF.Charles Sarvan,GERMANY

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