Of rape, killings, impunity and our Collective Amnesia

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Images provided by WATCHDOG

As women’s rights groups and activists mark International Women’s Day tomorrow (8th) and the month of March as ‘Dark March’[1], we hope that we can take a long, hard, reflective look at ourselves and our actions and decide to join the long, hard struggle to end violence against women and children in Sri Lanka.

The rape and killing of little Harishnavi

On the 16th of February, 2016 afternoon, 13 year old Kankatharan Harishnavi, was found raped and killed at her home in Ukkulankulam, Vavuniya. A bright young student of Vipulananda Vidyalayam, Vavuniya, Harishnavi had stayed home from school that day as she was feeling slightly unwell, and had complained to her mother that her new uniform was too short for her. As the school bell had rung by then, and her mother who was also a teacher at the school had to leave for school, she had told Harishnavi to stay indoors, and left for school with her two other children (aged 15 and 10), at about 7.50am.

As her mother’s time-table had been quite full, she was unable to come home before the end of the day, so when she came home after school around 2.15pm and was parking her bike, her son had walked into their home and run out shouting for their mother to go inside and see what had happened to his sister. When the mother had run inside, she’d seen her daughter standing upright, about a foot off the floor, with a saree wrapped loosely around her neck, with the other end tied to the roof. Thinking that her child was just playing around and trying to scare her, she had immediately removed the saree, at which point her daughter’s body had fallen to the floor. The mother had immediately picked her up and laid her down on the bed assuming that she had fainted, whilst instructing her son to go fetch help to take Harishnavi to the hospital. Meanwhile a doctor from a nearby private clinic had come and checked on her and pronounced her dead.

Thereafter, the Police had appeared on the scene and carried out inquiries, and the Coroner had come and checked the body and taken it from the house. There had been some bite/teeth marks on her stomach.

Clothes and books were strewn all over the floor and the wall clock had fallen to the floor and stopped at 11.30. There had been no chairs or anything she could have climbed onto to tie herself to the roof said the family, when people speculated that she might have committed suicide. The family had also found a plate of food served, mixed together and left untouched on the kitchen floor, with all the pots and pans still with their lids off, almost as if Harishnavi had been called out by someone, the family said. When the neighbours were asked if they had heard any noise, they said they had not heard anything.

The JMO report released on the 19th of February, 2016, stated that Harishnavi had been raped and killed by strangulation.

The family said that they had no enemies and that they didn’t suspect anyone, but, that they had some boundary fence issues with their immediate neighbor and that they were not on talking terms. The family also mentioned a young local man living abroad, now on holiday in Sri Lanka, who would frequent the cycle shop next door, and how he had disappeared from the village after the incident. The Police had taken in the neighbours for questioning, but had released them soon after, and have now arrested the owner of the neighbouring cycle shop, and are in the process of questioning him.

Harishnavi’s father had left for India in 2007 and thereafter moved to Germany, where he still resides. The family had applied for visa last year but, been rejected, and were going to re-apply this year.

The family said that whilst cleaning out the room they had found a blood soaked Cotex (sanitary napkin) in the corner of the room, but that Harishnavi was not having her period at the time. Therefore, they assume that the perpetrator had used it to mop up any blood from the floor. The family had put the Cotex (brand of sanitary napkin) and everything else they found whilst cleaning up the room in a bag, in case the Police needed anything for their investigations.

“Harishnavi was such a gentle sort, quiet and studious – she even got 170 marks at her Grade 5 Scholarship examination. She rarely studied at home but, was able to retain everything she learnt at school. She was very friendly with everyone and loved animals. She loved to watch TV and didn’t like doing much house work, but she’d never bother anyone” her aunt said fondly. She would take part in district competitions in Social Sciences and also the Maths and Science Olympiad.

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The Culture of One-Offs

On the 23rd of February (Tuesday), large crowds of angry parents, teachers, activists, clergy and local societies took to the streets in protest of the rape and killing of 13 year old Harishnavi. More than 500 people marched through the town from Gamini Maha Vidyalayam to the District Secretariat Office, Vavuniya, demanding justice for the rape and killing of Harishnavi and all others cases of violence against women and children.

Last year, the rape and killing of 18 year old Sivaloganathan Vithiya from Pungudutivu, sparked large scale protests across the country. Even President Sirisena visited Vithiya’s family in Jaffna and assured them that a Trial-at-Bar[2] would be set up to ensure they receive speedy justice for the senseless rape and killing of their daughter. Almost a year later, with 10 suspects in custody, the family is yet to see justice. Similar spontaneous and organized protests have taken place after most such cases of rape and killing of women and children. The gang rape and killing of Saranya, the rape and killing of 13 year old Luxmy from Delft, the rape of two school children from Karainakar by the Navy, the killings of little Seya and Jerusha….and the list of protests following such cases go on and on. And the results of these protests, public statements, articles, petitions, letters to the President etc., have all been the same. The police make some arrests, appoint multiple teams to “investigate” into the incidents, Government authorities make public assurances to end violence against women (depending on the “profile” of the case of course,) and then once the momentum dies down, the latest case like most other cases before it, sinks into the ‘black-hole’ that is our justice system.

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Legal, social and economic injustices faced by victim families and survivors

Our justice system crippled by its own back log of cases, the methodology followed during the entire court process including lack of witness and victim protection, harassment of witnesses during trial by defense attorneys and untrained police officers to do professional investigations in to cases of sexual violence, have been slow at handling cases on sexual violence.

This is not to imply that there have been no convictions over the years, i.e. the cases of Jesudasan Rita (Dec. 2015), a 27 year old mother from Vishwamadu (Oct. 2015), Divya (May 2012), but they have been very few and far between. Hence it does not act as an effective deterrent to cases of such nature.

One of the gravest aspects of this entire issue is that at every juncture, be it legally, socially or culturally, it is the victim, survivor and their families that are most vulnerable. Whilst legally, the system almost seems to protect the perpetrator, by way of rape still being a bail-able offence, constant delays by the Police and the courts, and a complete lack of protection for survivors and their families. Socially and culturally, we are positively brutal. Society is ever ready to place the entire blame of rape or sexual violence on the victim or survivor, stigmatize and ostracize them from society and victimize them all over again. This behavior by the society at large not only contributes to protecting the perpetrator, but also to perpetuate a culture of impunity.

We also teach our children to uphold and pass on all the wrong values, as they are made to believe that the victim/survivor of sexual violence somehow brings it upon themselves. A further obstacle survivors and their families face is the practical difficulty and economic burden of pursuing justice, as most cases are dragged on for multiple years. This is yet another blatant indicator that there is no systematic or community-based support mechanism for such families. These challenges coupled with the intimidation faced by families, by perpetrators out on bail or their goons, makes it almost inevitable that most families are unable to pursue justice.
Supporting victim families and survivors

However, families do, and have courageously withstood intimidation and relentless pursued justice. Some have succeeded after years and years of waiting, whilst some still continue to wait. We, as a society must applaud their courage and support them in their struggle, instead of shunning and stigmatizing them. We should work with local organizations and families to volunteer our time and support to accompany families to court and show our solidarity, initiate fundraising campaigns to cover their legal, travel and other related costs, sustain media and community pressure on government departments and the judiciary to expedite convictions and stop delays etc.,.

The passion and commitment of local women’s rights activists and others, although largely unsung, is awe-inspiring and we have the deepest respect for their work. However, this is not a struggle that they alone can accomplish. The state of violence against women and children in Sri Lanka, is our collective reality. The only way by which we can achieve any significant success in this regard, is if we also realise the collective responsibility – the government, the criminal justice system and society as a whole.

So, the question here should not be, if or not we should protest, but rather, that we recognize that protests are an integral part of the process, but, that it cannot achieve much on its own. Whilst fully understanding the multiple difficulties faced by activists, most of whom are already spreading themselves very thin, the main challenge before us is how to move beyond the one-off protests, meetings, write-ups and appeals, and identify creative and practical means by which to commit to, and spearhead this long-term struggle. Until and unless we, the general public, take ownership of this struggle, and realise that it’s only then that real change can come about, we will never be rid of this problem. There’s no quick fix to ending violence against women and children. It’s a long and winding road and we need to go the distance together. It really is as simple or impossible as that.


[1] Journey Towards Justice, Dark March Campaign – http://on.fb.me/21XReBx

[2] Daily Mirror, Maximum punishment for perpetrators – President in Jaffna – http://bitly.com/21XRgJI

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Trump Laces Into Japan With a Trade Tirade From the ’80s – The New York Times Lost in the 80s Tonight – Deja vu! Lol

“Trump’s comments on Japan remind me of the period from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s, when Japan was considered a serious rival to American economic pre-eminence,” said Glen S. Fukushima, a former United States trade official who is now a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a liberal policy group. “It’s interesting that despite the two-decade stagnation of the Japanese economy, Trump is now reviving the idea of Japan as an economic rival robbing America of jobs.”

Source: Trump Laces Into Japan With a Trade Tirade From the ’80s – The New York Times

There were 700,000 Google searches for self-inducing an abortion in the US last year

There have been a few studies — and plenty of anecdotal evidence — pointing to an uptick in self-induced abortion attempts as the result of dwindling access to legal abortion in many states. Now an economist at The New York Times looks at what Google search patterns reveal about the trend. 

Last year, there were more than 700,000 Google searches in the United States looking into self-induced abortions. These included about 119,000 searches for the phrase “how to have a miscarriage”; 160,000 for things like “buy abortion pills online” and “free abortion pills”; 4,000 looking for directions on coat hanger abortions, including — horrifyingly — about 1,300 for the exact phrase “how to do a coat hanger abortion.”

These kinds of searches were less common a decade ago but increased by 40 percent in 2011 — the year that state abortion restrictions hit record-breaking levels. Most tellingly, there’s a clear correlation between the states with the least access to legal abortion and the states with the most Google searches for DIY alternatives. “The state with the highest rate of Google searches for self-induced abortions is Mississippi, which now has one abortion clinic. Eight of the 10 states with the highest search rates for self-induced abortions are considered by the Guttmacher Institute to be hostile or very hostile to abortion.”

chart of abortion restrictions and google searches over time

Of course, these numbers can’t be taken as a evidence of how many people actually tried to self-abort, but the author points out there’s a discrepancy between the decrease in the abortion rate in states with fewer clinics and the increase in the birth rate in those states in recent years — perhaps the fact that some women are successfully self-inducing explains some of that gap.

It goes without saying that it’s outrageous that any person, in 2015, in a country where abortion is supposedly a constitutionally protected right, is forced to try to end their pregnancy on their own. However, if you or anyone you know is in that position and googling for things like coat hangers, bleach, and punching yourself in the stomach, know that there is information out there on how to do it safely and effectively: check out this guide or this one.

Image credit: Bill Marsh/The New York Times

Hijab Is Sexist, Not Anti-Racist

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When I saw the event titled “Hijab som politiskt motstånd” (hijab as political resistance) and read its description, I realized the importance of demonstrating in front of the place where it would be held so that other voices from Muslim majority countries are heard, and the propaganda presented in the event is not the only information about the subject.

The event is held on 6 March, two days before international women’s day in Mångkulturellt centrum (multi-cultural center) in Fittja. It presents hijab as feminist and anti-racist. I think marketing hijab as such is harmful to women from Muslim families, to the status of women in general and to non-Muslims in Muslim majority countries.
Hijab is marketed in a different way in Muslim majority countries, than it is in the west. Women are compared to objects to be consumed and owned by men. They are told to be like wrapped candy or precious hidden diamonds, while men are questioned on how they cover their cars, but let their women go uncovered, but women are people not objects. Women are ordered to cover up not to arouse men, get themselves raped and corrupt society. The more the sexist ideology behind hijab spreads, the less safe it becomes for all women living in the same society because women and their bodies, unlike men who are viewed as “users of women” are viewed as sexual objects, and they more they cover up, the more they are blamed for being abused and required to give up their rights. When I talk about hijab, I don’t talk about a piece of cloth, but about a complete set of rules for how women should behave, hide and withdraw. A veiled woman wouldn’t for example have freedom of movement or sexual freedom.
Since women are viewed as properties and honor of men, women’s families, relatives, husbands and families of husbands interfere in how women dress. Women are even treated as public properties, so if a woman’s direct family failed to control her, strangers would step in to correct her appearance and behavior with sexual violence.
I met countless women who were forced or pressured to wear hijab, who wanted to take it off but feared incarceration, beatings and/or social rejection. My best friend was locked and tortured in a mental institution after she took off the hijab she was coerced to wear as a child, and was only considered sane enough to be let out when she wore it again against her will, I also know a woman who was locked up at her parent’s home and jumped from second floor to escape the threat of being murdered by her family after she took off the hijab and countless other women who were locked up, beaten, had virginity tests, had their hairs cut and had their books torn up for resisting the obligation to veil. Some women only wear hijab in front of their families, while others only only wear it while taking public transportation. In a society where veiling is the norm, non-veiled women cannot dare to deviate much from that norm without taking a risk. Adding to that being brainwashed since childhood that they must wear hijab or they will hang in hell by their hairs, how much choice do women living in Muslim majority countries or with Muslim families in the west have?
Most people tend to adapt to social norms, and know their places in a social order, that’s why there are women defending sexism, and why there were black people defending slavery or at least living by humiliating rules which take way their dignity, it’s especially true for women to accept sexism, since a society of only women never existed, and most people would rather be accepted in a group than stand up for themselves. That some women defend oppression doesn’t mean it’s fair or it doesn’t hurt women. The fact that more women defend it than oppose it, especially in public, is also associated with the risk of doing the later. Women who take off hijab, or reject living under the control of their country men in any other way such as living alone, not with a male guardian, end up living in shelters or protected addresses and threatened and harassed both by family members and strangers. Those who chose to speak out and help others are at even greater risk. I receive messages from women who complain to me about the oppression they live under daily, but most of them are too scared or considerate about what people would say to change their lives or speak out themselves.
Hijab is an extreme and strict version of the sexist culture western feminists are fighting, but many of them make an exception for hijab and even view it as feminist. Women who demand the same rights for all women are considered to adapt a “western feminism”, but I don’t think such division in feminism is necessary. Instead of focusing on issues specific to Eastern women such as virginity tests, so called “Islamic feminists” focus on issues that are not specific to women such as racism, which is an important issue, but it shouldn’t be prioritized over women rights, and argue preserving some forms of discrimination against eastern women, since, according to them, they don’t need the same rights as their western sisters. Feminist is a movement for change, but they are more conservative than progressive.
When Egypt was colonized by Britain, same women who fought British occupation began to defy the rules to veil and started a feminist movement just as Western women began to demand their rights during the industrial revolution, yet the event presents veiling as anti-colonial, such arguments lead to labeling people who are fighting for women rights or who have different beliefs in Muslim majority countries as traitors, and make it harder for these societies develop the same way western societies developed and are still developing.
While western racists attack Islam and hijab out of rejection for other groups, although they share similar sexist views with those they are attacking, other people, including people from Muslim majority countries attack the same things out of care about the rights of women and individuals in conservative societies and communities. Individuals inside groups from another countries shouldn’t be trumped over in an effort to understand or accept these groups. Some people may think they are accepting diversity in western societies, while in reality they are standing against those who are fighting to make conservative societies more diverse and individualistic.

Guillain-Barré syndrome – France – French Polynesia

On 24 November 2015, health authorities in French Polynesia reported unknown and unspecified causes of morbidity and mortality in the context of concomitant outbreaks of Zika and dengue (serotypes 1 and 3) viruses. This update provides additional information on the clinical findings as well as the epidemiological and laboratory investigations of these cases.

Between October 2013 and April 2014, French Polynesia experienced the largest Zika virus outbreak ever recorded in the country. During this period of time, 32,000 patients (11.5% of the population) were assessed for the infection and 8,750 suspected cases were reported by the national surveillance system. Of the suspected cases, 383 were later laboratory-confirmed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).