The narrative commences with Nimisha’s joyful presence in a dance class, juxtaposed with scenes of her preparing food at home for an impending family gathering. Following her marriage, the focus shifts to her adaptation to her husband’s household traditions, where mundane household chores transform into suffocating obligations. As Nimisha struggles to fulfill societal expectations of the ideal wife and daughter-in-law, she finds herself suffocating in a relentless cycle with no relaxation in sight.

The film consistently places female characters within the kitchen or attending to the men in the house, contrasting their toil with the men’s leisurely demeanor. The haunting beauty of the kitchen scenes serves as a stark reminder of the harsh reality of patriarchy’s enslavement of women, juxtaposed with the anticipation of delicious dishes.

Numerous kitchen scenes underscore society’s normalized perception of women’s domestic roles, while intercutting scenes between the kitchen and the bedroom further emphasize this normalization. Nimisha’s bold request for foreplay is met with ridicule from her husband, echoing broader societal attitudes towards female desire. The film bravely addresses menstruation and exposes the family’s discriminatory treatment of Nimisha during this natural phase.

Nimisha Sajayan delivers a remarkably convincing portrayal of a wife grappling with the dictates of patriarchal traditions. Her performance adds depth to the character, making her struggles relatable to audiences. “The Great Indian Kitchen” not only critiques patriarchy but also sheds light on the plight of oppressed women who rarely question entrenched traditions. Undoubtedly, it stands as a powerful cinematic commentary on patriarchy, urging viewers to engage with its vital message.

Based on the true story of Ganga Jagjivandas Kathiawadi, better known as Gangubai Kothewali, the film is adapted from the book “Mafia Queen Of Mumbai” by S. Hussain Zaidi. It piqued the audience’s interest in the intriguing narrative.

Ganga, a young woman from a wealthy family, moves to Mumbai at 16 with her husband Ramniklal, aspiring to be an actress. However, she soon discovers that she has been deceived and sold into a brothel. Despite this adversity, Ganga shows remarkable strength and resilience, refusing to be defined by societal norms.

The film sheds light on the social stigma faced by sex workers and the challenges they encounter. In a pivotal moment, Gangubai, with the help of Rahim Lal and Shaukat Abbas, stands up against her tormentor, marking a turning point for the women of Kamathipura (a village of sex-workers).

Gangubai’s determination leads her to New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, advocating for the legalization of prostitution. When asked by Nehru if she would leave her profession for marriage, Gangubai poses a poignant counter-question, demanding the Prime Minister to marry her, highlighting the complexities of her situation.

Despite her circumstances, Gangubai manifests confidence and resilience, traits often lacking in today’s society. Her friends at Kamathipura, Kamli embrace motherhood, while Roshna celebrates her freedom with a grand wedding ceremony, reflecting Gangubai’s influence and indomitable spirit.

Through “Gangubai Kathiawadi,” Bhansali offers a compelling portrayal of femininity, showcasing strong-willed women with diverse dreams and behaviors. The film received critical acclaim, with Alia Bhatt winning the Best Actress award, Sanjay Leela Bhansali receiving the Best Director award, and the film itself being honored as the Best Film at the Indian Film Festival in Melbourne.

In summary, “Gangubai Kathiawadi” is a powerful film that resonates with audiences, offering a glimpse into the life of an extraordinary woman who turns adversity into strength, making it a life-lesson to the society.

“I have never found anything to excite the people in quite the way this language issue does” – SWRD Bandaranaike (reportedly stated to a journalist) –

Imagine being born and growing up in a country where you haven’t set foot in a government office but instead rely on someone who speaks the language used by government officials to fill your official paperwork for you even though your language has been declared an official language in the Constitution of your country.

The above incident is one which takes place all over Sri Lanka to citizens who speak Tamil, even in areas where Tamil is the major language spoken by the population. To understand why this has become such an issue and what we can do to ensure that the language rights of Sri Lankans are included in the Constitutional Reform process, we spoke to lawyer Ermiza Tegal.

History

To understand how we got here, first we need to understand our history, says Ermiza. For the many decades when Ceylon was under British colonial rule, English was the official language of the country, and many institutions such as banks and even Parliament retained English as the official language several years after independence, which enraged the Sinhalese who found that they couldn’t perform as well in English.

Enter SWRD Bandaranaike. Forming a Sinhala faction of the UNP which later became the SLFP, he soon realized that he would gain more popularity if he promoted just Sinhala as an official language – excluding Tamil. His strategy saw him win a landslide victory and in 1956 he passed what is popularly known as the “Sinhala Only” Act – the Official Language Act (1956). “People who spoke Tamil lost their right to language overnight,” says Ermiza of the Sinhala only Act.

In 1958 the Tamil Language (Special Provisions) Act allowed Tamil to at least be used in Tamil-speaking provinces (in the North and East) until 1978 when the new Constitution called for Sinhala and Tamil to be both considered national languages and now Tamil is an official language of Sri Lanka. “However, if you look at the Constitution, it says “Sinhala is an official language and then it says that Tamil should also be used as an official language in the next sentence but many say that they should just be included in the same line” so it doesn’t seem like the status of Tamil is secondary, says Ermiza.

Current Status

Although Tamil is technically an official language, there are many issues with the practical implementation of its status. If we look at the Constitution, the often flawed Tamil translation of the Constitution, as well as the somewhat erroneous English translation, are both secondary – where there are discrepancies, the Sinhala version prevails. The same is true for all legislation. In many places, including the North and East, there seems to be a lack of officials who understand Tamil which results in Tamil citizens not being able to access official services such as hospitals and police stations in their own language. “The Constitution states that people can deal with the government in whichever language they prefer from Sinhala and English, but in reality, this is not the case,” explains Ermiza.

Enshrining language rights in the new Constitution

Ermiza says that a good Constitutional Reform process needs to ask the people what they need in terms of language rights and then offer that as a solution. “The government needs to ask the people what their needs are and take down their suggestions and then introduce a draft and discuss the potential solutions before making it a law so that everyone can take part and ensure that their needs are met,” says Ermiza. “In Sri Lanka, there is a culture of bringing in laws very secretively and even after they have been enacted no one really explains why a law is there and what purpose it serves – this can’t be how we bring in a new Constitution and it actually shouldn’t be how we bring in any law,” she says. Ermiza also highlights the fact that in Sri Lanka, there are only 2 languages that are being discussed as official languages. “In other countries there are many more and even in Sri Lanka there are others we can include but let’s at least get these basics right and include Tamil – its not that difficult,” she says.

Many people have marvelled at the GotaGoGama protest, which has been held continuously for several months, stating that they feel it might be a revolutionary way to protest that the world has never even seen before. While many feared violent uprisings due to the current economic crisis, this is not what has taken place. People have supported each other and peacefully staged their opposition to the government.

There have been government crackdowns and attempts to strike down the protest which was immediately opposed by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka and many other Human Rights Organisations and the protests were by and large allowed to take place. This begs the question – what is the current legal status of Freedom of Expression in Sri Lanka?

Dr Ariyarathne cites the 1993 case of Amaratunga v Sirimal and others (commonly known as the Jana Ghosha case) where protestors shouted anti-government slogans and beat drums to protest against the government. There was a harsh crackdown of the protest by the police, which the Supreme Court held to be unlawful. It was in this case that the Supreme Court held that lawful protest is an unviolable right provided that it is peaceful.

Supreme Court Justice Fernando, J. stated in his judgement that “The right to support or to criticize Governments and political parties, policies and programmes is fundamental to the democratic way of life, and the freedom of speech and expression is one which cannot be denied without violating those fundamental principles of liberty and justice which lie at the base of all civil and political institutions”.

Apart from this landmark judgement which paved the way for peaceful anti-government protests ever since there are several rights related to Freedom of Expression that Dr Ariyarathne states are intertwined and equally important. She states that along with Article 14 of the Constitution which allows freedom of speech, assembly, association, occupation, and movement, other Articles of relevance include Article 10 -freedom of thought, conscience and religion and Article 11 freedom from torture (upon arrest) are all important in this context. She also stated that upholding all of these Constitutional rights is important to ensure that Freedom of Expression can be upheld in the future as well.

When asked if the current laws need to be reformed, Dr Ariyathne stated that she felt that the Constitutionally laid out procedure on bringing a Fundamental Rights petition to court should be made more practical so that people can access justice more easily. “The courts have been setting precedent on how all of this must be done but I think its better if all of this was granted by the Constitution itself,” she says.

Regarding the new Constitution, Dr Ariyarathne brought up another interconnected point related to the Freedom of Expression – allowing the public to voice their views on what needs to be included in the new Constitution so that the voices of all Sri Lankans including marginalized communities are included. “It might be a slightly difficult task but it is not an impossible one and it is definitely worth the effort,” she said.

“Your honour – it was only today that I learnt that it was not I who owned my body but rather the government” – A Sri Lankan sex worker’s remarks to the magistrate court judge

Let’s start our story on sex work with the tale of a woman who we will call Soma. She comes from a wealthy family in Ratnapura. Soma falls in love as a young girl in the 1950s and gets pregnant. Suddenly, the man she falls in love with goes missing so she goes to Colombo in search of him. Although she does not find him, Dr Ranatunga says that what ends up finding her is sex work. Soon she is arrested by the police and brought in front of the Magistrate Court judge who asks her if she has anything to say. It is then that she says that she only learnt that her body belonged to the government and not her on that day.

Sadly, there are plenty of stories of women and girls falling prey to sex work and the sex trafficking industry in Sri Lanka in very similar ways. Some women arrive from abroad, but many are Sri Lankans from villages who arrive in cities believing in false promises they are made that they can work at a good job in the city or receive a good education. Others still enter the profession because they cannot pay the bills upon the death of a breadwinner or another crisis such as the microfinance trap. The end result is always the same – women being forced into a harsh and cruel industry with few benefits and many opportunities for exploitation. Many sex workers allege that even government and law enforcement officials obtain their services, but often turn around and attack them as well.

Does it always have to be so? Dr Ranatunga highlights the case of Cambodia. In Cambodia, when sex work used to be illegal the red-light district was filled with many unwitting women and girls from villages who had been trafficked there under false pretences. Many died of cirrhosis by age 40 or 50 because they were often made to drink alcohol. They had no rights so they had to work under very harsh conditions, says Dr Ranatunga. “The Cambodian government could not bear to see this so they legalized sex work,” he says, adding that this changed everything for the better. The sex workers were no longer trafficked, and if they were, they could complain to the police. They were offered the same traditional benefits as other jobs such as overtime pay, holidays and health benefits etc. Their health and overall welfare improved, says Dr Ranatunga, illustrating how legalizing and strictly regulating the sex work industry has many benefits. How can Sri Lanka improve? “What we bring into a Constitution is the stories of people and the Constitution is a way to solve these issues,” says Dr Ranatunga, who feels that a new Constitution must offer everyone equal protection and rights in the eyes of the law, which includes the rights of sex workers. The discriminatory provisions in the penal code need to be rewritten alongside reforming the Constitution and the industry needs to offer workers the same benefits as other industries would.

Imagine if you wake up one day and realise that you are in the wrong body which is not of the gender you identify as. This has been the premise of several popular movies, but this happens in real life. Unfortunately, in real life, there isn’t any magic or even a heartwarming happy ending – in Sri Lanka, there is often discrimination and abuse.

A transgender individual is someone who does not identify with the biological gender they are born with. An individual who identifies as a man but is born a woman would be called a transman and a person who is born a man but identifies as a woman would be called a transwoman. However, most individuals who identify as trans prefer to be identified by their chosen gender as a “man” or “woman” without being categorized as “other” ie “trans”.

Historically, there has always been opposition against the transgender community. Arguments used to discriminate against the transgender community include it being “against nature” and against traditional societal norms which dictate what women and men must do. However, it has been scientifically proven that there is nothing medically or psychologically wrong with the transgender community – it is not a disease or defect – rather, it is a case of one’s body not aligning with one’s personality and identity. It must also be noted that many cultures, such as the ancient Greeks and Sumerians, peacefully accepted the transgender community without any objections, so it cannot be said that their existence goes against societal norms, and acceptance for the transgender community has been increasing.

So what about Sri Lanka? Unfortunately, the case in Sri Lanka is not too positive. A popular LGBTIQ+ activism group, BENDR, shared personal stories this Pride month, documenting many people who faced harsh discrimination and violence when they “came” out. Elsewhere too there have been multiple reports over the years of members of the transgender community facing violence and discrimination.

So what can be done about it? Activist Thenu Ranketh explained to the Reform Watch team that although some progress has been made in Sri Lanka, there is much which remains to be done. “Our Constitution was written in 1977 – no one even spoke about these issues back then. Now things have changed so much and Sri Lankan society has changed and these issues have come to the surface so we need to adopt the Constitution to reflect this issue,” he says. Thenu also explained that the Sri Lankan penal code is used against the LGBTIQ+ community, especially the transgender community. Article 365 is used to prosecute those who engage in acts “against the order of nature”, Article 365A is used to prosecute anyone who is said to be engaged in acts of “gross indecency”, and the transgender community, in particular, is also arrested under Article 399 if they dress in clothing which goes against the gender norms of their assigned gender in instances such as when official documentation

 Even though we aren’t constantly aware of it, we as people depend on the media each and every day. The thirst for information that we carry enables this and we consume whatever information that we come across consistently. Media has a direct connection with our minds and this connection is powerful and influential. On natural impulse, our brains try to make sense of the information that we consume every day in whatever method or amount that’s familiar to us. And these methods and approaches that we take aren’t always correct. Our brains find it easier to settle down and trust in the information that we like to believe is true thus forming confirmation biases. We have to overcome this natural impulse and go beyond our confirmation biases in order to be media literate.

However, articulating information that you receive from mainstream media can be challenging since these media corporations are mostly operated under biases of their own and generate news that favour their own perspectives. While we should be critical and unbiased when consuming these information, it is also important to understand and learn about the more minor and simple media tools that we use that take advantage of our minds. One such powerful method is social media and these platforms in particular are well-versed in this connection between the media and the minds of the consumers. Therefore social media is structured in a way that rewards its users for these confirmation biases. They do this by continuously showing you the kind of news and information that you like and keeping you actively engaged with their platforms and applications as much as possible. This is how social media addiction is formed. The information you receive from them is curated to match your interests and the users tend to come back to these platforms to get their information satisfaction. And due to its high usage, people start relying on it for news. Social media is known for misinformation and if people aren’t conscious of what they let into their minds through them, then the risk of fake news being spread among the society is inevitably high.

The human brain tends to complete incomplete stories and is always motivated to find information satisfaction in whatever news they come across even though they might be wrong. If a certain news isn’t really important to us, we tend to settle down with whatever information we receive or understand regarding that. Therefore we automatically complete these unfinished stories and most probably end up creating false memories about those news. This happens quite often with complex news where the media would sometimes turn them into simpler news stories that are much easier for people to understand. But the content in such stories can be false. Therefore it is important to be conscious of the nature of information that you absorb every day.

The more we acknowledge our biases and thought patterns associated with consuming the media, the more we realize the mistakes we do and succeed in proceeding with the truth. For this we need to develop critical thinking skills and avoid satisfying ourselves with whatever information that we encounter. People love stories and they search for them on a daily basis. Thus, when we come across complex news we turn it into a simple, more familiar narrative for us and welcome that story with open arms. Likewise, the actual content behind the news can be distorted and we would carry a version of that information that makes more sense to us. We believe that we have complete control over what we think and believe in but with prolonged and powerful exposure to vast amounts of information through different media outlets, this proves to be wrong.

Our thoughts and perceptions get shaped, evolved and developed every day and our minds get massively influenced by the media and subsequently our behaviour along with it too. The more information we make our brains believe in, the more we act on these misleading information. Which is why as consumers, we should be educated on the nature of media, how it works and the intentions behind the information they give out. These intentions gradually become the consumers own intentions and what the media chooses, we choose too. Therefore it’s important not to let this influence affect our daily choices and life patterns in a negative manner. Most of the time, media center around profiting off of their consumers and would design information in ways that enable this. We should be mindful enough not to unnecessarily fall into this marketing strategy. By engaging with this process mindfully, we can avoid such media manipulation schemes and approach the information that we receive with an open yet analytical perspective.

Media controls what we think and this happens with or without our knowledge. We get taught indirectly to believe certain views and ideologies every time we come across a bit of news. We absorb such information through the media in vast quantities every day and we end up believing and accepting most of them. Algorithms in social media keep you engaged with them more thoroughly and feed your filter bubble with information that suits your own views thus creating a strong polarization in the society rather than critical thinking media consumers. We should realize this influence and give more attention to what we let our brains consume and let ourselves decide what information we should believe in and what values we should keep.

It’s necessary for us to get in touch with our cognitive skills when engaging with the media since we tend to immerse ourselves completely into the news we receive without questioning their accuracy or intention behind them. Our brains try to take the easy way out in most situations and the same habit applies when absorbing information. We are quick to accept what we see rather than take some time to evaluate them. The media is aware of this and takes advantage of it almost all the time. But if we train our brains to look at news more critically and acquire it as a life skill, we’ll be able to look past these unhealthy habits and control what we consume through the media. Developing this skill isn’t difficult. If we take responsibility as individuals and take small steps to check whether the news we receive is true or not and by verifying this information by using simple fact-checking tools, we as a society will be able to improve media literacy among us and move forwards with a healthy view towards media consumption.

Misinformation tends to create a lot of unnecessary and non-existing problems and clashes among the public. Most of these issues can be solved if we enhance our media literacy skills and receive the news we come across with a balanced and open mind. To make real and accurate sense of the information we receive and avoid these problems, it is important to understand that we have to do our part in being responsible media consumers. The more we deny this responsibility and avoid critical thinking, the more we are vulnerable to media manipulation and the many social issues and clashes that come with it. Our craving for information can result in a high chance for us to grab whatever news we receive as quickly as possible. This can be extremely risky especially if those particular news are formed in ways that can trigger the consumers.

Most of these triggers are designed in order to cause new habits and polarized sections in the society so that the business world behind the media could easily impose their views and practices onto the people. Unaware of this, we proceed to come under these influences and act according to their plans almost every day. Our minds get shaped, persuaded and altered by the world of media each time we receive news from them. Hence, we should take care to choose which information we should let in. Because the information that we thus consume would have power over our thinking patterns and behaviours. It’s up to us to decide whether or not we let those information change them. Continuing to consume media while being unaware of this influence would give complete power over the society to the media which enables them to control the public according to their strategies and furthermore weaken the background to improve media literacy. Therefore as constant news seekers going through new information each and every day, it’s efficient and meaningful if we could pursue media literacy as a life skill and get in touch with the world of media with sense and awareness.

Picture: https://www.weforum.org/projects/value-in-media

A survey conducted by Sri Lanka Development Journalist Forum (SDJF) and Centre for Media and Information Literacy (CMIL) discovered that only 1% of the women in local government bodies (LGB) are using media platforms including social media to raise their voice, express fair-dissents on legitimate concerns, and participate in democratic debates. This surprising truth was witnessed in real life when 20 women in LGB from the northern province were trained on the creative use of media platforms to strengthen their democratic participation.

Those 20 women from all five districts of the northern province were trained on both conceptual aspects of media such as understanding media, media landscape, media ownership, basics of news literacy, news and information ecosystem, gendered disinformation, etc. and practical aspects such as facing media interviews, writing press articles, organizing and attending press conferences, using social media safely, responsibly and effectively and also handling difficult situations with journalists.

The survey mentioned above revealed that 74% of women in LGB haven’t gone through any formal training on media usage, and more than 60% of them said that they aren’t comfortable in facing the media. Confirming this observation, the five consecutive trainings held in all five districts in the northern province brought light to several issues that these women have been going through with regard to how they use media and how media covers their concerns.

It was learned that to a greater extent women in LGB are spending their political career in a media dark, and are also less familiar on how the media manipulates the audience, sets agenda, determine what should and should not make news, and influence citizen’s decision while making use of its potential to amplify their voices and fair-dissents.

Majority of the participants confirmed that the media provides women in LGB a very little space despite the several activities they did that were beneficial to their constituencies. Many women affirmed that their vital political contributions make less prominence in the media and are often excluded in the media on the basis of their gender.

Women representatives in Vavuniya noted that the majority of male journalists in her region work under, in favor of, and for, powerful politicians where they often get incentives for providing undue publicity.

Anjalaa Kokilakumar, another LGB member from Vavuniya said “men politicians in the ground make a lot of media presence even for unworthy events that they are part of. Several journalists go behind male politicians covering even the routine things they do in their personal life, and publicize them on social media”.  She added “Journalists contact women representatives only when there is fake, negative news and rumor regarding them.”

Participants from Jaffna admitted that being women, they are scared of the media. Vijayarupan Parathpadma, a LGB member from Jaffna said “how the media portray women in general panics us. Media often shows women in negative lights. In our experience the only time the media would focus on women in politics is when there is an unsubstantiated false allegation or rumor.

It was also discovered that social media continues to play a negative role in silencing the voice and digital presence of women representatives in LGB through gendered disinformation, sexist hate-speech, misogyny, and gender-based cyber violence. According to the survey 52% of these women representatives in LGB in rural areas use social media platforms for only basic personal purposes such as sharing pictures. Lack of knowledge on technology and access to digital training opportunities hinder their use of social media to advocate for their political goals and to amplify their voice and concerns.

It was learned that the women in LGB are often kept out of mainstream media and were made to believe that media is usually unfriendly. “We thought the media is something unapproachable and it is men who are predominantly privileged by it. We were made to believe that it was not easy to bring out the grievances of the people through the media,” said Dayanandan Jayachitra, member of the Poonangari Pradeshiya Sabha. However, “given the training, we are confident that we can successfully face media, deal with any difficult journalists, organize press conferences, and be  part of any media discussion or debate,”she added.

Women in LGB observed that within the male dominant political system, their creative suggestions and recommendations are often undermined. Their dissents against vital issues related to governance, grassroots democracy, fundamental rights of politically, socially and economically marginalized communities, including women, LGBTQ+, differently-abled, are not given fair attention both within and outside the party. Majority of the women affirmed that staying in politics is a continuous struggle for them, and when the media suppress their real voices, it even becomes challenging to achieve their political goals.

One common aspect repeatedly raised is that the media does not provide fair coverage for the exceptional contribution done by the women in LGB. A 65 years old woman in the LGB told she introduced a successful self-saving scheme for women and vulnerable families as a way of tackling the hardships of micro-finances companies. However, she noted that such sensible and influential activities weren’t given any coverage or publicity by the media. Samantha Sudha, Urban Council member in Vavuniya mentioned that “Misinformation or rumour about women would get high publicity from the media whereas positive and empowering news about women aren’t adequately accommodated.” She further added that, “Being in municipal council for three years I have learned that it’s extremely important for women to stay in politics. Our presence has helped tackle concerns over issues affecting women in our region on several occasions.” She further shared her very own experience in regards to this issue. In Vavuniya, there are 10 statues built in honour of community leaders. Women are not allowed to touch and worship those statues. Once the worshipping season arrives, people hold up a ladder and climb to the top of the statue to worship them. Samantha Sudha said that this method is futile and suggested building stairs, instead of holding ladders to the statues to make the ritual easier and practical. Eventually, they agreed and built the stairs while also giving the rights to the women to touch and worship the statues of the male community leaders. But such influential actions done by women weren’t covered by the media.

However, giving them practical know-how on various subjects such as facing interviews, attending press conferences etc, along with knowledge on media and information literacy, these women proved that they are highly capable of providing valuable insights, recommendations and opinions on matters that affect grassroots democracy. During the training, all 20 women attended at least one real press conference held with the regional journalists and provided one real interview for various webcasting sites articulating their ideas, concerns, and dissents.  For the first time in their political career they organized their maiden press conference to discuss the importance of women participation in politics and other issues affecting women.

In Jaffna, women representatives brought forth their issues regarding women in politics while representatives of Vavuniya LGB specifically held their press conference on the importance of young women getting into politics. Similarly, the women representatives from Mullai-theevu, Kilinochchi and Mannar organized their press conferences on various issues such as illegal drugs, unattended housing schemes and other livelihood challenges.

The training series titled “She-Lead” emphasized the need of providing those courageous women in LGB with necessary training, technical-know-how, basic understanding about the media and critical thinking and strategic communication as a way of advancing their ability to raise their voice, amplify their fair concern in legitimate issues and to participate in democratic debates. The training was jointly organized by SDJF and CMIL and assisted by the Neelan Thiruchchelwam Trust (NTT).

*Gayanga is an English Literature and Journalism student currently following the diploma at the Sri Lanka College of Journalism. She is a media intern at the Centre for Media and Information Literacy.

On July 17, as a part MediaCorps Watch- news magazine program jointly produced by Centre for Media Information and Literacy (CMIL) and Sri Lanka Development Journalist Forum (SDJF) and disseminated through social media Mr. WaradasThyagarajah, a Senior Lecturer of University of Colombo and a Social Activist on the rights of the LGBT+ community joined in conversation with MediaCorps Journalist Nirasha Piyawadani. 

During the discussion Mr. Waradas highlighted issues faced by transgender community in casting their vote. At a time, the General Election, his thoughts caught attention of many.  Until he pointed it out that “Many from the transgender community avoid going to the polling stations because of their changed identities. In the mandatory identification check done before casting vote, the polling officers find that the voter’s appearance does not match the identity mentioned in their National Identity Card and start questioning them. The transgender person is then obliged to explain their gender status and their transformation to the officer in front of many other strangers which is a harrowing story they would like to forget and avoid”. Many did not know this dilemma. 

He also added that transgender community is often subject to embarrassing experiences and discrimination as a result of this at polling stations and they mostly opt to not cast their vote despite it being one of the most significant of their rights as any other citizen.

Subsequently, Nirasha had gone to Election Commission on July 19 for a Facebook Live discussion with Mr. SreenYapaBoralessa, an Assistant Election Commissioner.  Surprisingly, the Assistant Commissioner has told Nirasha that he was not aware of the issues faced by the Transgender community until its being highlighted by the MediaCorps Watch program. On the same moment, Nirasha connected him with Waradas over the WhatsApp, then he was out of Sri Lanka. 

During the discussion, Mr. Waradas further elaborated kind of discrimination, embarrassment and unpleasant treatment faced by the transgenders when attempting to cast their votes. 

Having listened to Mr. Waradas, the Assistant Commissioner invited a representation from the transgender community to visit the Election Commission in person with a written proposal that captures their challenges and their suggestions and recommendations to enable them a safe and secure voting environment. 

On July 26 morning, accepting the invitation of the Assistant Election Commissioner, a representation from the transgender community visited the Election Commission with their proposals. The Commission had given them a brief time slot of 15 minutes amidst their busy schedule, to hand over the document. Coincidentally, the Chairperson of the Election Commission met the group and was curious to know more about their issues since he himself was not familiar with the LGBTIQ community. 

Eventually, 15 minutes hand-over meeting with the Assistant Commissioner became a one-hour discussion with Mr. Mahinda Deshapriya, the Chairperson of the Election Commission, Prof. RathnajeevanHoole, Member of the Election Commission and Mr. SreenYapaBoralessa, the Assistant Election Commissioner. Representing the transgender community, Mr. Visakesa Chandrasekaran, Senior Lecturer Faculty of Law, University of Colombo and Social Activist on the rights of the LGBTIQ, Mr. ThenuRanketh, VenasaTrangender Network spoke about the issues concerning the gender identity and place of residence and several other issues when casting vote. The Commission attentively listened and were keen to provide immediate solutions.

As a result of a very production discussion, the Election Commission came up with the following progressive solution. 

1. The question of gender identity: To address the disparity of gender identity between the NIC and the transformed and new identity, the Commission would now allow the transgender community to produce their Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) issued by the ministry of Health along with their NIC. This will prove that the voter has transformed their gender identity which is certified by a government authority which is the Health Ministry.
2. Place of Residence: Currently most transgender people live away from their family homes following their gender transformation and the mismatch of their current and family home address is a recurrent issue when voting. But now the transgender community can produce the address of their temporary residence under the Category R (Rent) instead of mentioning their home address. 
3. Special Circular: Election Commission will be issuing a special circular to inform the polling officers on the above changes to ensure that transgender community will not face any discrimination or difficulty when casting their vote. Once the circular is released the transgender community will call a press conference to inform the public about this development. 

This was the first time in the history of the Election Commission that such progressive measures were taken on behalf of the transgender community, a community that is subject to discrimination and exclusion regularly. “People who identify themselves as transgender should be able to vote without any obstacle. The Election Commission will not allow anyone to discriminate any individual based on their gender identity.”, assured the Chairperson of the Election Commission. “We were introduced to the Election Commission through the MediaCorps Watch Program. I think this is an excellent example of how media can be used for community development”, said Mr. Visakesa Chandrasekaran following the successful discussion with the Election Commission.

NirashaPiyawadani, the investigative reporter and MediaCorps Fellow who was the journalist behind this story also shared her thoughts. “Not only as a female reporter but also living in a conventional society, doing a story of this kind is challenging. But I like to take up challenges and that is why I often do investigative reporting. I believe that offers an opportunity to assess the capacity and resilience of a journalist”. She also added that more often journalists tend to just report an issue without advocating for or following it up. “There is no point in just reporting about an issue without looking for a solution. That is why I continued my investigation until we could get a lasting solution to this issue concerning the transgender community. Today my hard work has paid of with the Election Commission’s progressive decision to ensure the voting rights of the transgender community which is a massive success. This is the most gratifying moment in my life as a journalist. There is no greater satisfaction for a journalist than to create a positive change on the society through impactful reporting”, says Nirasha. 

Upon the success of this discussion the Election Commissioner also invited the MediaCorps Watch Team to do another investigative report on the issues faced by the differently abled community as another marginalized community facing numerous challenges when casting their vote. MediaCorps Watch Team pledges to hunt for more such stories of the voiceless and to bring them to the attention of the relevant authorities to ensure that citizens of all identities, ethnic gender or otherwise are included in development, governance and policy making.

More on the story

MediaCorps Watch enables the transgender community to secure right to vote without inconvenience (Facebook Video Story): LINK

YouTube link for the same story: LINK

Live Discussion with Assistant commissioner of election, SreenYapaBorelessa: LINK

Live Discussion with WaradasThyagaraja, Senior Lecturer, University of Colombo/Social activist on LGBTIQ rights: LINK

Among several marginalized groups living in Sri Lanka, the transgender community receive minimal attention particularly in the public sector.  This community live hidden from the eyes of public and the authorities alike due to fear of their changed identities revealed, discrimination and mostly the social stigma associated with the LGBT+ community. This alsooften excludes them from many tables of decision making and governance depriving them of their basic human rights. For so long their voice was never heard in mainstream media platforms, until the MediaCorps Watch team, pledging to give voice to the voiceless took the responsibility in their shoulder to investigate the issues faced by the transgender community at this crucial time when the country is getting ready for a General Election amidst the chaos of a global pandemic.

On July 17, as a part MediaCorps Watch- news magazine program jointly produced by Centre for Media Information and Literacy (CMIL) and Sri Lanka Development Journalist Forum (SDJF) and disseminated through social media Mr. WaradasThyagarajah, a Senior Lecturer of University of Colombo and a Social Activist on the rights of the LGBT+ community joined in conversation with MediaCorps Journalist Nirasha Piyawadani. 

During the discussion Mr. Waradas highlighted issues faced by transgender community in casting their vote. At a time, the General Election, his thoughts caught attention of many.  Until he pointed it out that “Many from the transgender community avoid going to the polling stations because of their changed identities. In the mandatory identification check done before casting vote, the polling officers find that the voter’s appearance does not match the identity mentioned in their National Identity Card and start questioning them. The transgender person is then obliged to explain their gender status and their transformation to the officer in front of many other strangers which is a harrowing story they would like to forget and avoid”. Many did not know this dilemma. 

He also added that transgender community is often subject to embarrassing experiences and discrimination as a result of this at polling stations and they mostly opt to not cast their vote despite it being one of the most significant of their rights as any other citizen.

Subsequently, Nirasha had gone to Election Commission on July 19 for a Facebook Live discussion with Mr. SreenYapaBoralessa, an Assistant Election Commissioner.  Surprisingly, the Assistant Commissioner has told Nirasha that he was not aware of the issues faced by the Transgender community until its being highlighted by the MediaCorps Watch program. On the same moment, Nirasha connected him with Waradas over the WhatsApp, then he was out of Sri Lanka. 

During the discussion, Mr. Waradas further elaborated kind of discrimination, embarrassment and unpleasant treatment faced by the transgenders when attempting to cast their votes. 

Having listened to Mr. Waradas, the Assistant Commissioner invited a representation from the transgender community to visit the Election Commission in person with a written proposal that captures their challenges and their suggestions and recommendations to enable them a safe and secure voting environment. 

On July 26 morning, accepting the invitation of the Assistant Election Commissioner, a representation from the transgender community visited the Election Commission with their proposals. The Commission had given them a brief time slot of 15 minutes amidst their busy schedule, to hand over the document. Coincidentally, the Chairperson of the Election Commission met the group and was curious to know more about their issues since he himself was not familiar with the LGBTIQ community. 

Eventually, 15 minutes hand-over meeting with the Assistant Commissioner became a one-hour discussion with Mr. Mahinda Deshapriya, the Chairperson of the Election Commission, Prof. RathnajeevanHoole, Member of the Election Commission and Mr. SreenYapaBoralessa, the Assistant Election Commissioner. Representing the transgender community, Mr. Visakesa Chandrasekaran, Senior Lecturer Faculty of Law, University of Colombo and Social Activist on the rights of the LGBTIQ, Mr. ThenuRanketh, VenasaTrangender Network spoke about the issues concerning the gender identity and place of residence and several other issues when casting vote. The Commission attentively listened and were keen to provide immediate solutions.

As a result of a very production discussion, the Election Commission came up with the following progressive solution. 

1. The question of gender identity: To address the disparity of gender identity between the NIC and the transformed and new identity, the Commission would now allow the transgender community to produce their Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) issued by the ministry of Health along with their NIC. This will prove that the voter has transformed their gender identity which is certified by a government authority which is the Health Ministry.
2. Place of Residence: Currently most transgender people live away from their family homes following their gender transformation and the mismatch of their current and family home address is a recurrent issue when voting. But now the transgender community can produce the address of their temporary residence under the Category R (Rent) instead of mentioning their home address. 
3. Special Circular: Election Commission will be issuing a special circular to inform the polling officers on the above changes to ensure that transgender community will not face any discrimination or difficulty when casting their vote. Once the circular is released the transgender community will call a press conference to inform the public about this development. 

This was the first time in the history of the Election Commission that such progressive measures were taken on behalf of the transgender community, a community that is subject to discrimination and exclusion regularly. “People who identify themselves as transgender should be able to vote without any obstacle. The Election Commission will not allow anyone to discriminate any individual based on their gender identity.”, assured the Chairperson of the Election Commission. “We were introduced to the Election Commission through the MediaCorps Watch Program. I think this is an excellent example of how media can be used for community development”, said Mr. Visakesa Chandrasekaran following the successful discussion with the Election Commission.

NirashaPiyawadani, the investigative reporter and MediaCorps Fellow who was the journalist behind this story also shared her thoughts. “Not only as a female reporter but also living in a conventional society, doing a story of this kind is challenging. But I like to take up challenges and that is why I often do investigative reporting. I believe that offers an opportunity to assess the capacity and resilience of a journalist”. She also added that more often journalists tend to just report an issue without advocating for or following it up. “There is no point in just reporting about an issue without looking for a solution. That is why I continued my investigation until we could get a lasting solution to this issue concerning the transgender community. Today my hard work has paid of with the Election Commission’s progressive decision to ensure the voting rights of the transgender community which is a massive success. This is the most gratifying moment in my life as a journalist. There is no greater satisfaction for a journalist than to create a positive change on the society through impactful reporting”, says Nirasha. 

Upon the success of this discussion the Election Commissioner also invited the MediaCorps Watch Team to do another investigative report on the issues faced by the differently abled community as another marginalized community facing numerous challenges when casting their vote. MediaCorps Watch Team pledges to hunt for more such stories of the voiceless and to bring them to the attention of the relevant authorities to ensure that citizens of all identities, ethnic gender or otherwise are included in development, governance and policy making.

More on the story

MediaCorps Watch enables the transgender community to secure right to vote without inconvenience (Facebook Video Story): LINK

YouTube link for the same story: LINK

Live Discussion with Assistant commissioner of election, SreenYapaBorelessa: LINK

Live Discussion with WaradasThyagaraja, Senior Lecturer, University of Colombo/Social activist on LGBTIQ rights: LINK

Minority voices are seldom heard in Sri Lankan mainstream media. When journalists highlight underrepresented communities, the results can be transformative. For example, MediaCorps Watch’s reporting on barriers that transgender Sri Lankans face when voting led to policy changes that increased accessibility for civic participation.

MediaCorps Watch is an island-wide reporting project produced by the Sri Lanka Development Journalists Forum (SDJF) and the Centre for Media and Information Literacy (CMIL) and supported by the USAID-funded Media Empowerment for a Democratic Sri Lanka (MEND) program.

Highlighting how polling station practices discouraged transgender people from voting

Nirasha Piyawadani, a MediaCorps Watch journalist and graduate of MEND’s MediaCorps training program, has a special affinity for the problems of marginalized populations.  She decided to tackle the difficulties that the transgender community faced while voting.

Piyawadani conducted a live online interview with Thyagaraja Waradas, a transgender rights activist. “Many from the transgender community avoid going to the polling stations because of their changed gender identities,” Waradas explained. “In the mandatory identification check done before casting a vote, the polling officer finds that the voter’s appearance does not match the identity on their national identity card and starts questioning them.”

Transgender voters are often required to explain their gender identity to an officer in front of many other strangers, which is an uncomfortable experience many would like to avoid.

After the broadcast, Piyawadani met with Sreen Yapa Boralessa, an assistant commissioner of Sri Lanka’s election commission to discuss the issue in another live broadcast. The assistant commissioner said that he was unaware of the voting issues the transgender community faced until MediaCorps Watch highlighted it.

Election commission enacts changes in response to MediaCorps Watch’s reporting

The assistant commissioner invited representatives from the transgender community to submit a written proposal describing challenges faced while voting and outlining suggestions and recommendations to provide a safe and secure voting environment.

Visakesa Chandrasekaran, senior lecturer at the University of Colombo, and Thenu Ranketh, from the Venasa Transgender Network, met with senior election officials to discuss their proposal. After their discussion, the commission produced the following ruling:

1. The commission will now allow members of the transgender community to produce their gender recognition certificate along with their identity card so voters do not need to explain their gender identity at polling stations.
2. The transgender community can use their temporary residence address instead of their home address, since most transgender people live away from their family homes after their gender transition. This avoids a recurrent voting issue: mismatched addresses.
3. The election commission will issue a special circular to inform polling officers of the changes to help ensure that the transgender community will not face discrimination when casting their vote.

“People who identify as transgender should be able to vote without any obstacle,” Chandrasekaran said.

Mahinda Deshapriya, election commission chairperson, agreed that the commission should not allow anyone to be discriminated against based on their gender identity.

“This is an excellent example of how media can be used for community development,” Chandrasekaran noted.

Opening the door for more exploratory reports

The election commission has invited MediaCorps Watch to do more investigative reports. The program has already produced a story on voting challenges faced by people who are blind and people who have low vision.

“MediaCorps Watch will hunt for similar stories,” said Piyawadani. “[We will] ensure that all citizens, regardless of religion, ethnicity, gender identity, physical [condition], or any other issue are included in development, governance, and policy making.”

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