Abstract:
It is well known today that the political representation of women in both parliament and
local government remains at an unacceptable low in Sri Lanka. In a bid to understand
what may be the consequence of the virtual absence of women in legislative bodies in
Sri Lanka, a research project by the Women and Media Collective explored the
gendered nature of parliamentary talk. This paper explores one element of such talk —
the manner in which parliamentary speech during the last decade in Sri Lanka (2003-
2013) - featured different issues around the ethnic conflict. Paying special attention to
references to the war, the military, assistance for families of dead servicemen,
rehabilitation of ex-combatants, displacement of women and pregnancy including child
pregnancies in displacement, this paper will explore the nature of parliamentary speech
on the war and the gendered assumptions underlying such speech. The paper's
argument is that commentary on women is a substantial absence in parliamentarians'
interventions regarding the war. Pointing out the many ways in which women's lives
are impacted by the conduct of war, the loss of social safety nets, and livelihood options
due to the destruction brought about through the war, this paper will argue that most
parliamentarians' framing of the war as necessary, positive, and as a success story of
the previous regime, precludes discussion of the effects of war on affected women.
