War Widows: Sri Lankan Women Take Charge

They don’t beg for pity. At home they’re boss. They wield a hammer by day and at night cradle their children. These are the women of northern Sri Lanka. Some 15 months after the conflict between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan authorities stopped, these women have become sort of superheroes. With their husbands lost in the fighting, war widows are taking charge of their families and their neighborhoods, too.

The idea of a female-headed household is hardly implausible. In many South American countries women have organized to gain independence in their male-dominated clans. In Sri Lanka, what's impressive is the speed with which these households grow (some 40,000 in the north, according to the Center for Women and Development).

What forced these women to fend for their families is necessity. A fierce civil war that began in the 1970s claimed the lives of thousands of citizens. Many males died, disappeared or are still in the custody of authorities. What might have been an effective strategy to dismantle the opposition has left homes without their traditional breadwinners.

Enter war widows. They tend to their homes, feed the children and work in hard labor jobs by day. The numbers are increasing: 89,000 of them in the east and north according to official figures.

Because of meager salaries from employers, these women require additional help sustaining their families. This is where the aid world can help. At first, the UN World Food Program (WFP) gave out food packages, but it plans to shift its strategy to more sustainable methods. One of the approaches will be a program where food is exchanged for work or skills training. (Sri Lanka's government already began a similar program for the general population last August.)

Initiatives by other organizations include a $100 grant to help women open small businesses or find farmland for women farmers.

As women climb up the social ladder, the Sri Lankan government must also look out for women's well being. Employers are reportedly discriminating against women or paying an unfair salary (about half as much as men’s for the same work). The Association for War Affected Women (AWAW) is one of those organizations protecting Sri Lankan women's rights.  Their work to create awareness is crucial. These women, broken but not defeated after this long civil war, might be the ones carrying the country to economic stability for many years to come.

Photo Credit: World Bank Photo Collection