Turning a pillowcase inside out

Note: This article, (translated from Sinahala) from a popular newspaper, reflects some of the frustration of the general public in Sri Lanka, particularly regarding the sexual abuse that takes place at the police stations. Though the article is about Sri Lanka, the situation of the other countries around is similar.

An Editorial

August 3rd 2012, Divaina (a daily Sinhala newspaper)

( August 03, 2012, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka Guardian) A forty year old woman, Samantha Nandani, from Madirigiriya, climbed on top of a 60 foot high water tank to start a protest. Her son worked in the army. His name has been left out from the electoral registry. When she went to get that corrected, the village head (grama sevaka) make an improper suggestion to her. He tried to sexually abuse her. When that happened, she went to the Madirigiriya police and made a complaint. The police did not investigate the complaint. In fact, they will not investigate the complaint. She got on top of the water tank in order to protest against this.

This is a short summary of a long story, some of which can be told and some of which cannot be told. It is not only at Madirigiriya police station; rather, it has been the situation in all police stations in this country for a long time now. We have often seen women, who had been going to a police station to make a complaint, made to visit teashops with police constables or sergeants. If the person who is making the complaint is a woman, she is likely to face harassment and abuse at the police station. Women facing domestic problems are even more vulnerable to abuses by the police officers. As a result, a woman who goes to a police station to make a complaint is facing a high risk of being abused. The spreading of this harassing behavior to the village officers is dangerous. It is all the more dangerous that they can go to the houses in the village several times a week to do their official duties. Handing over the electoral list, making reminders to fill those lists quickly, going to collect the list later, giving advice on how to prevent dengue mosquitos, and on many other issues, they have the opportunity to visit houses. If the officer uses these opportunities for good, then it is good. However, if he uses it for bad purposes, then things become really bad. The village officer linked to the Madirigiriya incident is one such wretched officer. By not investigating into the complaint of this helpless woman, the officers of the Madirigiriya police have also acted in a wretched manner.

Bureaucrats are using their positions of power and influence to force women to go to bed with them. This exploitative behavior comes down from feudal times, continued through the reign of the British and subsided after the Independence. However, after the government that came into power in 1970, this restarted. During that period, ministers and permanent secretaries were found to sexually harass women who had applied for posts in the civil service and force them to go to guesthouses with them to obtain a job.

Now, in spite of talks of female liberation, women still get beaten up by men. Men often have illicit affairs but their wives are reluctant to leave them because of shame. This wretched state has been created by the social system. Do you think that society should be the creation of men? No. It is not like that anymore. Today, society is created by a handful of rich people and a handful of powerful politicians. Due to this, in every police area and village, at least two water tanks would have to be built for protests.

The protest of Samantha Nandini is a good beginning. All women who have been subjected to injustice should support the cause Samantha Nandini has taken. They should show solidarity with her protest. In a country that has had over 30 years of war, the society is highly disorganized. Sorting out the large mountain of problems is not easy. To make a beginning, government services, police and civil institutions should be reorganized. This reorganization will be difficult in a country like ours. However difficult it may be, it has to be done. The society has been turned inside out like the way a pillowcase is turned inside out. When a pillowcase is turned inside out, the dirt that was outside goes in. However, this is not a problem, since very soon the pillowcase would be put in for washing.