Mermaids in Seenigama

I’m sure the title of this week’s homepage story got your attention

As you know the Foundation of Goodness is on a quest … a quest to empower rural life and narrow the gap between urban and rural Sri Lanka. One of the most unfortunate indicators of the gap between urban and rural is the treatment of women. Rural women consistently fall victim to discrimination in many forms. Domestic violence due to an alcoholic husband, ignorance on the capabilities and the role of women has all contributed to women being given second-class treatment. Despite the discrimination the burden of holding families together and at times even providing and playing the responsible role also falls on the women of these communities.

If we are to see true development and growth as a country this needs to be addressed. The battle for freedom and equality for these women need to be priority in Sri Lanka. Recent stats indicate.

Asia human rights commission writes the following on domestic violence in Sri Lanka.

“In cases of domestic violence …the woman expose herself to great danger of further violence from the perpetrator or his acquaintances and by reporting the case and will often have to go into hiding while the case is running.

Most of the women exposed to violence almost solely on their partner economically. They have no means to provide shelter or to sustain their livelihood if they go into hiding with a prospect of the case dragging on for years. With no official victim or witness protection, the woman cannot rely on the state to provide her shelter or aid for the legal process, which she will rarely be able to afford.

The social stigma, as well as the prevailing patriarchal mentality, all the way from officials at the police stations to the hospital personnel and the judiciary, hold back the majority of victims from the process of pursuing legal action.”

In regard to education opportunity and standards Ms. Nelathi De Soysa in her article ‘Gender development in Sri Lanka: a peek behind the statistics’) states the following..

“Another factor that does not appear in national statistics is the regional variation in female literacy, which has remained at 87% for several years. Urban and rural disparities still exist, and are not represented in national gender development indexes. Female literacy in urban areas is 91%, while the rural rate is 78%. Furthermore, some statistics, such as the 65% rate of anaemia among women, are not even included in some printed documents.”

The Foundation of Goodness has tackled the issue head on. Our women’s enterprise has graduated hundreds of women equipping them with various skills that open doors for many cottage industries. Our psycho social department has catered to many women who come from abusive backgrounds, FoG’s computer and English training has consistently maintains an even ratio of students from both genders. Our sports academy has introduced women’s club cricket, increased the standard of netball by organizing high level tournaments and have a women’s league for all our sports. Our commitment to the cause of rural empowerment through the empowerment of women has been backed by our actions.

Today we are proud to celebrate the enrollment of our very first female students to the FoG diving school. We were presently surprised by these girls enrolling for the programme.  Manuja and Sameera were intrigued by the programme and had heard about the very lucrative job opportunities available to those who graduate from the programme. They inquired if female students were accepted and once they heard there was no restriction they eagerly and confidently joined the course.  For many years this would have been unheard of in this community. Foundation of Goodness has impacted the worldview of the community to such an extent that equal opportunity is becoming the norm and discrimination is becoming an error of the past. We are overjoyed at the fruits of our labor in all its forms. Tangible results and also the impact to the worldview that breaks the bondage of poverty bring equal pleasure to us at FoG.

A woman is the full circle.
Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform.

                        Diane Mariechild

2011.03.01