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A Critical Assessment of Women’s Livelihoods in Post‐Conflict Sri Lanka A thesis submitted in fullfillment of requirements for the degree of Research Masters of Science at the University of Amsterdam in the Graduate School of Social Sciences by: Ali Brown Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology,University of Missouri‐Columbia (USA), 2007 August 2012 Ali Brown 2
Acknowledgements There are numerous people to thank for their help, patience, giving, and listening ears which have aided me in the process of writing this thesis, and more which can be mentioned here. Firstly I would like to thank my mother, who has always been supportive and encouraging. Maarten Bavinck, my advisor has been vital in the creation of this thesis, from selecting themes, locations and fostering relationships with Sri Lankans, to ‘helping me build the walls to the canal of my thesis.’ Without his guidance this would have never been possible and I am deeply appreciative of his patience and guidance. Joeri Scholtens, Professor A. S. Soosai and Professor Oscar Amarasinge have all been invaluable in supporting me while in Sri Lanka with matters both practical and academic and they have my greatest gratitude. The University of Ruhuna was also instrumental in aiding me with the appropriate support and documents necessary to undertake research in Sri Lanka. Two NGOs, CARE and ZOA helped me make connections, provided me with support, and introduced me to places and people I would have otherwise never ventured and they have greatly enriched my time in Sri Lanka; specifically I would like to thank Nathan Knoll from CARE and Ragavan Alphonsus from ZOA. Reincorpfish must also be mentioned, for the large support network, help in networking, genuine interest taken in my research, and their larger work in the Palk Bay area. Grace, my interpreter and now friend from Mannar was essential in carrying out my fieldwork and without her I could not have achieved what I set out to do; her passion and interest in my research as well as her kind heart made her the best interpreter I could have hoped to find. Finally, and perhaps most importantly I would like to thank the villages of Illupaikkadavai and Anthoniyarpuram for hosting me during my research, and specifically my host family, for being patient and enthusiastic about my desire to learn their language, culture and ways, and for showing me their amazing hospitality. My time in their villages was unforgettable and one of the best learning experiences in life and I can only hope to do them justice in the writing of this thesis. Below: Grace, my interpreter (left) interviewing a villager from Anthoniyarpuram. Photo credit: Sanjay, an eight year old boy from the village who decided to ‘help me’ with interviews on this day. Ali Brown 3
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Table of Contents Acknowledgements Charts, Graphs, Maps and Figures List of Abbreviations and Acronyms Chapter 1: Introduction The Story of Sarajini Research Context Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework Research Question and Framework Livelihoods Institutions Human Security Conceptualizing Space Theory reflection: Nexus of Human Security, Institutions and Livelihoods Chapter 3: Methodology Chapter 4: Livelihoods Capitals Strategies for Income Generation Daily Activities Markets Summary Chapter 5: Institutions Social Capital Political Capital Caste Gender Government Property Rights Aid Organizations Summary Chapter 6: Human Security Physical Psychosocial Summary Chapter 7: Spatial and Financial Implications of Perceived (In)Security and Institutional Configurations Summary Chapter 8: Discussion, Implications and Conclusion References Appendices Questionnaire Ali Brown 3 6 7 9 10 11 17 17 19 22 24 26 28 29 33 33 41 44 46 47 48 48 48 49 50 53 54 55 56 58 58 59 60 61 63 64 69 73 5
Charts, Graphs, Figures, Maps and Vignettes Graph 4.1: Lending Institution Types Graph 4.2: Housing Types Graph 4.3: Who Controls the Budget? Figure 2.1: Theoretical Framework Visualization Figure 2.2: Sustainable Rural Livelihoods Framework Map 1.1: Sri Lanka, Mannar, and Illupaikkadavai in Relation Map 1.2: Illupaikkadavai and Anthoniyarpuram; Roads, Centers of Exchange, Worship and Government Map 4.1: Areas of Natural Resources Map 4.2: Locations of stores and exchange in Illupaikkadavai and Anthoniyarpuram Map 7.1: Reported areas of insecurity in Illupaikkadavai and Anthoniyarpuram Map 7.2: Overlapping Natural Resource Areas and Spaces of Insecurity (Maps 4.1+7.1) Table 1.1: Population Demographics, Illupaikkadavai and Anthoniyarpuram Table 1.2: Community Based Organization Participation Table 4.1: Basic statistics of informants Table 4.2: IGAs of Respondents Table 4.3: Daily Schedule: Married Woman Table 4.4: Daily Schedule: Woman Heading a Household Text Box 4.1: Illupaikkadavai Crab Factory Vignette 1: The Story of Sarajini Vignette 2: A personal account of the white female researcher in Sri Lanka Ali Brown 36 38 55 17 19 8 15 40 46 61 62 15 15 33 36 45 45 43 10 52 6
Acronyms: CBO‐ Community Based Organization FCS‐ Fisheries Cooperative Society FHH‐ Female‐Headed Household (unit) GoSL‐ Government of Sri Lanka GS / GN‐ The Grama Sevaka, later renamed the Grama Niladhari, is the village headman. This position was implemented in the colonial era as the local government authority for each village or small group of villages. Illupaikkadavai and Anthoniyarpuram share the same GS. IGA‐ Income Generating Activity MOD‐ Ministry of Defense NGO‐ Non‐Governmental Organization RC‐ Roman Catholic RDS‐ Rural Development Society WHH‐ Women Heading a Household (individual) WRDS‐ Women’s Rural Development Society LKR (Sri Lankan Rupee, annotated herein as Rs) Exchange rate as of 7 Aug, 2012: 1 Euro = 163.6 LKR 1 USD = 131.8 LKR Ali Brown 7
Map 1.1: Bottom: Sri Lanka, including the southern coast of India, the province Tamil Nadu. Above (left): a close up of Mannar district. Top: road map of the towns of Illupaikkadavai and Anthoniyarpuram. The red road is the A32 Highway, which runs through the two communities and connects them to Mannar town and Jaffna. Orange roads are in Anthoniyarpuram and green in Illupaikkadavai. 1 Jaffna
Mannar Town
Mannar Town 1
Map Sources: Sri Lanka and Mannar District Maps: ©Google Maps 2012, Illupaikkadavai: Field Data collected by author, processed by means of ©Google Earth 2012, captured via ©GeoEye. Ali Brown 8
Chapter One Introduction The story of Sarajini (see: vignette one) is meant to serve as a backdrop in trying to understand the complexity of life for women in a post‐conflict state. Sarajini is in a nearly impossible situation, and though soon the time may come when she will be given a permanent house and have ready access to water, the time when she will be able to consistently earn enough money for herself and her children remains uncertain. This thesis will seek to elucidate some of the causes of the situation of Sarajini as well as other women in her village, in order to better understand the security and development nexus and the often precarious nature of it. In the post‐conflict setting of Sri Lanka, ethnic tensions are still palpable. There are high levels of NGO interventions, international aid organizations, and nation‐based development strategies, but little is being done to alleviate the ethnonationalist discourse within and between the Tamils and the Sinhalese. Furthering this, the focus of the state in peace building process has been geared towards infrastructural development and brought about by the positioning of Singhalese military to ensure the security of the region. Unfortunately little has been done to create open and non‐threatening dialogue between the two groups, and as expanded upon in this thesis, this is in effect undermining the perceptions of human security and strategies for economic fulfillment in the North. The tensions between the two groups are manifest not only in discourse, but have impacts on the daily lives of the Tamils in the North and East of Sri Lanka, namely in their livelihoods, which is the focus of this thesis. In order to understand the livelihoods strategies being employed in a given situation, it is important to critically assess the causal mechanisms for these choosing certain strategies; in other words, why people pursue specific income generating activities. Within the post‐conflict setting, it is not only institutions but state‐based security efforts that impact local perceptions of human security. Further complicating this picture is a spatial element; notions of gender are spatially based and the presence of navy or army can seek to either alleviate or exacerbate spatial insecurity in regards to pursuit of livelihood opportunities. During the collection of fieldwork, a focus on the women was taken. Some women were in household configurations where a male head was present, while others were the head of their own households, either legally or informally, and still some were sometimes in charge of the household when their husbands would leave sporadically. The focus on women is a crucial one; prolonged conflict has led to a high number of female headed households, and the roles, values and rights of women are distinct from those of males in the Sri Lankan Tamil culture. A focus on the women was taken in regards to their household configurations, and the household itself was not analyzed with the exception of in economic terms with women in traditional male‐headed household configurations, when individual income and debt is often reliant upon and inextricable from the spouse. In this section the scene will be set for the research, with an overview of the history of Sri Lanka, and an introduction to the history, landscape and demographics of the research villages, Illupaikkadavai and Anthoniyarpuram in the northern district of Mannar (see map 1.1). The two villages were selected rather than one as they share schools, stores, a post office, water supplies, churches, Ali Brown 9
Vignette 1: Below is the story of Sarajini2, a Tamil woman from Anthoniyarpuram. It demonstrates the complex nature of livelihoods access for women given institutional constraints and spatial insecurity. Sarajini is 32 years old and has three children. Her house is small, with only one room divided at the back by a small partition. On one side of the wall sits a bed frame with a straw mat covering it, and on the other side are rolled up sleeping mats and a now off‐white Sari tied in a circle hanging from the ceiling. A few clothing items sit on the floor, otherwise the room is sparse. This is where her family sleeps, including her husband, whenever he chooses to come home. Sarajini and her husband, Vijay, have been married for seven years. Their oldest child, a seven year old girl with inner ear problems, is extremely shy, especially in the presence of the “vēllaikāri” or white lady, due to negative interactions with foreign doctors during the war. The youngest sleeps inside the Sari basinet while Sarajini fans him during this extremely hot, summer day. Normally at this time she would be preparing lunch for her children and husband, however recently because of a dispute following a misunderstanding, Vijay has left Sarajini and is living with another woman in a village ten kilometers away. Vijay is an alcoholic and often resorts to violence in the home, but when he is home he will work as a laborer for fishermen at the beach in order to provide for the family. His disappearances are a common occurrence, and during the times Vijay is away, Sarajini is in charge of providing all of the financial support for her children, including educational expenses. Though schooling in Sri Lanka is technically free, exam fees, supplies and sports fees add up quite quickly. Sometimes during these days, weeks or even months of being the sole financial supporter in her household, Sarajini will make some breakfast items to sell to neighbours. Unfortunately she has a limited group of people who will buy her products because she is low caste, even when compared to other low caste villagers. When breakfast making becomes impossible, because of time, customer or start‐up cost constraints, she only has one choice for making money: collecting firewood. It is ideal because it requires no start‐up capital or special skills or tools. Collecting firewood is a respectable enough job for Sarajini, but unfortunately she can rarely participate because of fear and anxiety over the location of the forest. The forest area is nearby, about a one kilometer walk past the edge of the village. It is out of the line of sight of other villagers and located along the edge of it is a Navy base. Both of these factors leave Sarajini nervous about going to the forest; reports of attempted rape are not uncommon in the community and with no local villagers to see her while working, she is left feeling insecure when in the woods. To counter this, Sarajini and a handful of other village women go together to the woods once or twice a week. In this way, Sarajini can earn at most 400 Rupees per week selling firewood. With three children, this is not enough. The youngest still breastfeeds, though he is a year and a half old, because it is a source of food for him. The older two children are school age and can eat breakfast and lunch at school, but on weekend days or during the frequent holidays from school, food is scarce and often the family will only eat one meal per day. If Sarajini felt more safe collecting firewood, however, she would be able to go out at will on her own to procure it, thus potentially doubling her income. Though Sarajini has never spoken of it, neighbours have accused her of prostitution. This could be because of the social stigma placed on women who leave their households to find income, known as Vēlai Makkal. Work outside the home for women is not generally considered appropriate in Tamil culture, with the home domain being the most important space for a woman, giving social status and security. Many women are in similar positions as Sarajini, forced to find income and yet bound by the community’s perceptions of them. And since Sarajini is de facto the head of a household but still technically married this transgression of the home space into public places carries an even harsher stigma. When asked about living life without her husband, not being regularly subjected to brutal beatings versus life with the economic hardship encountered by having no male income‐generator in the house, Sarajini’s response is simple: “I need my husband here to feed my family. I would rather have a few bruises and healthy children than have hungry, dirty children and no work to do. My husband is my life and without him I am nothing.” 2
All names of villagers and respondents have been anonomized for their own protection. The village names still remain the same. Ali Brown 10
families, and environmental resources; one could not be neatly separated the other. Chapter two will begin with the research question and then continue on to elaborate the theoretical framework for this research. Before continuing on to the empirical findings chapters, chapter three will outline the methodology, ethical considerations and biases for conducting the research. Chapter four begins the empirical analysis, starting with the present‐day snapshot of the livelihood strategies and assets in Illupaikkadavai and Anthoniyarpuram. The following three chapters will elaborate upon the contextual setting in which these livelihoods are constructed, discussing institutions, perceptions of human security and the ways in which these affect spatial usage for livelihood procurement. In the final chapter, chapter eight, a discussion of results, implications of research and final concluding remarks will be made. Research Context In the following sections a brief history of the country and the villages will be given, followed by a description of the physical landscape and basic demographic information about the villages. Information presented here is to set the scene for the empirical data presented later on as well as present a mental map to which the theoretical framework may attach. All local information given here was collected during three months of in situ fieldwork conducted from January to March of 2012 unless otherwise cited. History, Context of the War and the Aftermath In the interests of brevity, here will be a short overview of the national history, particularly focusing on ethnic tensions and the aftermath of the war, which ended in May 2009. It is important to understand the deep ethnonationalist tensions between the Singhalese and Tamils in order to grasp the sentiments expressed in interviews in the Mannar district in present day. There were several causes for the war, and many groups involved, however for purposes relating to this research the focus will be kept on Tamil‐Singhalese relations. Sri Lanka became an independent, post‐colonial state in 1948, after which ethnic tensions between native Tamil and Sinhala populations began to arise3. During the 1970s, discontent arose from the Tamil and Singhalese populations, caused by a weakening economy and a growing population of young, educated citizens. Initially discontent by the Tamil population was manifest in peaceful agitations, however by 1972, the LTTE, or Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, had formed, led by Vellupalai Prabhakaran. Following this, violence escalated between the two groups, and the conflict turned from being one based on equal inclusion of both ethnicities to one based on separate‐state formation for the ethnic Tamil population.4 Conflict took place most heavily in the North and East of the island, particularly in the Wanni in the North where this research was conducted. People living in this area were subjected to forced displacement, often caught in between conflict of the LTTE and Army, and had their lands and homes devastated. Many people, civilian and combatant, were killed in the process. After nearly three decades of conflict in 2009 President Mahinda Rajapakse declared the war was over, with the assassination of Prabhakaran. His family was also killed soon thereafter, reportedly during an air raid (Herath 2012). 3
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See: de Silva 1997 for more information regarding causes of escalating ethnic tensions. See: Herath 2012 for discussion of the evolution of conflict in Sri Lanka. Ali Brown 11
During the post‐2009 period, in an attempt to restore order and rule of law in the government appointed leaders to official offices, however in Tamil areas people selected are either Singhalese in origin or Tamils loyal to the national government, which has only strengthened mistrust in the state. High levels of army and navy presence are also seen in the region, the vast majority of who are Singhalese men. The Police force is also overwhelmingly Singhalese, though a higher number of women are present in the police force in present day. The ethnic and gendered composition of the security and law enforcement bodies raises questions as to the viability of long term peace given the ethnolinguistic divide and continuing tensions which are still very present today. Exacerbating this, claims of the army infringing rights are almost non‐existent, because as Herath (2012: 210) states, “no allegation can be brought against the armed forces; they are stamped on from the outset.” Notions of women’s issues are largely overlooked in the post‐war period. Even in the 1980s, Sri Lanka had a relatively high level of female headed households when compared to other countries in the region, and as late as the early 2000s, one‐fifth of all households in Sri Lanka were led by women (Ruwanpura and Humphries 2004). Because of this, a focus on women has been undertaken, including not only de juro, or legally declared female headed households (FHH) through widowhood or divorce, but also de facto or quasi‐female headed households, as they are just as common as de juro arrangements. Women also are subject higher unemployment and make up a smaller percentage of the labor force than men, even though they have the legal right to work (ibid: 178). The roles and status of women will be discussed in the empirical chapter 5. Introduction to Illupaikkadavai and Anthoniyarpuram Along the northwest coast of Sri Lanka along the Palk Bay lie two small fishing villages, Illupaikkadavai and Anthoniyarpuram (See: Map 1). The regional capital, Mannar town, sits over forty kilometers to the southwest. The journey between these two places takes over an hour in a rickety, hot, often overcrowded bus along a dusty road laden with potholes and errant cows and goats. At one time, this road and this region were more prosperous and developed, but decades of war and intense fighting, especially at the end of the war in 2009, ravaged this area. Almost all houses were damaged and then scavenged for any useful wood or roof tiles. Wells became brackish or salty from damage and disrepair. During the course of the war, the area saw in and out‐
migrations of people fleeing from conflict in other parts of the island, and as such now has both Christian and Hindu inhabitants of various, though mostly lower, castes. Three years after President Rajapakse declared the end of the war, the region is slowly developing, and in the process both villages have grown. They have become intertwined, sharing schools, stores, churches and the like, though there are also subtle but significant differences between the two. Such differences are manifest in the infrastructural development, religion, and caste of each. Local History According to one villager who has lived in the community for over sixty years, in the mid‐1950s, Illupaikkadavai had only 19 families and Anthoniyarpuram did not even exist. Then it was known by its original name: Paraiyarputty , meaning “dependent on the coast” or conversely, meant to denote a location where low caste, paraiyar peoples lived. It was a small village, populated mainly by Tamil Roman Catholics and surrounded by paddy fields owned by higher caste Tamils. The original population served to harvest the surrounding paddy fields in the harvest season, and in the interim Ali Brown 12
times would fish from the shallow, calm, sparkling blue waters of the Palk Bay to feed their families. They were, as one man stated, “slaves” for the higher caste land owners. At first, there was no church and access to fresh water and small stores with vegetables required walking or cycling up to five kilometers. To gain access to the water that was available, the people of Parayiarputty would have to wait next to the well at times for hours until a person of higher caste came to draw water from the well to give to them. During these times, caste distinctions were rigid and appropriate behavior for a person depended on their caste. In 1972, Parayiarputty officially changed its name to Illupaikkadavai, meaning “village near the forest”. Slowly it began to attract newcomers and by the mid‐1970s its population was four times larger than it had been just twenty years beforehand. With these newcomers came the expansion of Illupaikkadavai into a nearby town, called Anthoniyarpuram, ‘‐puram’ being an ending for suburb or area nearby. After the end of the war, many women have been left as de facto or de jure heads of households. As outlined by Youssef and Hetler (1984), de jure heads of households are women who have legally become the head role of a house through death or divorce, whereas de facto are those who have become the head at least temporarily because of a lack of a male head, which is especially the case in cases of desertion or detainment at Rehabilitation camps in the Sri Lankan context (1984, In: Ruwanpura 2006; Bromley 1989). Another category is created, the quasi‐female headed household, which is caused when a woman has times when the husband is not present and not supporting the family financially. Sarajini, from the opening vignette, is an example of a female quasi‐head of household. In cases when a woman is the head of household, de facto, de juro or quasi, they will be annotated within this thesis as a WHH, or women heading a household5. When speaking of the household as a unit, the term Female Headed Household, or FHH will be taken herein. Though the understanding of the various forms of heading a household are ontologically and semantically different is significant, methodologically the results are similar, with the exception that those women who perceive their husbands to be returning in the near future are less likely to engage in long‐term income generating activities (IGA) and to be more reliant upon kinship ties for financial support. Physical Landscape The physical landscape of the region, especially along the coastlines is largely dry except during the rainy season from October to January. The soil is largely composed of sand, and the roads in the village have been covered with a red, clay soil brought in by trucks from other parts of the island. There are some larger trees which give shade and often fruit, mango and tamarind trees being the most common. There are many palm and palmyrah trees in the region, though a significant proportion of them are trees with no tops, as shell blasts during the war time often blew off the heads of these trees, leaving high‐reaching stumps. Many houses in the villages have newly growing coconut palms and palmyrah, less than three years old; planted at the time of resettlement. It takes five years of maturation for both types of trees to bear fruit. 5
For the purposes of this research, gendered words ‘male and female’ and the like refer to the performance of an individual rather than their anatomical makeup. Ali Brown 13
The two towns combined inhabit a 7.5km2 parcel of land, not including outlying paddy fields, and populated areas accessible only by footpath consume a full third (2.5km2 total) of that land area, meaning that a significant portion of the population could not have direct access to water through private tank even if they purchased one as no trucks would be able to bring them water (See Map 1.2). Including paddy areas, the area is just over 18km2 , with an interesting note that only 2.58km2 belong to Anthoniyarpuram, which has no active farmers in it. That makes the population density (based on total land area, including paddy fields) 68.3 people per square kilometer. When compared to current World Bank data from 2010, this is much lower than the national average of 333 people per square kilometer. (World Bank 2012) Demographics In collecting demographics, information was obtained both through the interview process and through local organizations, both governmental and non. The data collected through organizations varied greatly in quality and accuracy, and as such the most accurate numbers have been presented here. Accuracy was determined through observation and conversations with local residents; many houses which formally declared residency in the villages did not spend much time there, and as such the numbers of empty houses were factored out of household numbers reported by agencies. Population demographic variance can be attributed to several factors, namely the number of physical houses does not accurately reflect the population and numbers of households living in the area. Some people have houses in the village and in larger towns, or have moved abroad to work and as such spend most of their time away from Anthoniyarpuram or Illupaikkadavai. Other houses contain multiple households, while in other areas two houses may comprise of a single household. Map 1.2: Illupaikkadavai and Anthoniyarpuram, roads, centers of exchange, worship and government. Table 1.1 6 , below, gives the overall population characteristics of Illupaikkadavai and Anthoniyarpuram. Overall, there are a higher number of women in the villages than men, and here it represents a total of 17.9% female‐headed households, however these numbers only reflect the de juro configurations, therefore when de facto and quasi‐ female headed households are added in this 6
Statistics provided in this table were made available by sources who wish their identity to remain anonymous, and best estimates were made by cross referencing all data, through observation, and via conversations with local residents. Ali Brown 14
number is much higher, possibly even double. Also of note is that a majority of these statistics were taken immediately after families returned from displacement, and as such it does not reflect the number of people who have moved into or out of the villages since early 2010. Table 1.1 # Families # People # Fisher Families # Farmer Families # Female Headed‐Households # Formerly in Rehabilitation Camps Illupaikkadavai 192 696 (338 ♂/359 ♀) 135 16 36 Unknown Anthoniyarpuram 131 537 (255 ♂/282♀) 115 0 22 Men: 67 Women: 31 Below is a table with the numbers of members in the Community Based Organizations active in the two villages. With the exception of the Fisheries Cooperative Society (FCS) and the Elders Association, all other organizations have members from both villages. Though numbers are relatively high, there is low participation in most of these and many people are only enrolled through name. The most active organizations are the Fishers Cooperative Society (FCS), Rural Development Society (RDS) and the Women’s Rural Table 1.27 Community Based Organization # Members Development Society (WRDS), as they are micro loan organizations. The FCS has the most active WRDS 78 members, but this is caused by the requirement FCS‐ Anthoniyarpuram 121 FCS‐Illupaikkadavai 181 that any person, male or female who wishes to Elders Society‐ Anthoniyarpuram 29 work on the sea must be a member. RDS 101 Elders Society‐ Illupaikkadavai 66 The main income generating strategies for men Farmers Association 66 in the area are fishing and rice paddy farming, Sports Society 59 though fishing is much more common. For women, fish drying, sewing, goat and chicken rearing, and palmyrah processing are most common. The village is led by a mixture of individuals, from community members to the local government appointed village headman, the Grama Sevaka (GS), later renamed the Grama Niladhari (GN). The exact configurations of resources, space, leadership and strategies for income generation will be expanded upon in the empirical chapters four through seven. 7
Member numbers here were provided by the GS office of the Manthai West district and through conversations with CBO members and leaders. Ali Brown 15
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Chapter Two: Theory, Frameworks, and Research Question In the following sections, I will elaborate upon the theories that are laid out in the research question so as to illuminate the complex ways in which they interconnect. The research question for this thesis is: How do Institutional Settings and Perceptions of Human Security Impact the utilization of space and natural resources in women’s livelihoods in a post‐war fishing village? In order to answer the main research question, the following sub‐questions are necessary: 
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What livelihood strategies do women utilize to earn income and where do these take place? What assets do women possess and to what extent do they have control over them? What institutions affect the ways in which women utilize space and natural resources in the community and how do they affect natural resource use? What are the perceptions of human security and how do they security affect space and natural resources utilized by women in the community? On the following page is a visual representation of the research question, showing how the theories interact with one another (See: Figure 2.1). In words, institutional settings and perceptions of human security combine to impact the ways in which space is socially and materially constructed and accessed. Natural resources, then are understood and given meaning through space. The understandings of space and natural resources has implications for the livelihoods constructed in a given setting. Assets are an essential element to this schematic and are incorporated into every level, though they have the most explicit focus within the livelihoods framework. 
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Perceptions of Human Security, as it will be used in this thesis, regard the ways in which people perceive their own physical and mental safety and social welfare, specifically as they relate to space. Institutional Settings are the configurations of both social and formal laws, norms, and customs that impact daily life. As such all of the following (as well as others unstated) fall under the definition of institutions: gender, caste, property arrangements, government, non‐
governmental organizations, and the army, navy and police. Space in practical terms relates to the geographic areas in which women utilize strategies to construct their livelihoods. Natural resources exist within this space and are most often relied upon for earning income and carrying out daily tasks like cooking or cleaning. The usages, values, and social meanings of space is subjected to institutions and perceptions of human security. Livelihoods conceptualization is taken from the sustainable livelihoods framework, with a specific focus on the strategies employed in earning a living, assets possessed (or not possessed) by the individual and institutional mechanisms that affect assets and strategies. Ali Brown 17
Figure 2.1: Framework Visualization Ali Brown 18
Theoretical Framework Livelihoods In this chapter, I will first outline the sustainable rural livelihoods theory, which has been theorized, discussed and practiced widely in the recent years. Then a more critical approach to this framework will be discussed, highlighting its inherently politicized nature and the significant role which institutions play in livelihood formation. This section is meant to highlight the theories behind the dependent variable of the research presented in this thesis; as will be discussed later on, the outcomes of livelihoods rely heavily upon the institutional settings of a community, and human perceptions of security is inclusive of the institutional settings. Sustainable Rural Livelihoods Theory Figure 2.2 Sustainable Rural Livelihoods Framework 8
The livelihoods framework was established in the 1980s with the recognition that, especially among poor families, there was often more than one strategy being employed to meet the both economic and non‐economic needs and thereby relying upon multiple types of natural resources (Allison and Springate‐Baginski 2004). Livelihoods, in this context, involves the utilization of different forms of assets which are mediated through institutions, markets, governance and policy and then pursued via livelihood strategies (IGAs) utilizing assets to result in livelihood outcomes. This is a continuous loop and dynamic process involving each step simultaneously, however it is subject to vulnerability like seasonality, conflict and other effects outside the control of the household or individual (see: figure 3.2 for more detail)(Allison and Springate‐Baginski 2004; Bass et al. 2000). For the purposes of this research, a focus is taken on the livelihood strategies and assets that result from policies, institutions and processes (Figure 3.1: Highlighted area). Additionally, though assets as conceptualized in figure 3.1 come before policies and institutions schematically, they are also shown 8
Source: DFID, In: Allison and Springate‐Baginski 2004: 59. Ali Brown 19
to be the result of institutions and strategies and as such are evaluated as an outcome as well. For the framework of this research (See: Figure 3.1), the decision to include assets within the livelihoods framework but after the institutions is intentional; in assessing the focus of the research and including the institution of property ownership, assets are the outcome of institutionally mediated interactions. In most livelihoods frameworks there are five different types of assets9 that are utilized in livelihoods strategies: human, natural, physical, financial, and social. Below is a brief description of each (Allison and Springate‐Baginski 2004; Bass et al. 2000): 
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Human: skills, education, knowledge, health and ability to work, which are necessary to pursue a livelihood strategy Natural: environmental materials (land, plants, animals, minerals, water, etc.) that provide resources for livelihoods strategies Physical: infrastructure and equipment necessary to employ a livelihoods strategy Financial: the money, access to loans and insurance that allow for livelihoods strategies to be employed Social: networks of people, groups and institutions that help or facilitate in livelihoods strategies, especially in times of difficulty Additionally, and specifically for the purposes of research conducted in a post‐conflict context, I add10: 
Political: access to leadership and legislation to facilitate livelihood strategy employment, seek redress for wrongdoings, ability to vote, and to speak as a voice for the community Crucial in this approach is the capability of the individual to participate in various strategies, with both internal and external institutional forces influencing the options available for livelihood procurement. These capitals and assets are utilized in various formations, along with labor, to engage in livelihood strategies produce economic stability and, ideally, wellbeing. Decisions upon which livelihood strategies to pursue are influenced by institutions, which will be expanded upon later. Vulnerability, Coping and Resilience Notions of capabilities, coping and vulnerability are central to understanding human agency11. Coping and vulnerability are necessarily interlinked. While vulnerability has often been 9
In this thesis the terms the term assets will also be used to refer to capitals and at times as well resources. Though there are semantic and practical differences between the three the distinctions between them are not significant for this research. 10
Political capital has been included in some livelihoods frameworks, noteably Baumann and Sinha (2001), however the definition presented is broad, is often conflated with economic capital, and has the potential to undermine the role of local ‘informal’ politics as positive. The definition presented here is my own. 11
Human agency will be defined within this thesis as individuals who: “continuously engage in repertoires from the past, project hypothetical pathways forward in time and adjust their actions to the exigencies of emerging situations.” These individuals can switch their focus at certain times towards the future, present or past, “thereby changing their degrees of flexible, inventive and critical response towards [certain] contexts” (Emirbayer and Mische, 1998: 1012) Ali Brown 20
conceptualized as relating to an absolute condition, however Patrick Webb (2000) points out that vulnerability should be considered as the state of adaptive reactions in response to a threat. Therefore schematically: vulnerability = threat ‐ coping (In: Leaning and Arie 2000: 14). Understood this way, vulnerability becomes the antonym of security as explained later in this chapter. Thus it is essential to understand the nature of coping strategies in a given context. Vulnerability is most severe when there is an absence of coping mechanisms (ibid). Thus, human security measures are a way of strengthening capability and ability to cope and decreasing the vulnerability to external threats. Resilience is defined as “a dynamic process encompassing positive adaptation within the context of significant adversity” (Luthar, Cicchetti, and Becker 2000: 543). It is difficult to determine the complex ways in which resilience is manifest, but it is an important element in the security debate. Seeing agents as subject only to vulnerability denies their ability to prosper despite it, the ways in which institutions, norms and perceptions of security are transformed through conflict and in the aftermath, and the ways in which the researcher can idealize the experience of adversity, thus rendering the Other as incapable of overcoming or maneuvering around vulnerability. Critical Livelihoods Theoretical frameworks of livelihoods have largely focused around the economic opportunities and strategies in capital formation. It is crucial to include the values associated with these, which are institutionally informed (van Dijk 2011). Though institutions are included in the sustainable livelihoods framework, the significance of these on people’s choices is often overlooked or underemphasized in much of the livelihoods literature. Through researching institutions’ impacts on livelihoods, power to make certain decisions comes to the forefront, thereby rendering livelihoods political. This allows the research to delve into contexts and differentiation instead of implying static or uniform livelihood strategies across all people within a certain context. This allows us to understand variations in choices and options of such strategies among a population. In more traditional approaches, an attempt at remedying this has been made by including vulnerability into the framework, however it focuses on shocks and hazards rather than the systematic vulnerabilities reproduced through institutional biases (ibid: 102). Within a post‐conflict context and within a traditional patriarchal society, it becomes evident that simply looking at what people are doing is not enough. Also crucial to the understanding of livelihoods strategies in this context is the why. What are the factors that affect livelihood strategy choices and opportunities, and in what way are they results of prolonged conflict and institutional mechanisms? In this way, the understanding of livelihoods moves beyond the empirical and takes on a critical realist perspective. Women’s livelihoods in a Patriarchal Society Within the setting of a patriarchal society, men and women often employ different strategies for livelihood procurement and have different access to assets. Such strategies and assets are linked with gender roles and cultural norms and breaking from the norms can have grave consequences, especially in small communities, where reputation and social capital are necessary in fully functioning and prospering in a village. Furthering this, in areas where caste distinctions are Ali Brown 21
prevalent and property arrangements are gender biased, occupations and household configurations are often considered to be pre‐determined, and therefore certain tasks will be considered above or below the caste of the individual or not suitable for a certain gender. Therefore, though opportunities may be present for livelihoods procurement, this does not mean that people will engage in them. Women heading households are subject to these restrictions as well but often have to break with social norms in order to survive, but this does not come without a price. In the following section, the nature of gender in the institutional matrix will be elaborated upon. Institutions Institutions, both formal and informal or social, have significant impacts on people’s daily lives, and help, or sometimes hinder, the decisions that a person has the ability to make, especially in which livelihood strategies to undertake. In this section, a discussion regarding the nature of such institutions, with an emphasis on aspects relevant to this research. What is an institution? There are many approaches to the composition of institutions, and this concept has been theorized widely. For the purposes of this research, institutions are defined as both formal and informal in origin; having been purposefully decided upon (by a : firm, government, organization) or being socially agreed upon and regulated through social interactions but not necessarily originated in any conscious decision making processes or codified in any formal system (Bromley 1989). The relationships between people, firms, governments and the like help to define rights, responsibilities, and privileges (Schmid 1972: 893). Such institutions are comprised of conventions, or actions that are predicted to follow a certain order in order to achieve a socially agreed upon outcome, and rules or entitlements, which dictate how the decisions of an individual must relate to those of a group or others through a set of rules. These rules indicate the duties, liberties, and capacities of individuals as well as what they cannot reasonably expect others to help them do (Commons 1968: 6). In essence, institutions determine the rules for individuals, who then make decisions based on information from the past, present day life, and notions of the future (Emirbayer and Mische 1998). Institutions serve as the context for decision making and relationship interactions, function through rules, and transformed through evaluation of institutional mechanism. They are, therefore, both the medium for and the outcome of social interactions (Weber and Glynn 2006). Conditions of institutions at a given moment predicate the economic potentialities therein and opportunities allow for changes in the institutional setting. As such, institutions are not static and at times they can have “unintended consequences and inefficiencies” which have arisen from changes in the institution over time from its original purposes (Kenny 2007: 92). Laws and Legal Pluralism As stated, formal legal institutions are not the only mechanism for control of a society. In recent years, there has been an expansion of knowledge relating to the different ways in which legal systems are understood and carried out, and the ways in which different forms of legal systems interact. They break from the largely urban bias and Western‐centric conceptualisation of space as pertaining purely to formal state legal systems. Extra‐legal systems can be customary law practices, Ali Brown 22
religious or sacred law, and international law among others and thus form the heterogeneous amalgamation of law in a given space at a given time (von Benda‐Beckmann et al 2009). Because institutions involve both the social and formal realms and mandated and socially agreed upon norms and rules, at any given point in time there are multiple institutions at influencing the individual. Singularly, interactions with institutions involve duties and rights, wherein a person or entity (let’s call him Raja) has a right to, for example, sit on the beach, and another person or entity (Ravi) has the duty not to infringe upon the right of the Raja to sit on the beach by building a fence around it. In this relationship, there is always a hierarchy of power and in this example Raja is in the power position as it is his rights that must be dutifully followed by Ravi. At the same time, formal law may state that no one can be on the beach after sundown, and thus Raja’s right is constrained through another mechanism and it is his duty to follow it by not sitting on the beach at night. Further complicating this, Raja lives in a village that has an annual harvest moon festival, which takes place on the beach in the middle of the night, thus giving Raja and the others in his village the choice between breaking their custom and breaking formal law. Though a simplified example, it becomes clear that any individual lies within these relationships, in configurations where they have both rights and duties at the same time, however such rights and duties do not always coincide and may, in fact, give opposing directives. This then creates overlapping systems of constraints and opportunities, giving rise to multiple interacting institutional mechanisms (both formal and informal) on a given person at any time. This is referred to as legal pluralism (Bromley 1989). The term ‘legal,’ or law, here is not meant in the purely codified sense, but rather in the concepts for behavior in human interactions as well as the mechanism for conveyance of these concepts, language. Laws, in this sense, relate to the Weberian sense of coercion utilized to enforce conformity or rebuke violations of body of norms, which are enforced externally (Weber 1954: 5, In: von Benda‐Beckmann et al 2009: 205). Though Weber uses this definition to bring to light the ‘staff’ that “hold themselves responsible” for enforcing such laws, I broaden this understanding in the sense that social pressures or fear of social pressure can also unconsciously bring about conformity (ibid.). Gender and Feminist Institutionalism Gender is a social construction built from institutional settings and individual performances resulting in interpretations that have implications in social patterning. Though notions of gender and sex are often conflated, they are distinctly separate: sex is genetic and gender is social, they are, respectively, the nature and the nurture (Acker 1992). Therefore, gender is not a discrete variable but rather a frame of reference involving institutional mechanisms. It is not something possessed, but rather a performance based upon distinct norms and values in the institutional setting. Gendered institutions, simply put, means that “gender is present in the processes, practices, images and ideologies, and distributions of power in the various sectors of social life” (Acker 1992: 567). Interactions between people become the medium for institutional proliferation and functioning, during which people perform their gendered roles, often unconsciously. Class, race, age, location, profession and intentions and all impact the ways in which gender is performed within a given interaction. Gender has become a defining aspect in the organization of institutions, for example in the binary created in productive versus reproductive spaces (Acker 1992, 566‐8). As such, institutional practices are not neutral, but rather embedded in norms and values, which give Ali Brown 23
preference or power to one group over another or one (Kenny 2006). Therefore, gender is political, involving power relations through structures and practices. Underlying notions of gender are practices, which often have spatial connotations, such as female seclusion, control of mobility and sexual freedom (Agarwal 1994). ‘Feminist Institutionalism’ thus becomes a lens to view which institutions which constrain and shape social interactions along the lines of gender. The crux of this argument centers on power dimensions, which is implied but seldom discussed in literature on institutions. According to Kenny (2006), institutions have been conceptualized as masculine, noting how feminists must construct their identity and prioritize agendas within a given society. Institutions do not function for everyone in the same way, and there are specific opportunities and constraints for each gender. The debate has largely been predicated on the concept of social positioning and power, with an androcentric focus, failing to conceive of asymmetrical power relations between genders. It is for this reason that a focus on women is relevant to the discussion of institution and human security in livelihoods acquisition; the norms and values of the female identity in Sri Lanka are politicized within a patriarchal structure and the outcomes of this are very different than those of the male counterpart. Human Security Human Security is perceived within the context of norms and rules. Such settings impact the ways in which security is viewed, reacted to and transformed. As such, though it is an added element to the perceptions of daily life for the purposes of this research, it cannot be considered without the institutions active in the community. The traditional paradigm of security can be seen as far back as the Enlightenment, where it focused on the state as the arbiter of ensuring security through unilateral force (Commission on Human Security 2003). In the post‐war context, it is crucial to understand that instead of the ceasefire marking the end of a war, the process is on a continuum, therefore making the terms ‘post‐war’ or ‘post‐conflict’ misnomers. According to Green (2008:125), “the period of transition out of war is a particularly pivotal time in which attention to issues [and practices] of human security can work to enhance or degrade efforts towards stabilization and recovery.” In this vein, the focus on security as arms accumulation and international politics should be shifted towards ensuring livelihoods and comfort for individuals in their own communities in conflict and post‐conflict situations. This shift in thinking about security as people instead of the state can be seen starting in the 1980s with the publication of the Palme Commission’s Report: Common Security: A Blueprint for Survival, however with more clarity in the UN Human Development Report of 1994. There is no universally agreed upon definition of Human Security; depending upon the agenda of the academic or agency the essential elements range widely. In the most essential elements, the notions of safety, in both physical and mental aspects, and social security, or that livelihoods must be guaranteed and stable (Tadjbakhsh 2005; Burgess and Owen 2004). Human security compliments state security from a micro lens, including more actors in the process and empowering people. If, indeed, state based security is to proliferate, human security can be seen as strengthening cohesion and minimizing costs of intra or inter‐state conflict (Alkire 2003). In this way, it can be used as a holistic concept which incorporates livelihoods and institutions, however what is lacking is an explicitly spatial element, which seems a bit odd considering that matters of state‐based security are Ali Brown 24
generally formed around protecting geographic areas from threats. The inclusion of space into the human security paradigm is essential, and will be expanded upon in the next section. The term ‘safety’ is multifaceted and ambiguous. Focus is often taken on the quantification of the impact of war on populations: casualties, environmental and infrastructural damages, forced migration and economic loss, however the qualitative, mental impacts are just as significant. Especially after long periods of intense conflict, and particularly in cases where populations have been exposed to aerial or ground bombardments, people return to their communities to find destruction and chaos rendered out of what was once considered home. This can have strong emotional repercussions. People return disoriented, disengaged from their surroundings and other community and family members. In rural areas, employment opportunities upon resettlement are low, and the lands at times mined and devastated. Compounding this, many people suffer not only loss of loved ones, but physical injuries that affect employment possibilities. Gender norms and roles are also often shifted during the course of conflict, and many women who had greater mobility, agency, and economic responsibility during the war are sent back to the home area, while other women have lost their homes and find it difficult to seek viable employment opportunities. Social capital in communities is greatly affected, especially in cases where the roles of combatant and civilian are blurred. All of these effects of war, especially in intense and long‐term conflict, remain in the forefront of the populations mind, even generations after fighting has ended (Green 2008: 133‐
135). Psychosocial needs in (re)establishing human security revolve around identity, recognition, autonomy and participation. During times of intense conflict, the shift of the individual’s focus will be towards acquiring the immediate survival needs, but once these have been met with relative stability, the psychosocial aspects come to the forefront (Leaning and Arie: 2001; Green 2008). In short, “People will seek to be seen for who they are, will need to feel that they belong, will ask to be heard, and will begin to make claims and assert agency” (Green 2008: 127). In the psychosocial realm, a noteworthy contribution by Kofi Annan is the incorporation of dignity (In: Commission on Human Security 2003: 4). It is for this reason that the perception of human security has been investigated in this research; to research otherwise would be to impose views of human security upon the Other instead of giving them the voice to speak for themselves. To accomplish these goals, human security incorporates the sense of home, community, and autonomy, or a sense for the future. To establish or verify identity, a person must have a link to a home; it is an attachment to a safe space or familiar people which allows for a support system and links to fond memories. Community must also be recognized as it provides for basic trust in daily interactions. It extends beyond the familial unit and allows for modes of exchange, in economic, verbal, marital or other terms. This does not mean that community is a panacea for establishing security; it can also sever ties between people if its composition is largely homogenous and cultural norms can serve to undermine individual security, particularly for women who have lost husbands during the war. A sense for the future is ensured through autonomy, which ensures that people have the agential capacity to make changes to their own lives. In times of great uncertainty towards the future people are far less likely to make long‐term investments and more likely to find themselves in high‐risk situations for the purpose of short‐term gain. The goal of this approach, as Green (2008: 128) puts it, is to “to [assess] individuals and groups along these parameters of home, Ali Brown 25
community, and sense of the future, and then adjusting the flow of inputs and expectations to meet people where they are, rather than where the international community might wish them to be.” Handrahan (2004: 442), in her work on gender and ethnicity in post‐conflict settings, states that “without consideration of gender, security is an empty concept.” Underlying this is the very real but often overlooked experience of women during and after periods of conflict. Women are seen as the holders of purity, morality and ethnicity, especially during conflict, but are simultaneously used as instruments of conflict. Rape and violence towards women, within the context of ethnic‐based conflict, are tools used for defiling enemy precisely because of the position of the female as the holder of purity and ethnicity (Handrahan 2004). Women who are raped are seen not as victims of a crime but rather as disgraceful for having submitted to another man, or in a broader sense, as submitting to the enemy. As such, women who are raped are unlikely to report it so as to not bring shame on her family. This results in women unable to seek medical or psychological help in the post‐war context, whereas male counterparts readily can seek care for their (non‐sexual) injuries (Handrahan 2004: 435). The context of post‐conflict and gender is largely under‐researched and it is for this reason that a focus on women has been taken in the process of conducting research. Conceptualizing Space Understanding space involves investigating how human agency shapes it. The form it takes reflects institutions at play in a given area. Space can be said to represent the spatio‐temporal opportunities and limitations of human activities through dimensions of power which control access to resources. It is therefore inherently politicized. As such, “different settings create and reproduce social hierarchies and inequalities, reinforce or undermine ideologies and enable and promote some practices over others” (Tickamyer 2000: 806). ‘Space,’ as it will be used here, relates to a place, or a particular setting, as well as space as a relational unit which allows for the comparison and organization of notions of place and location; or in other words, the social understandings and interpretations of space. In this way space is conceptualized not as a static dimension, but one that is not only the context for social interaction but both a cause and an outcome of institutions. Thus in understanding space and human interactions, it is possible to look at population, economic attributes, distance from other locations and distinct cultural, physical, social and political dimensions. (Tickamyer 2000) In relation to this thesis, space serves as the medium for interactions as well as the locus of natural resources, which provide materials for livelihood strategies. Access to resources and economic activities is spatial and as such it is imperative to understand the conditions upon which informal economic activity is taken as well as how it relates to more formal markets. Natural resources are often the source of economic activity for many, especially women, however when space is restricted, either formally or informally, this has effects on the livelihood strategies pursued, perceptions of security, and the extent to which either one of these is successful. The construction of space has very real, every day implications which cannot be overstressed in its importance (Agarwal 1989). Natural resources inhabit space, and their values are constructed through it. While all humans rely upon natural resources in some form, the most vulnerable in society often rely upon direct access to and use of natural resources to construct their livelihoods. And women especially rely upon having Ali Brown 26
direct access to natural resources as entry to the labour market is often gender biased, especially in more ‘traditional’ societies (Agarwal 1989). It is also not necessarily the case that within households there is equal distribution of resources between family members. Women are more likely to have less in regards to health care and food and the children’s health and nutritional intake has been shown to be closely related to the mothers’ earnings. (ibid: WS‐47). Thus in many ways women are the primary providers of household subsistence and have a higher percentage of incomes dedicated to maintaining a household as compared to men. And this is aside from other activities such as procurement of food and firewood, cooking, cleaning and other informal activities, which are time consuming, spatially bound, and are rarely factored into the economic work a woman puts into a household. Women are also largely left out of land‐ownership arrangements in many parts of the world (ibid). Differences in access to resources are spatial, temporal and social. Access may be granted during certain parts of the day, week, month or year, which is socially and politically determined. Notions of fear can lead to areas of natural resources becoming de facto off limits. This fear can be related to insecurity regarding the natural environment (predators, flash floods, etc.) or social relations and norms, like fear of being harassed in certain parts of the city or community (Koskela 1999). This fear can have very real implications on the resource base that is accessible and the patterns in which women access the natural environment for subsistence activities. Even in common property arrangements access is not necessarily equal or equitable. In common property arrangements in a community, it is these areas that are heavily relied upon for subsistence based activities for women and children. Not only is food procured, but also fibers, medicinal herbs, oils, and materials for house building and handicrafts. And in many parts of the globe, the value and productivity of these areas common areas has been diminishing. Private property ownership has decreased the absolute area of available common property. New technologies and intensive reliance upon the natural environment for subsistence activities has decreased relative productivity of land over time and in some places increased the distance of productive common areas from the community (Agarwal 1989). It is further complicated by institutional arrangements, as common property or common pool resources (such as fishing) are embedded within a legal pluralism where customary laws and norms, religious law, and state law, among others, interact to structure the use, meaning and interactions of space. It is the amalgamation of these factors that affect the ways in which livelihood strategies are pursued. In order to understand the complexity in which space and legal pluralism interact, an anthropological geography of law approach is considered as it allows a “grounded setting … in which to locate the varying ways in which social relationships are created and regulated with differing effects.” (von Benda‐Beckmann et al 2009: 3) At any given time, multiple actors, government officials, and agencies may have competing claims or notions of space and as such it is necessary to understand the dense interrelations and norms that inhabit space. Space “form[s] the environment, medium and outcome of social interactions”(ibid). Space, then, becomes not only a means for productive activities but also a way in which power and control is negotiated and asserted. It is important to keep in mind that this control and power is not necessarily consciously determined, and the role of women in shaping the meaning of space can be ascribed not only through legal frameworks but also through perceptions of insecurity or unsafety. As such, it is necessary to understand the various Ali Brown 27
legal systems, social interactions and power dynamics within a community and their various claims to legitimacy and political and economic authority (ibid). In sum, space is understood as both a physical setting and the meanings and interpretations it possesses, which is bound by institutions, both formal and informal. In this way it is politicized. Space carries different meanings and values depending upon its uses and is explicitly impacted by gender. Through space, the cultural roles and impacts of gender can be made visible by looking at the spaces and natural resources used or not used, and the values and meanings they possess by individuals. Theory reflection: Nexus of Human Security, Institutions and Livelihoods In taking a critical look at the livelihoods strategies employed in Sri Lanka, it is important to not only look at the outcomes, but the processes that impact these outcomes and to what extent they limit the possibilities available for livelihoods. Institutions, both formal and social, serve to structure human behavior. Perceptions of human security further affect human behavior, particularly in temporal and spatial terms in the post‐conflict setting. The mental state of the individual has impacts on the community, and in a post‐conflict environment has implications for prosperity. Human security also encompasses notions of social security, which can be evaluated through the lens of livelihoods. Not including institutions or human security in an assessment of rural livelihoods strategies in the post‐conflict would be neglecting not only the causes of livelihood outcomes, the potentials for the futures, and the factors that need to be taken into account when implementing livelihood development programs. The understandings and interpretations of past, present and future are crucial in determining present day choices, constraints and opportunities of individuals and these interpretations form the nexus of institutions and human security. In the rural setting, livelihood strategies, especially for women, both with and without husbands, are often heavily reliant upon the space of the natural environment within the immediate and surrounding areas. This natural environment reliance is both inside and outside of the home place, however for many utilization of resources available within the home place is not sufficient for livelihood procurement and therefore the areas outside of the immediate village area are utilized. As such the meanings of socially constructed space are significant. This framework is a means to have a critical realist interpretation of the livelihoods framework at the village level within the specific context of post‐conflict, patriarchal setting. In selecting the theories and building a framework for research, there is a large gap which does not fully investigate in the psychological, spatial and institutional settings which influence daily lives and livelihoods of individuals. Perhaps this has been because it is seen as too focused on the micro, however I argue that without understanding the micro, the macro cannot be fully understood. The macro is comprised of a multitude of micro contexts and in order to proscribe change on a large level, there must be consideration of the impacts of change on the micro. Such considerations cannot be founded in idealistic terms but in realistic; large failures of development have come about not because people were not trying to do good on a large scale, but rather because such programs have imposed ideals of development upon populations with entirely different goals and understandings of development. Ali Brown 28
Chapter Three: Methodology During the course of research I was able to conduct 40 questionnaires using simple random sampling to select the participants. Each questionnaire had a total of 47 main questions, with a majority of these having sub questions, depending upon the initial response. During the course of completing the survey, follow up and interview questions would be asked when appropriate. In addition to the 40 questionnaires, ten of the respondents were interviewed a second time, to gain greater depth, and another fifteen people were interviewed separately to gain context information. This is not counting the countless conversations with villagers which occurred during the course of my ethnographic research. A focus on women was taken, with careful attention to WHH, however these WHH were also the hardest group to interview as often they would not be available for interviews during the daytime when my interpreter was present. Several group discussions occurred spontaneously, however because of political constraints, discussed later in this section, I was unable to formally gather groups of women to interview. Five of the initial respondents allowed me to ‘shadow’ them for an entire day, which allowed me to glimpse into their daily routines and spatial patterns. To what extent they maintained a normal routine rather than a modified one because of my presence is debatable, but with all women I had a friendly relationship and had interacted with them dozens of time prior to shadowing, and as such I was not seen as much as an outsider or intruder as I was upon arrival in the villages. Ethical Considerations In matters of confidentiality, before each interview my purpose in the village and information about my research was presented orally through my interpreter. Informants were told that they would receive pseudonyms to protect anonymity and were asked if they would like me to share some of the pertinent information regarding livelihood strategies and requests for aid with local organizations. At the end of each survey or interview, participants were given time to allow them to ask me questions regarding any subject of their choosing; it seemed only fair to me that if I get to take two or more hours of their time asking questions they deserve to have the same opportunity. Fortunately, life in a small village means that everyone knows who the foreigner is in the area, and nearly all women interviewed had heard of me and what I was doing there. This was also aided by being introduced by the local priest in front of the church before I arrived and by the local Brahmin during a Hindu festival. Focusing on the Individual within the Household Frequently research regarding livelihoods revolves around the household unit, and for reasons explained below it is often impossible not to asses it as such. Theorizations of household dimensions are also frequently androcentric.12 Within the South Asian context, separating the individual from the household, or even the household from the extended family can be fraught with difficulties. Whenever possible I collected data about women and their individual livelihoods. Often times FHH rely upon extended family to at least partially support them, and even families in more traditional formations would utilize kinship ties for support. Support comes in many forms: the gifting of a kilo of rice, an aunt purchasing new shoes for children, or small loans given by relatives. As such I found it particularly vexing trying to understand the specific nature and dynamics of a household within the 12
See: Laberge 1995; Ruwanpura and Humphries 2004. Ali Brown 29
village context as few houses formally functioned as independent households in economic terms. For reasons explained later, data of a woman’s contribution in economic terms to the household was most clear when speaking with women who headed their own household, as generally all reported income generated and all loans accumulated belonged to that of the female. In traditional household configurations notions of ‘his earnings and her earnings’ or likewise debts, are often muddled. This relationship is also spatially manifested, walking through the village while one can discern formal house areas designated by fences, these fences often have pathways through them, heading towards neighboring houses where family members reside. Likewise, such fences contain up to three different formal households within, or a singular house may contain two ‘households’. Therefore, a fence or a singular house doesn’t accurately reflect the functions and psychosocial aspects of a household. Research Limitations During the course of a nearly three‐month stay in the villages of Illupaikkadavai and Anthoniyarpuram, a total of 40 questionnaires were conducted. Questions asked covered all aspects of the research, and as some of the themes are not easily quantifiable in regards to data collection, each survey would also consist of a semi‐structured interview that would test responses to Boolean (yes/no) questions asked during the survey to test the validity of their answer. This was especially important for questions regarding safety and institutional influences that affect the respondent, as in an environment of high military presence many respondents were likely to initially give answers that the government would want to hear. During the course of conversation afterwards, however, many of these answers would be clarified or countered entirely. There was a great deal of worry in the community about being kidnapped in order to silence any governmental opposition, and as such it took a lot of effort on my part to gain trust of participants and ensure their safety in speaking to me. People were wary of outsiders as there had been reports of sending spies into small Tamil villages to find out who the post‐war LTTE supporters were. As a white woman who frequently was forced to deal with the presence of the army, navy and police, my presence initially raised a great deal of suspicion. It is for this reason that no interviews were conducted with an audio recorder; most women refused to speak on the audio recorder and others, normally talkative, would remain silent and it would greatly impact the quality of my research. Notes were then written during the interview, with an interpreter translating conversations as they took place. While in the village, I lived with one family, and through them met many other families, especially women in the village. I slept on the floor13, bathed from bucket baths, and relied upon a flashlight at night, just as they all did. As a guest, I was accorded a ‘higher status’ and as such would often be given food before the rest of the family, and though I slept on the floor, I slept in one room alone while the family slept all together in the adjoining room and front hall way. Because there was no ready access to electricity, all of my notes were taken in small notebooks then typed into files at a later time; generally one night a week I would go to Mannar town and rent a room in order to charge my laptop, work, wash clothes and take a proper shower. My host father, though I didn’t know this at the start, was the village money lender and considered a respected and important figure in the community. Over time, the villagers would see the access and familiarity that they allowed me and 13
To be honest, there was a ‘bed’ (overly hard cotton bedding on wooden slats) in the room where I stayed, but due to the sometimes oppressive heat and lack of fan, it was much cooler to stay on the floor and it was often more comfortable than the bed anyways. Ali Brown 30
would welcome me into their homes, speaking with much greater candor than they had when I first arrived. In the evenings, after my interpreter left, I would spend time writing up my notes and observations and then play and work with children on basic English and Tamil lessons. Through this, as well as daily interactions within the household, I was able to learn around 200 words of Tamil, including necessary phrases and words. Unfortunately there were no Tamil‐English dictionaries available that had Romanized Tamil script. These daily interactions were invaluable, not only did I become an akka or sister to the girls my age in the house, but I was able to observe and participate in the daily rituals. This allowed me to understand the patterns of behavior and significant events that occur in the household. Interpreter Biases My interpreter, Grace, was a very useful to my research as she had experience in implementing livelihood projects with NGOs in the region and was both familiar with and interested in my research. Her work was invaluable, however her English skills, particularly at the beginning of my research, were not ideal. It was my decision to keep her on as my assistant, even if there was some data loss in the interpretations, for two reasons: 1) having a female interpreter was considered crucial to conducting research with vulnerable women, as a male interpreter may lead to embarrassment in talking about sensitive issues or even pose more general problems like discomfort in breastfeeding during interviews, which was a common occurrence. 2) Her interest in the topic proved extremely useful as she was good at posing follow‐up questions and explanations without or with little prompting. During the survey portion of my research, I employed a professional translator to convert the English survey into Tamil, which was then typed and used by my interpreter in order to make sure question phrasing was accurate and consistent. Over the course of the research Grace’s English improved greatly as she was simultaneously taking English classes in the evenings. By the end of the three months she was able to interpret in‐depth interviews with only minor problems. Grace came to the village four to five days per week, taking the bus one hour each way every day. It would have been ideal to have an interpreter living with me, however very few are willing to live in the conditions I was in, fewer women still. Grace also has two daughters and therefore was unable to be away from her home at night. Though there would be the possibility of finding an interpreter in another part of the island who would be willing to come out for a week or two at a time, I both had limited contacts to these people and some of those I could have utilized were far outside of my budget for an interpreter, charging upwards of $100 USD per day. In the Field: Practical Solutions for Conducting Research in a Post‐war Fishing Village During the course of my research I had multiple interactions with the army. Though the North is technically considered open, tourists and visitors are now free to go where they choose, the entry is still somewhat controlled, and all foreigners must present passport details when entering the region. Upon arrival I visited the onsite army base and police station and presented a letter written in Sinhala by my advisor at the University of Ruhuna that requested assistance and approval for my stay in the village. Unfortunately this was not sufficient and after two weeks I was informally sequestered by the army for an afternoon in order to talk to the commanding officer of both the village and the district. From this interaction I was told that I needed to gain clearance from the Ali Brown 31
Ministry of Defense (MOD), and my contact at the University of Ruhuna was informed to start the procedure for gaining MOD clearance. Though initially told to leave the village while clearance was being granted, I managed to talk my way into staying. This allowed me to continue my research, though I was more restricted in both the techniques I could employ and spaces in which I could work. This is fortunate, as strikes in the university and at the ministerial level were on‐going, and as of May 9th and my departure from Sri Lanka I still had not gained formal MOD clearance. This context impacted the methods I was able to employ. I was unable to organize any group interviews, though some did happen spontaneously, unwilling to draw attention to my research or the participants to whom I was grateful for sharing their time. I was also unable to visit the area where women caught prawns, as the navy had restricted my access to land outside the village. Community mapping had also been an ideal goal for my research, but after several attempts at having informants map the community, I found that few had a spatial understanding of the village, and as such it was more useful to talk about space and place and to let them describe to me their village. Ali Brown 32
Chapters Four through Seven: Empirical Analysis and Critical Realist Interpretations of Outcomes In the following chapters I will present data accumulated conducting research in January to April of 2012, using additional sources and citations whenever necessary. First the current forms of capitals in livelihoods strategies will be presented, to give the reader an understanding of the empirical reality of the daily lives of women in a small, post‐war fishing village. The livelihoods approach also allows for an understanding of the social welfare aspect of human security, albeit more elaborate perhaps. Following elaboration on livelihood assets and strategies will be a discussion on institutions in Illupaikkadavai and Anthoniyarpuram, which includes the social and political capital aspects of the framework. Human security will be outlined next, with a focus on the perceptions of physical and mental safety. The last empirical chapter will deal with the spatial interactions between institutions and perceptions of human security, specifically focusing on the impacts of these on livelihood strategy choice and the natural resource base. Chapter Four: Empirical Outcomes: Livelihoods In this chapter I will give a detailed description of the livelihood strategies being employed in Illupaikkadavai and Anthoniyarpuram. This will address various types of assets present or absent in the community and strategies employed in daily life for both income and non‐income generating activities and market locations. Institutional influences and perceptions of humans’ security are also crucial components on livelihoods, especially in a traditional and post‐war community, and as such these will be expanded upon in great depth in the following chapters. In total, forty women were interviewed and all responses in the following sections are given based on n=40 unless otherwise noted. Chart 4.1: Basic statistics of informants Age Education Mean 40.7 Minimum Maximum 23 77 7th Standard None
Advanced Level Income (Weekly) Household with Male Head (N=28) 3230,92 Income (Weekly) Woman Only Debt Income Expenses Debt15 16
FHH (Weekly) (Weekly)14 All Respondents FHH Only (N=12) 921.59
1369.44
542.11
150,711.74 61,360
1200 8000 75
2500
75
2500
200
1000
1600 477,000 1600
155,00017
14
Expenses reported refer mostly to food consumption and do not include loan repayment, children’s school fees, or medical expenses, among others. 15
Debt is calculated based on entire household debt load rather than on debt load of the female as such economic ties are considered mutual, and loans taken out by women are not necessarily for their own purpose but often times for husbands. Only two of the women in traditional household configurations, for a total of 7%, reported having no debt load for the family. 16
Three out of twelve, or 25% of FHH respondents had no debts, however this is caused by a lack of access to credit giving institutions combined with a lack of collateral and social capital. 17
N=40, except for Women’s weekly income, where only 22 reported earnings. FHH earnings and debts were based on twelve respondents, with nine out of twelve women participating in IGAs and having debt loads. Only one respondent without a debt load participated in IGA: Sarajini. Ali Brown 33
Human Capital Human capital is defined by the ability to carry out work and is influenced by health and levels of occupational training and education. The women interviewed ranged in age from 23 years to 77, with the total average of 40.7 years. Eight of these women reported having health problems, particularly the older women, and three of these women’s health problems were related to a war‐
time incident from being caught in a bomb blast or in the crossfire of a bullet. In many instances shrapnel from an exploding bomb was lodged in their bodies in such a way that made it nearly impossible to remove, and as such created chronic pain or problems for the respondents and limited their ability to do hard manual labor for long periods of time. Elderly respondents most often cited rheumatism, poor eyesight and back problems as their main medical concerns. Back problems were common among all ages, most likely due to the nature of women’s daily activities, which usually required stooping over to cut vegetables or fish, clean clothing, and wash dishes. Education levels in Illupaikkadavai and Anthoniyarpuram varied. In the education system, children are legally supposed to be enrolled in school until grade nine or the age of fourteen (UNESCO 2011). They complete nine years of standard grade education and then can go on to take Ordinary Levels and then Advanced Levels, each two years in length, usually completing Advanced Levels by the age of 18 or 19, at which time they are able to enroll in a university. During studies for Advanced Levels, students are allowed to select specific courses that would be relevant for their choice of career. Before the outset of the war, Sri Lanka excelled in educational standards when compared to its regional counterparts (de Silva 1997). As the fighting intensified, many students were unable to attend schools because of forced migration, parental fears of safety, or lack of teachers. No respondents had university educations, and only one had completed Advanced Levels of education, and she was a teacher at the local nursery school with ambitions to take up work in the government sector in the near future. The two respondents with no formal education were also two of the oldest, and of the respondents under the age of 40, nearly fifty percent had an education of 10th standard or above. Though there were few that were highly educated, there were few jobs in the area that required it. Working with an NGO did not necessarily require an education higher than O/L and sometimes not even that. Teachers generally had educations of at least O/L and often A/L or advanced certificate courses run through the university. Vocational training for women in the village is limited, focusing primarily on practices that are employed in the household, and therefore are not formally taught but rather acquired over time, with the exception of sewing. Fish and palmyrah root drying are done in the home and are generally considered common knowledge; women not engaged in these activities still possess the knowledge to do so. The same is true for women participating in goat or chicken rearing. Women with sewing skills had often taken basic sewing and tailoring courses through teachers in nearby Mannar town. Women with small stores had a notable lack of business knowledge, particularly regarding marketing and pricing of items. There is an overabundance of small stores in the village, as NGOs have utilized stores as a tool for female livelihood improvement, focusing primarily on FHH. Unfortunately, these NGOs have largely failed to give proper advice on how to market and sell items, and as such it is commonplace to see women purchasing a kilogram of sugar from the main store for 100 Rs. and selling it at their small store for a one or two rupee profit. Though there is an abundance of palmyrah trees in the community, from which many products can be derived, the trees are underutilized; there is no palmyrah‐based artisanry in the community. This could be attributed to a Ali Brown 34
lack of knowledge and a caste‐based divide. Home gardening is also an option available for generating income and the knowledge to do so is known by most women in the village. Such training is also readily available through NGOs working in the village. Financial Capital Financial capital encompasses earnings and expenses, debts and insurance options. Of the forty women interviewed, twelve are classified as being in a de facto, de juro or quasi‐ female headed household. These women are either widowed (de juro), their husbands have left them at some point during or after the war period (de facto), or have husbands that will leave them for intermittent periods of time (quasi‐). De facto female headed households is an endemic problem in the Tamil areas, where long periods of time spent in welfare camps by men who were either in or suspected of being in the LTTE, damaged family ties with spouses from before the welfare camp period. Men are the primary income generators and it is seldom that a woman can earn the same amount as a man. Aside from this, it is not favorable that a woman work outside of the home, thus limiting her earning potential. Respondents were questioned on both their households earning potentials and their individual potentials18. Fifty two percent of respondents participated in some form of income generating activity (IGA). Of the twelve WHH, eight participated in IGAs. Two of the four that did not were elderly and unable to work because of poor eyesight or other health related problems; their only source of income is a 250 Rs per month stipend from the government for widows and whatever money or food their children could provide for them. Another woman did not participate in an IGA because she was awaiting her husband’s return in the near future from the rehabilitation camp and as such was relying upon familial support. The last woman who did not participate in an IGA was being supported by her father, a widower, and she was unable to work as she was in charge of taking care of household duties and childcare. As shown in chart 4.1, women’s incomes are much lower than those of the man in the community, which illustrates the limited earning potentials for women in Illupaikkadavai and Anthoniyarpuram The highest paid jobs which require no formal education center around either labor work at the crab factory, in goat rearing or in prawn catching. Goat rearing has the potential for high payoffs, but the flow of money is seasonal and involves risk in losing goats by death or theft. Prawn catching and other sea resources women rely upon were highly valuable but subject to the pass system and as such were not consistent. The crab factory pays 100 Rs per kilo of crab meat processed, with most women averaging three to four kilo per day, and working an average of three or four days a week and averages 7000‐9000 per month. A small, four person factory working in production of tooth cleaning powder is also present in the community, however employment revolves around nepotistic ties and as such only family members are employed there. Employees here earn 400 per day working, but have a maximum of three working days per week, and pay is often withheld in lieu of money given or services rendered by the owner, a male relative. 18
In general, many incomes were underreported. As Ruwanpura and Humphries (2004) also note, at times poor households have incentives to underestimate incomes in order to gain access to social benefits. Ali Brown 35
Table 4.2: IGAs of Respondents (N=23) Occupation Respondents Participating19 8 2 2 2 2 4 Dry Fish Tailoring Palmyrah Processing Crab Factory Tooth Powder Factory Small Store Poultry/Eggs 9 Occupation Goat Rearing Prawn Catching Teacher Firewood Collection Gardening Women participating multiple IGAs Respondents Participating 1 2 1 1 2 in 11 Main expenses revolve around food costs, kerosene for lamps, medical expenses, transport, educational materials for children, soap, loans and alcohol. When asked if any money earned by the household went to non‐necessary items, 25% stated some money went to alcohol expenses, another 15% cited lottery tickets as an expense, and nearly all respondents with outstanding loans claimed a large portion of their income goes towards repayments of loans. Of the money spent repaying loans, informants often cite problems with interest rates, often times paying weekly or monthly only enough to cover the interest rates, thereby never touching upon the principle balance. Problematizing this, loan repayments were generally only paying off the interest and seldom were informants able to repay the principle loan amount on a regular basis. Chart 4.1: Number of respondents lending from the various lending institutions available to villagers. 20,21 Debts to various lenders are commonplace, with 85% of respondents reporting that their household had some form of debt. The main lenders are formal banks in Mannar, smaller pawn stores in Mannar, CBOs within the community, the village moneylender, family members and local stores. The average debt load for respondents is approximately 150,000 Rs 19
Total 23 respondents participating in IGA. Though only one respondent cited family member as a source of lending, it is commonplace and I expect that in reality this number is quite high, if not equal to the number of people lending from the village moneylender. 21
Many respondents had loans from multiple sources and for this reason N is higher than total number of interviewees. 20
Ali Brown 36
(See: graph 4.1). In order to obtain debt loads of this magnitude people often have loans from multiple sources and would need to put up collateral, generally in the form of women’s gold jewelry, in order to have access to formal lending or pawn stores. Furthermore, during the conflict, many women either lost jewelry in the process of fleeing conflict or sold it to procure food, medicine and other necessary items. Thus, whatever is left or procured after the war by way of jewelry does not mean that it is solely the women’s property. Even women with husbands have their property sold, pawned or set as collateral before the property of men, though it is of note that most of the property men own of value are necessary in generating income. WHH had more limited access to lending institutions, with the average debt load being 61,360 per person and with 25% of FHH having no formal loans, as compared to the aggregate total of 7% for women with husbands. All three FHH respondents without debts exhibited extreme poverty, with no access to collateral, as well as weakened social capital. This social capital is necessary, as even taking a loan from a CBO necessitates a signatory guarantee from another party, who would have to repay the loan in case of default. Insurance against house damage, fishing net or boat damage or loss, or crop loss is low in the community. Small loans can be taken out from the FCS, RDS, WRDS, or the Farmers’ Cooperative in cases of emergency, however the lending practices with these CBOs largely involve a revolving loan fund in which members can take out loans only at designated times when money becomes available to the organization. Community members do also aide in alleviating money tensions whenever possible, and the village moneylender often acts as the emergency loan giver. There are no instances of saving or formal insurance in the community, with the exception of one family who has rented a combine rice harvester, who took out insurance on it as part of the rental contract. This harvester was rented by one family and rented out to the paddy farmers in the village during harvest season. Physical Assets The three components of physical capital or assets are transportation, infrastructure and livelihood tools. The village of Illupaikkadavai lies 47 kilometers from the regional capital, Mannar town. Access to Mannar can be made either by public bus or by private motor bike or three wheeler. The ride takes costs 85 Rs. and takes one to one and a half hours, depending upon the road and bus condition as well as the hunger, religion, and mood of the driver.22 Buses generally run every hour and a half, the first bus leaving Illupaikkadavai to Mannar at 7:30am and last one leaving around 17:30, with the occasional bus stopping through at 19:30. Buses headed towards Jaffna, a three to four hour ride away, leave from Illupaikkadavai every hour and a half starting at 0900 and ending at 1830. If a family owns a motor bike they can ride to neighboring villages or Mannar town, however the driver must have a valid driver’s license to go to Mannar town, as there is a checkpoint where all driver’s license numbers and vehicle license plate numbers are recorded. All passengers at this checkpoint also must have a helmet23. There are three, three‐wheeled vehicles present in the 22
Drivers’ religious preferences impact time of transport as there are frequent small road‐side shrines which the bus will stop at in order to donate a small sum of money and pray. Hunger also impacts the drivers as some will drive for hours without stopping while others stop once every hour or two for tea or snacks. 23
Many will ride without helmets, even in the larger towns, however they run the risk of being ticketed by the ever‐present police patrols. Oddly enough, at least in practice in Mannar town, small children are not required to wear helmets, and as such it is not uncommon to see a family of four riding on one small motorbike. Ali Brown 37
village, however they are often out of commission and drivers are unwilling to take them near or past army bases because they do not have a driver’s license. For this reason, they are seldom seen in the community. If they did go to Mannar, the trip would cost 2,000 to 2,500 Rs, or to put it in perspective, about a week’s worth of income for most families. For medical care, many families need to go to Vavuniya to the main regional hospital, and this trip will cost 200 Rs one way per person, thus even necessary trips to seek medical care can cost a good portion of a week’s salary, especially because seldom does the patient go alone. The infrastructure of the village is typical of the region, though rapidly changing. All roads are either dirt or sand based, and nearly one‐third of the houses in the village are only accessible by footpath. The main Jaffna‐Mannar road is in very poor condition and though crews are working to repair it, progress is slow. Vehicles must take extra caution on this road to avoid the large and frequent potholes. There is no running water. Water bowsers arrive every other day, replenishing public and private tanks as necessary. Purchasing water through the public tanks costs 4 Rs. per 2.5 gallon Graph 4.2: Housing types. Note: Green=Temporary, Yellow= Permanent bucket. Filling a private tank costs 400‐450 Rs, depending on size, and needs to be refilled by most families once a week. Though there are many public wells in the community, only three are potable. The rest are damaged or in disrepair from the war time and have either brackish or salinized water. Several families have their own private wells that have potable water, but do not allow non‐family members to draw from it. There is currently a water project underway by OXFAM, which would give access to at least two water taps from a large water tank being built in nearby Vidathalthivu. This is scheduled to be completed before the end of 2012, however is quite possibly fraught with logistical problems. This tank is over 15 km away and the buried tubes pass through many rice paddy fields, leaving them vulnerable to illegal tapping for rice production during unseasonably dry periods. There is no electrical current in Illupaikkadavai or Anthoniyarpuram, though the GoSL is in the process of installing power lines along the Jaffna‐Mannar road. If all goes according to schedule the power lines will be connected and running by the end of 2012, however many houses in the village are not currently equipped to utilize an electric current. Some houses have small solar panels to charge flashlights and cell phones during the day, and of these some have a small car battery where they are able to store current and power light bulbs at night. The most common type of houses in the village are temporary shelters donated by NGOs and other Aid organizations after the end of displacement in 2009 and 2010 (See Graph 4.2). Though these houses are meant to house people for a maximum of six months, most are still used as the primary house. Many of these are now suffering from long‐term use and water damage and are in need of Ali Brown 38
repair. Other housing types include houses made of palmyrah and palm leaves with a wooden infrastructure, some with tin roofs. Several families have utilized the ruins of older houses and placed tin sheets over parts of the house to serve as housing. Only four houses with cement walls and properly built tin or clay tile roofing exist in the village, all of which were repaired and rebuilt following the war. Those families with temporary shelters state that they are waiting for a governmental housing scheme to come and give money and materials to rebuild their houses with cement walls and a tin roof, however it is unknown when or if this will happen. Women’s livelihood tools are often owned within the house. Most of the women’s activities require no additional tools for livelihood activities; most activities utilize a knife and the heat of the sun. Odiyal, or palmyrah roots, are generally harvested in the yard area or in common land areas. Women who dry fish are reliant upon a male fisherman in the family for procuring fish. Salt is required for drying fish and is purchased in Mannar town. Some women are tailors and therefore require access to a sewing machine. Home gardening requires ready access to water, and as few women have free access to potable water an extra expense is added to the production of vegetables. Chickens and goats are most often procured through NGOs, though they can also be purchased either locally or through vendors in Mannar. Goats are sold in other parts of the island where a larger population of Muslims reside. These goats are purchased directly from the home and transported by a third party. Natural Capital Natural capital revolves around the presence of natural resources available, and in the case of Illupaikkadavai and Anthoniyarpuram are significantly impacted by a presence of military and navy personnel in the villages. As most of the IGAs present in the community involve primary resource utilization, there is a high impact on natural resources in the community. Fish, palmyrah, prawns, firewood, and water are the most utilized resources in the area. The access to these is common to all villagers, with the exception of sea‐based activities as the Navy has imposed a pass‐system for fishermen and women. Access to sea resources, particularly for women, is restricted due to its distance from the village, the proximity to naval bases and via the pass system. Naval bases range in size from two person outpost to larger, fifty person camps. The common forest areas where firewood is procured is affected by the large military and navy presence and as such is not as utilized as one would expect. The exact nature and impacts of the pass‐system and access to forest areas will be expanded upon in the chapters on institutions and human security. Map 4.1 is a visualization of the resource areas located near the community but outside of the home area. It is of note that there are resources available within the community and housing area, but for both men and women these resources are generally not enough and therefore they must seek resources for income generation outside the village proper. Furthermore, there are few common areas inside of the village, and the areas where there are common areas there are few resources to be used; such common areas are manifest in community centers and recreation fields. Ali Brown 39
Nine families in the survey reported cultivating rice, but two had no harvest in the past season because of flooding. Another two reported having paddy land but did not declare that they were utilizing it. No widows have paddy land and only one woman interviewed worked as labor in paddy land; it is a largely male‐
dominated activity. Ten Map 4.1: Areas of natural resources women reported having a outside of the village. home garden, and another nine reported having been given seedlings to start a home garden, however these died or were discontinued because of lack of access to and expense of water. The main source for drinking water for the community is via water bowser. Over 55% of respondents receive water through either a private or public water tank, and an additional 27.5% both pay for water through a public tank and carry water from a public well. Only 15% of respondents cited private or public wells as the sole source of drinking water for their family. Water for washing clothes and house cleaning generally comes from the freshwater ponds in the community, or in some places from wells that contain non‐
potable water. The community has many wells in it, but during the course of the war many fell into disrepair or were damaged and therefore cannot be utilized for drinking. The palmyrah tree has many uses, however it is underutilized in the community. The main uses present in Illupaikkadavai and Anthoniyarpuram are the drying of the root, called odiyal, tapping of the sap to make toddy, an alcoholic drink, and the use of leaves as fence covering and housing materials. Its uses could be expanded to artinsanry work utilizing leaves, creation of other edible products through utilization of the sap, use of the wood in construction materials, use of fibers for broom making, among others (Lim 2012). Ali Brown 40
Strategies for Income Generation As touched upon previously, there are limited opportunities in income generation activities for women in Northern Sri Lanka. Because of institutional biases, a majority of the opportunities for such activities are home‐based, and those that are outside the home are limited and carry a social stigma. While the causes of these biases and stigmas will be covered in the following chapters, the empirical, “who does what” will be covered here. Half of the women reporting being active in an IGA participate in dry fish production. This is reliant upon having a male member of the family, usually husband or son, who is an active fisherman, therefore this activity is often restricted to women in standard household configurations with a male head. Fish will be caught on the beach and then carried by foot, push bike or motor bike to the home area, where the women will gut the fish, cover them in salt, and set them in the sun to dry. Crows are a common nuisance to the endeavor of drying fish, and so old fishing nets are used as covers held up by sticks to prevent the crow from snatching the drying fish. Another common activity is the processing of the palmyrah root, or odiyal, to eat or sell as snacks. This off white, tasteless root must first be dug up from the ground, then cleaned and have the skin removed before it can be dried. Depending upon the quality of the root and the drying process, these snacks can fetch between 250‐400 Rs per kilo if sold in Mannar. Generally near the house, inside a fenced off area, the palmyrah roots grow readily and so cultivation takes place entirely within the home area. Because of the large presence of NGOs working in the area, many women have been able to open small stores, selling anything from tea to sugar, rice, soap and other small basic necessities. A majority of these stores have been placed along the road side outside the house of the woman running it, and in this way the store owners are able to stay in the home area to complete their daily tasks whilst tending on the occasional customer. Three of the fifteen small stores in the town are located outside the home area, near areas of high traffic, like along the road and next to the school. Because of the large numbers of stores, relationships with customers are generally nepotistic, with some women walking from their home, past three other stores, to reach the store of a sister or cousin to patronize. Unfortunately, there is a lack of business knowledge being taught with the donation of funds for starting a store, and so their profits are marginal, many women purchasing small quantities of items from other stores in town to sell at their own store for a one or two rupee profit. Once supplies run low, oftentimes the overhead money has been spent on daily living expenses and therefore the women must wait until they can either get a loan or procure money some other way to restock the store. In this way, many of the stores can go weeks or months at a time without opening because they have no supplies to sell. Furthermore, because the strategies of Ali Brown 41
NGOs have been to focus on FHH, many of the women may not have direct access to loans to restock the store if there is a lack of collateral or social capital. Home gardening has been widely focused upon by NGOs as a livelihoods strategy, if only to reduce household expenses for food. Unfortunately, because of the lack and expense of water, only half of women carry out vegetable production for more than one season, thus illustrating an attempt by NGOs to aid the community without realizing the barriers to functionality of such a program. Depending upon the size of a garden, women may need one or more 2.5 gallon buckets to water their gardens daily, and when costed at 4 Rs per bucket this price quickly adds up and becomes preventative. Those women who do continue with home gardening sometimes coordinate with small store owners to sell their goods. Most women with home gardens, however, sell any excess vegetables not for their own consumption directly to neighbors or relatives. Most frequently grown items include: bananas, groundnuts, papaya, chilies, eggplant, tomatoes, okra, snake gourd, bitter gourd, green beans, and cassava. Another focus of NGOs is the rearing of chickens for egg production. In walking around the villages, it is a common sight to see chickens crossing the paths, and often one can find chickens belonging to a neighbor in their own yard. These chickens are taken care of by the women and eggs not consumed by the family can be sold to local small stores or to neighbors for 15‐20 Rs per egg. Over 67% of respondents had chickens, with an average number of 14 chickens, which would allow for the sale of approximately 10 to 15 eggs per week. As of now there are no homes in Illupaikkadavai or Anthoniyarpuram who raise broiler chickens. The final home‐based activity is sewing. Sewing machines in the village must be foot‐powered because of scarcity of electric current and a new one can cost around 25,000 Rs. Some women have been given sewing machines and lessons by NGOs while others have taken out small loans to procure them. Still another handful of women would like to take classes and earn money making dresses, however with no access to a sewing machine and the expense of procuring one is preventative for most women to engage in this activity. Outside the home several women participate in prawn catching. The area used for prawn catching lies six kilometers by foot outside the village and so a group of women will leave the community around 9am, after the children have gone off to school, and walk to the river mouth only to return at 4pm. If all goes well they can sell up to three kilo of prawns for the day, totaling 1500 Rs profit. More likely, they will catch one to one and a half kilo, saving half of the catch for home consumption. While this is much more money than most women would earn in home based activities, it comes with a price. There is high interaction with the navy in going to the prawn catchment area, and a pass is generally required. This pass costs 700 Rs per year, however sometimes bribes are required of the navy men in order to pass. Women heading a household are most commonly the prawn catchers, though some married and younger, unmarried women participate as well. The limitations to this IGA will be discussed in greater detail later on. Ali Brown 42
Text Box 4.1 Illupaikkadavai Crab Factory Opened in April of 2011, the Illupaikkadavai Crab Factory is the main employer for women in the community. Originally requested by the WRDS through the UNHCR, here women can find daily work processing crabs, which will then be taken to its larger counterpart factory in nearby Mannar town, to be packaged and sold elsewhere. Only women are allowed to enter or work in the crab factory and it runs six and sometimes seven days a week. Of the twenty‐seven women employed here, nine are young and unmarried, four have husbands, and the remaining 12 are women without husbands. The company offers benefits in the form of free tea, water, and transportation reimbursement. There is a three‐day training period during which women are paid a 300 Rs flat rate for job training. Payment for labor is monthly. During the research period, many of the women heading a household in Illupaikkadavai could be found at the crab factory during the weekdays. Salary work at the crab factory is also an option available to all women, regardless of education levels. Next to the police station, in a now unused paddy cultivation board building, sits the Illupaikkadavai crab factory. Here only women are employed, and they can work as many hours as they like, up to seven days a week. Pay is based on productivity, earning 100 Rs per kilo of crab meat processed. In order to process one kilo of crab meat nearly five kilo of whole crabs must be broken down using small knives and fingers to extract all of the meat. Groups of four to five women work in teams here, each one working on a specific part of the crab processing. (See box 1.1) This factory has the highest concentration of female workers in the village, and though it offers a viable option for employment, it is sometimes referred to as the “last and only option” or “better than nothing.” The demanding hours and reputation derived from working long hours takes a toll on many women. Nearly half of the employees working there were WHH, the rest mostly being young, unmarried women working to support their family. Firewood collection for sale, though uncommon, is practiced by some women in the community in times of duress. It is the least favorable work as it involves large periods of time in the unseen areas near the army camps collecting wood. Many women are wary of the presence of the army, and for this reason try and go in small groups of five to ten women to collect firewood, and a majority of these women were heading their own household. Most women with husbands rely upon their spouse to procure the wood. Sarajini, from the beginning of this thesis, was able to sell a bundle for 200 Rs, and could gather enough wood to supply herself and sell two bundles in a week, she generally did not like doing it as it made her feel unsafe. When discussing what future IGAs women would like to engage in, the main responses were goat rearing, tailoring, sea cucumber and prawn catching, and beginning a small store, as they were seen as either the most lucrative (goats and prawn catching) or ones that could be performed inside of the house (small stores and tailoring). This indicates that many women would like to do other things to earn an income. All of the respondents who desired to participate in the most lucrative IGAs were married women with low family incomes. Women heading a household reported that they wanted to expand or begin new home‐based IGAs. Prohibitive reasons for not undertaking IGAs at present Ali Brown 43
were almost unilaterally because of lack of start‐up capital; they would wait until an NGO gave them the items desired. Several women, however, reported that they could not undertake specific activities because their husbands would not allow them to. Daily Activities Aside from income generation activities, women are expected to maintain the household. A typical schedule can be seen below (See: tables 4.3 and 4.4). Though men awake early to go fishing, women usually start their days around 5:30 in the morning, making tea and getting the children ready for school. She will either make breakfast at home or send the children to school half an hour early so that they may eat there. For each school in the area, there are two families that take turns preparing food for the children. These women who cook for the children indicated that they receive no compensation other than the food that is given to them by the schools for meal preparations. Once the children have left for school, the house and the yard will be swept and any dishes cleaned. If water is not available through a private tank or well on the property, they will make the several journeys to a water source, public tank or well, to get the days’ supply for food, drinking and cleaning purposes. During this time ambulatory vendors on bicycles go through the neighborhood selling vegetables to the women. Any additional supplies necessary for the meal preparations or cleaning necessities will be purchased at one of the many local stores, with a preference of patronizing a store owned by a relative, especially in times when money is not readily available and they can get supplies on credit to be paid later. Lunch preparations begin around eleven in the morning. As access and cost of kerosene or propane is prohibitive, meals are prepared over a fire and as such generally take two or three hours to cook the rice and curries. Most meals come with two or more curries and either a red or white rice for lunch. The children will arrive home from school between one and three; younger children’s school day will end at 12:30 while the older ones finish at 2:30. Around this time the husband will appear after spending the morning fishing and on the beach. Once they have eaten lunch, the dishes will be cleaned and if fish is available to be dried, these will then be processed and laid out in the sun. Mid‐
afternoon is usually cleaning time for clothing, and there are two major ponds where this takes place. It is not uncommon to see both men and women there, men bathing and women washing clothes and bathing, then helping each other bring the heavy, water‐laden clothes back to the home for line drying. During this time, children can often be found at relatives or neighbors houses playing or starting work on homework. By the early evening, drying fish and palmyrah is brought inside to await the next day’s sun and children will sit down to complete their lessons or work on additional lessons out of small books purchased in Mannar town. The evening tea is prepared and many families sit around discussing the day’s events or upcoming plans. During my stay children from the surrounding households would come to my host families’ house to practice English words, writing and speaking. By seven or eight pm, dinner would be prepared, often leftover curries from the lunch, so the only cooking would be making roti, string hoppers or pitthu (rice flower prepared and mixed with raw coconut). Dinner would conclude the day’s events, children are sent to bed and adults may stay awake until 9 or 10 pm, talking, listening to the radio or reading the newspaper or Bible. Ali Brown 44
Any free time during the day is either spent making small repairs on the house and fence, preparing palmyrah, feeding chickens, tending gardens, or talking with neighbors and family. Women who work outside the home are expected to complete all of the tasks in maintaining the house, including cooking, cleaning, washing laundry, and working with children on homework and as such these women have longer days, often waking at 4am to prepare all of the day’s food before setting off to work. Table 4.3: Below is a general timeline of daily activities for a woman in a male‐headed household.24 Time 0300 0530 0700 0715 0900 1030 1100 1130‐
1300 1300 1330 1430 1530 1630 1700 1900 2000 2030 2100 2130 Activity Husband leaves house to fish Woman rises, makes tea, prepares her two children for school Sends children to school, they walk on their own Sweeps the house and yard, cleans dishes from previous nights’ dinner, feed chickens and collect eggs Fetch water for lunch preparations, drinking and cleaning for the day, water garden Purchase any additional items from local store for lunch Begin lunch preparations Husband arrives home, begins to prepare fish for drying, if available Children return home from school Serve lunch to children and husband Clean dishes, finish gutting fish Take dirty clothing to pond for washing; bathing and washing hair Return, hang clothes on line to dry, bathe children Begin cleaning and processing palmyrah, if available; help children with homework Prepare dinner Eat dinner Put out mats and mosquito nets; send children to bed Chat with husband and family, listen to radio Bedtime The daily activities of FHH are slightly different. Below is the time schedule for one woman, however as the IGAs are different for each person and require different time frames, it is difficult to generalize the routine across many women. As most WHH work only two to four days per week, daily schedules vary greatly, below is an example of one WHH on a working day. Non‐working days are more similar to the ‘traditional’ schedule, with more time spent outside the home in procuring food, firewood, water and washing clothes. As such these activities take place not on a daily basis as is often the case with women with husbands. Thus, women heading a household generally have much greater time spent outside the house and are often forced to work long hours and get little sleep. On days when they are not working the workload they have to complete in order to be able to work is much higher than their married counterparts, and they have less free time. 24
Source, Tables 4.3 and 4.4: Collected during research, however with limited samples; five women were shadowed in total, three women had husbands present and the other two did not (WHH). Ali Brown 45
Table 4.4: Daily activity timeline of a woman heading a household. Time 0330 0530 0700 0800 0930 1630 1700 1800 1930 2000 2100 Activity Awake and begin preparing both lunch and breakfast Feed chickens and water garden Awake children, bathe and clothe them and prepare them for school Lay out palmyrah roots for drying in the sun Feed children breakfast and send them off to school Store lunch food for children in the kitchen, wash dishes, sweep yard and house Depart home for Prawn‐Catching area Return home, sell prawns to local buyer Clean up dishes from children’s lunch, start the children on homework Collect items drying in the sun (clothing, Palmyrah roots) Go to store to stock up for next days’ meals If available, begin processing Palmyrah chutes for drying Prepare light dinner, usually leftover lunch (if available) Put children to bed Light mending on clothing, reading from the Bible or listening to radio Bed Markets Places where items can be bought or sold in the community are readily available, however as discussed earlier many of the women’s livelihood activities taking place in the community are negotiated within the home space, from production to sales. Map 4.2 (below) shows the locations of stores in the community, where daily items are purchased. Of the small stores, well over half are located at the edge of the house area and as such women working do not actually leave their house to conduct their daily business. This also allows Map 4.2: Locations of stores them to conduct their and exchange in Illupaikkadavai and daily chores in times Anthoniyarpuram. when there are no customers. In general, all items sold at these stores are purchased elsewhere, in Mannar or larger stores in Illupaikkadavai, with the exception of some vegetables grown locally which are sold in several of the stores. Otherwise all sales of items are made from within the house area. Ambulatory vendors also visit the village with regularity. Ali Brown 46
Vegetable sellers on bicycles come around almost daily, large trucks selling chairs, tables and mattresses monthly, and ice cream and ice (for fish preservation) trucks or motorbikes daily. Summary The women interviewed had relatively low levels of education, however in an area where there are few jobs for the educated it is not seen as an impediment. That said, there is an emphasis on children’s education at present, in order to provide more mobility and job opportunities in the future. Skills or training necessary for IGAs are largely taught through childhood, with mothers passing the knowledge down informally to daughters. The primary exception of this being sewing, which is learned through course work taught elsewhere. Many women are engaging in IGAs, however in addition to these activities are expected to maintain the house, a husband (if present), and children. Though many prefer to stay within the house and yard in order to engage in IGAs, many simply do not have that option, particularly the women heading their own households. This creates a very busy schedule for women, waking early and staying up late. Compounding this, women earn significantly less than men on average. In the case of FHH, this puts a larger strain on extended family and social networks, which work to support the woman and her family. Opportunities for income generation come in the form of animal husbandry, prawn catching or fish drying, odiyal processing, sewing, and store keeping. Access to credit is available, however in smaller amounts and requires collateral or social capital and as such some women remain outside the sphere of being able to take out microloans. Impacts on the environment of these opportunities range from stock depletion in ocean resources to deforestation, however at present the effects of war on the surrounding environments is more apparent than the damage caused through daily livelihoods acquisition. Of note is that the Palmyrah tree has not been utilized to its potential in providing income generating activities for women. Palmyrah artisanry is not a known technique in the community and training would be met with resistance as it is seen as ‘lower caste.’ Water is also a big problem; access to it either requires purchasing it from a water tank or walking up to a kilometer to fetch it from the well, thus further constraining the available income for food procurement, education expenses, savings and asset procurement. The lack of water also limits the viability of home gardening projects implemented by NGOs in the area. Ali Brown 47
Chapter Five: Institutions in a Traditional Sri Lankan Fishing Village In order to understand the opportunities available to women and the livelihood strategies employed, it is necessary to understand the nature of formal and informal institutions at work in the village. In this section, I will address the cultural, governmental and aid organization impacts and interactions at the village level. Social Capital Social capital is here seen as the ability for a person to rely upon their family, friends and community to cope, particularly in times of stress. In the context of Illupaikkadavai and Anthoniyarpuram, it can be seen as one of their strongest assets. Traditional family ties are strong, and women heading households in particular rely upon these ties in order to cope with the lack of financial security. The presence of family gives these women the ability to participate in income generation through nepotistic ties, and these families also help to financially support their households, either through direct gifts of currency, housing or commodities as well as jobs, such as the case of the tooth powder factory and women engaging in fish drying. For some women, non‐sanguine kinship formation has occurred, particularly in the newly formed section of Illupaikkadavai. In this area, there is a disproportionately larger population of FHH, due to relocation. Many of these women have formed bonds and help support each other both financially and logistically; an elderly female neighbor will often look after ones’ children while their mother is working. It is more crucial for the women heading a household to have a high level of social capital, not only in terms of smoothing the curves of time when income streams are available and those when it is not but also in helping with children and daily chores while the mother is working outside the home. For this reason, seeking employment outside of the home poses a dilemma as it can serve to diminish social capital as it imposes a negative stigma upon the woman. In this sense, the non‐sanguine relationships have become strong between widows and other WHH. There are three organizations in the community that have female members. The Fisheries Cooperative Society (FCS) has less than twenty female members and their power within the group is minimal. The Elders association has a higher percentage of females, though it is led by a man. This higher percentage of females could be attributed to longer female life expectancy rates in the country.25 This organization serves to connect members with governmental and non‐governmental agencies that give financial and legal support to the elderly. Finally, the Women’s Rural Development Society (WRDS), is a group of over 80 women who have monthly meetings. Through the WRDS women can have access to small loans through a revolving loan fund, however an additional signatory is required and as such those women with few social ties and poor employment opportunities, the most vulnerable in the community, are less likely to have access to these loans. This is particularly the case for elderly or recently settled women in the villages. Political Capital There is a distinct lack of political capital in Illupaikkadavai and Anthoniyarpuram. Political capital encompasses the ability of people to actively engage the government. They should have the ability 25
According the US Census Bureau (2012), male life expectancy in Sri Lanka is 72.4 whereas female is 79.6, not including impacts of the war on deaths which occur before the individual has reached their life expectancy. Ali Brown 48
to make complaints, seek redress for wrongs, to speak as a voice for the community, to vote and to have a stake in the national government. At present, few women I met, even those with whom I had close connections, would speak of political affiliations. In other Tamil areas in Sri Lanka it is common to see symbols painted on the sides of buildings and fences which declare the political affiliation of the house or community and the candidates they support. In the photos to the right, taken near of Jaffna, pictures of a boat, leaf and house are all symbolize different political parties with the candidate preferred indicated by the number. There were no such signs in Illupaikkadavai or Anthoniyarpuram. In order to have a larger understanding of agency and political capital, women were asked about leaders in their community. Of the 25 that were asked, a third of them responded with “I have no idea” while others could name a leader they had heard of, but had no idea what the leader did or how he or she could help them. Only two of the respondents listed a woman as a community leader. When asked about speaking with the police to report and problems, though many respondents knew the procedures, they stated that they would not go to the police unless absolutely necessary, like reporting a missing person. There were multiple causes of this: 1. the language barrier and finding a trusted person to translate from Tamil to Sinhala, 2. a lack of trust in the police, and a general feeling that they won’t do anything to help, 3. that a Tamil villager’s interactions with the police could be interpreted by the community as an indication that they are a spy working for the government, and 4. depending upon the complaint, the negative social stigma associated with publicly reporting a problem, as in the case of rape. The stigmas associated with reporting to the police, therefore, have the ability to diminish social capital of individuals. Caste Caste has traditionally been a strong determinant of inter‐personal behavior, shaping the ways in which people from different groups interact with each other. Caste is a hierarchical religio‐cultural system that is endogamous and incorporates labor distinctions, geographical location, family histories, and notions of purity or pollution (Thiruchandaran 2006: 13). In the traditional form it also incorporated the political affiliation of each group, however with the introduction of democratic systems, such distinctions have changed (Thiruchandaran 2006; Bailey, 1963) Similar changes have also followed, and in modern day certain caste rules are followed while others broken. The Hindu caste system is still present in Sri Lankan Tamil areas, though in various geographic regions its determinants and distinctions are stronger than others. In Jaffna, for example, caste is still directly spoken of and can still impact the ways in which people must function on a daily bases. For example, there are still places where certain caste people can’t collect water from a well without the aid of another, higher caste person. Tamil Christians follow the caste system, due to its cultural‐historical roots in the region. That said, many Hindus consider the Christians lower caste regardless, as noted by one woman: “why would they become Christian unless they were low‐caste Hindu to begin with?” Ali Brown 49
Of particular significance is that caste systems serve to “govern women’s decorum” (Thiruchandaran 2006: 17). Notions of purity especially impact women in regards to their sexuality, chastity, physical cleanliness, diet, and marriage arrangements and give social status in the community. In Illupaikkadavai and Anthoniyarpuram, though caste exists and everyone knows which caste they are, these relationships are often unspoken, referred to as “silent.” They can impact interactions, insofar that if a person of a higher caste attends a function hosted by a person of lower caste, they will often bring their own food or only eat pre‐packaged food like soda and crackers instead of consuming food prepared by the person of lower caste. Of note, however, is the fact that people of higher caste will attend such functions, and something like this is not uncommon. During an interview with a 60‐year long resident of Anthoniyarpuram, he referred to the caste distinctions prior to the war and how they impacted daily life then, but when asked about these interactions today, he said they were present but subtle. “The war,” as stated by one informant, “has made everyone the same. We have all lost family, we have all [been] displaced, we all ran away from bombs.” In this way, caste distinctions are “silent” and “subtle” and have minor impacts on interactions within the community, but are not nearly as determinant in the ways in which people interact in Illupaikkadavai or Anthoniyarpuram. Caste does have an impact on the professions or IGAs that people engage in. Since caste is traditionally based along lines of profession, certain activities will be seen to be below or above an individual’s caste. These caste distinctions are no longer as rigid and may people who are now fishers in the study villages do not originally come from fishing castes but rather lower castes. That said, there is a distinct lack of enterprise in Palmyrah processing or artinsanry (such as the weaving of leaf fibers to make hats), which could be accounted for by caste, as it is viewed to be the work of someone with a lower caste than the people of Illupaikkadavai and Anthoniyarpuram. Though they do utilize palmyrah in the building of fences, for making snacks and toddy, they do not engage in the wide range of opportunities it offers, including artisanry and utilizing the sap to make other edible goods. When asked why the widely available of palmyrah in the communities is not utilized as much, instead of claiming caste it a caste problem many simply state that they do not know how. However when asked if they would like training to acquire such knowledge, only one of my informants seemed to be interested. Gender Construction, Tamil Patriarchy, and the Spaces of Women The home is seen not just as a building but as a space of identity for women which is a “gendered dimension with cultural representations for female moral virtue, modesty, and social respectability” (Herath 2012: 66). Women are seen as ‘auspicious’ if their lives revolve around the home sphere, and women who seek employment or spend inappropriate amounts outside of the home area are Ali Brown 50
considered ‘inauspicious.’ The terms Kula Makkal is used in Tamil to describe women dedicated to their families (and therefore their homes) and Vēlai Makkal, or “working people,” including childless women, widows or women unmarried with children. The use of the term Vēlai Makkal for women, however carries the connotation of women who are “available for a price.” This is also semantically congruent with terms for “good woman” and “bad woman,” respectively (ibid: 49). Over time this distinction has led to hierarchies amongst women, those bound to the home being religiously and morally virtuous, while those working outside of it to be often referred to as a prostitute, regardless of their occupation or need to seek employment. This is especially pertinent in present day, as nearly one quarter of all Tamil households are headed by women (Department of Census and Statistics‐ Sri Lanka 2001)26. Divorced or widowed women have yet another social bias against them insofar that they often remain unable to remarry, or remarry with great difficulty and in a disadvantaged position, with the exception of widows with no children. Women who are no longer married then become the sole bearers for the welfare of their children indefinitely, with the possible opportunity of financial support coming from her family. Women in younger generations are now more commonly working, but in the aftermath of the war, it seems that the traditional roles of women have remained rigid. The younger women who find salaried positions will seek employment, however once they marry they are expected to give up working to take up the traditional role of housemaker. As one young woman stated: “Though I am engaged, I am not sure that I want to marry. I would have to give up working, and I love my job and working with other people. A respected friend told me ‘you can’t be married and work, so you must choose.’ I don’t know what to do.” Ultimately, this young woman will get married; her marriage date is already set for January 2013. It will be up to both husband and wife if she will continue working once married, though the woman’s preference is not necessarily equally considered. It is not just the young women who want or need to take up work, but the widows and husbandless, de juro and de facto, as well as the average homemaker, whose husband cannot earn enough to support his family. Though many women are seeking employment both in and outside the home, social stigmas still stand around working, though it could be said that they are much less rigid for those women who are able to earn money while working within the home sphere. Because the home is considered the space of the woman, her responsibilities involve childrearing, cooking, cleaning, home repairs, taking care of the chickens and the gardening. A woman heading a household is expected to do all of these things and find income for her family. Ideally she would find this income in the home space, however this is unfortunately seldom a choice for these women. Thus, being a true and virtuous woman in Tamil culture is inextricably linked with the home space. Women who regularly navigate the places outside the home are considered immodest and therefore functioning in such spaces can be seen as amoral. Such spatial distinctions are not the same for men and the outcomes of these differences has dramatic effects on the uses and social constructions of space. With a growing population of FHH in Sri Lanka, and the relatively low availability of home‐ 26
Reliable current census data is unavailable for the Mannar district. In 2001, slightly over 20% of the households island wide were headed by women, however it is expected that this number is significantly higher for the Tamil areas, which were not included in this census. It also does not factor in de facto or quasi female headed households. Ali Brown 51
Ali Brown 52
based IGAs in rural areas for women, it is important to focus research on the interactions of institutions which impede the potentialities for IGA. Such interactions highlight issues and perceptions of human security which allow for a better understanding regarding the outcomes and limitations for FHH. For these reasons, examining the gendered space for women is relevant, particularly in the case of the Sri Lankan Tamils. Women who lead their own household are in even more precarious positions, and particularly those who are de facto household leaders. Ruwanpura and Humphries note (2004: 189) that: “They are constructed as somehow culpable for their troubles. If they had been better wives, they would have not been deserted or their husbands would not have taken to drink.” This follows closely with an offhand comment made by one of my informants, saying that “women must take good care of their husbands and make sure to do everything they are supposed to. If not, they will leave them or go drink.” Following this, it seemed that abuse by husbands to their wives was considered to some extent accepted; several women spoke of spousal abuse openly whereas none would discuss rape. As discussed earlier, accusations of prostitution are abundant, and both men and women make them. It is uncertain how many of the women in the community are actually engaging in prostitution versus being accused of it.. Women in the post‐war villages have been known to sell their bodies to men in the village or local Army or Navy men in order to procure basic necessities like food and water for their families. Still others have been forced into it indirectly; by simply being formally accused of prostitution through the authorities, many women have felt the pressure to offer sex to the officer in charge simply to make the report disappear. Rape in the Tamil context is not seen as a crime involving a victim, but rather as a woman succumbing to a man. It carries deep stigmas that impact societal interactions and social status of the woman. Government In the local setting the GN is in charge of approving all paperwork required by the government and is he also works with local NGOs to provide suggestions for people who would most benefit from interventions strategies. Seen by several respondents as the community leader, he can hold power in determining whether a person gets government land titles, birth certificates, death certificates and more.27 In the study villages, the GN was Tamil in origin, however was from a larger city. He would often not appear for days or weeks at a time in the village. Governmental intervention in the area is high given the post‐conflict situation the region is currently in. This has resulted in large numbers of army and navy bases being placed along the main roads and coast to ensure that there is no resurgence of conflict, to restore order and law, and to control the oceanic and Palk Bay resources. Outposts vary in size, some only having one or two people on duty at any given time, to middle sized, with up to fifty soldiers stationed and living in a given post. Due to the ethnonationalist nature of the conflict, a vast majority of the army and navy are Sinhalese, and the force is almost entirely male. Reactions of and effects of their presence on the local populations is discussed in the Human Security chapter. 27
Birth certificates can be especially problematic as many people fled to India during the conflict. Children born there must obtain a certificate in Sri Lanka of birth, however this can be a long and complicated process. Ali Brown 53
The navy is also in charge of monitoring and controlling those who wish to utilize resources from the Palk bay and do so via the pass system. The pass system requires that all individuals accessing marine resources purchase an annual pass for 700 Rs. This pass does not, however, guarantee access and the navy has the right to restrict passage to whomever they choose, whenever they choose. The navy and army also has the right to claim any property they deem necessary to their purposes, including land, houses and some resources in the community. It is common to see these officers walking or driving through the community requesting fish and asking for the current prices. Unfortunately, at times they more or less take what they want, giving either no or a lesser compensation than the value of the item. This action I refer to as ‘forced gifting.’ Reports of kidnappings are not uncommon in the North, the targets of which are generally pro‐Tamil activists. Community members often attribute these kidnappings to the government, in their so called “white vans.” Because of this, many women were reluctant to discuss matters related directly with the government, or would skew initial answers to make them sound more politically appropriate. After follow up conversations it was found that most of the informants actually felt quite opposite about the government than what they had originally stated in the survey interviews. Women’s Legal Social and Property Rights in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka has progressive laws regarding the rights and roles of women28, however in the patriarchal context of the Tamils, regulation and enforcement of the roles of women remains at the micro level, protecting the interests of the patriarchal structures (Ruwanpura 2006: 7; Agarwal 1994). In the case of female headed households, such institutional biases, focusing on the male headed household, have impacts on women’s access to social welfare, legislation, and particularly on resources for economic modes of production (Ruwanpura 2006: 16). This gives credence to the argument of focusing on the micro level rather than the state to understand the legally pluralistic formations constructing gender roles and women’s rights in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan Tamil women live in a patriarchal society which places a significant value on the woman as the maker and inhabitor of the home (Herath 2012). Patriarchy, here is meant to denote the relative position of the female gender in the societal context, and in Sri Lanka is observed through patrilocality, descent and kinship, women’s sexuality and through ownership arrangements. Ownership arrangements can be observed in the owning of property or through the continued practice of dowries, which require that the family of the female give gifts of money and property to the family of the husband‐to‐be (Thiruchandran 2006). An important aspect of property rights is not the actual ability to own property as much as the ability to control it (Agarwal 1994). As elaborated upon in the section discussing government and rights, women have the legal right to own property, however often is the case that what is hers is only considered hers until it generates or can be used to generate income. As such, Tamil property arrangements can be separated into ‘his’, ‘hers’, or both of theirs. Though some distinctions are evident, some are less so; an animal, for instance, may be the property of the female if she purchased it or was gifted to her, but when it is sold for cash, the money becomes the property of both the husband and wife (Agarwal 1994). Most of the women interviewed did not have direct ownership of their houses, but rather were living in either a common property arrangement with husbands, or if they were WHH, living with family or on land that had 28
For example, Sri Lanka had the first female head of state in 1960. Ali Brown 54
been granted to them through the government in the post‐war period. Articles such as jewelry, much like goats, were considered the women’s property until it was sold or needed to be used as collateral, in which case the income from it would come under control of both husband and wife. In most cases, control of the budget was initially reported to be held by the women interviewed (see graph 4.3). This said, upon further Graph 4.3: Who Controls the Budget? interviewing, it was discovered that some of these women only controlled the budget that they had requested from spouses, therefore any additional income generated in the family that did not fall under direct necessity and the realm of what the female was in charge of taking care of, it was not included in their notions of ‘budget’. Property rights have wide‐ranging effects. Limitations in mobility which follow gender norms can serve to restrict women’s ability to assert property rights and claims and challenge inequalities in law and practice. A wealthy household can wealth can also serve to undermine assertion of property rights. In Tamil culture, social status of women is constructed via ‘female isolation’ insofar as they remain largely inside of the home area during the day, therefore it is only wealthier families in the villages that can afford to have female members stay inside of the home instead of seeking employment elsewhere (Agarwal 1994: 16‐17). Thus women in poorer households may have more control over their property due to increased mobility, but are subject to decreased social status as a result. Aid Organizations Because of the political history of Sri Lanka, both non‐governmental and governmental aide and development agencies have long taken an interest in the country. Since the end of the war, NGO and government development programs in the region are widespread, which has impacted the trajectory and style of development of the village in the post‐war period. Walking into and around the villages, one can see logos of over ten different aid organizations in the community, painted on the side of a new toilet, pinned next to the door of a now aging temporary shelter, on tarps covering those houses whose roof is made of palm leaves. Even children’s backpacks from school bear such logos. Because of this high intervention rate, Illupaikkadavai was commonly referred to me as a “model village” by government workers, including army personnel, in the area. At the same time, residents of Illupaikkadavai and Anthoniyarpuram, see NGO interventions and government aid as necessary and inadequate at the moment. The most common donations from NGOs are temporary shelters, boats, fishing nets, and toilets, though now aide is focusing largely on women, providing goats, chickens, small stores and home gardens to many women in these villages. In discussing NGO and Government intervention strategies with the villagers, many indicated not Ali Brown 55
only that they had received aide from multiple sources, but that they expected to receive more; in forms of formal housing structures to smaller donations of chickens. Though aid was necessary in the post‐war period, it has now transformed into a prerequisite for personal investment in future enterprises for these women. Over half of the women, when asked if they had any plans for future IGAs and when they planned on implementing them, stated that they would start as soon as they were given the materials, even if they had access to sufficient amounts of money or access to loans to undertake these activities.29 Furthermore, though the focus on women has been taken, NGOs have given preference to women who are de juro heads of households and therefore de facto, and especially quasi‐female headed households do not receive as much attention. All de juro WHH had received either a small store, goats, or a sewing machine, whereas nearly all de facto and quasi‐WHH received little more than their married counterparts. Non de juro WHH and married women received chickens and home gardens, which are much cheaper than goats, stores or sewing machines. Another NGO program started was the opening of a new bakery donated by JICA, accompanied by a three day training course for eighteen women in how to bake the various items. Unfortunately this bakery, which was geared towards aiding in women’s employment opportunities, only has three workers at present. When building the structure, JICA gave the ownership of it to the FCS in Illupaikkadavai instead of the Women’s Rural Development Society, which caused many women to be excluded from the opportunity to work there. The bakers present now are all related to the president of the FCS. Through the bakery, gardens and small stores that have all been implemented by NGOs in the community, it has become clear that some of the intentions of aid have gone awry. The failure, lack of ownership and lack of success in these IGAs has indicated that there is, in fact, a great misunderstanding between aid organizations and what is desired and what will function properly in the village. This gives credence to the notion that though aid organizations set out to help communities they are in fact undermining the projects they implement by not understanding what the community indicates as important, and by not logically thinking about repercussions of instituting certain programs without the proper resources to allow them to continue and proliferate. Additionally, the lack of sustainability in these projects may also serve to undermine individuals’ sense of empowerment by repeatedly seeing failure in projects that initially had excited them. In regards to social programs and development in the village, there is a notable lack of social development in the Mannar district when compared to other districts in the Tamil areas. This is most often cited as a result of the district‐level representative’s decision to focus solely upon “hard” or infrastructural development rather than “soft” social development, particularly in the rural areas. Summary The institutional settings in the villages of Illupaikkadavai and Anthoniyarpuram are complex. On the individual level, understandings of gender are imbued with notions of purity and ethnicity, with the married woman being of high status in the community. Women who work outside of the home, however, are subject to negative social stigmas but in the local context there exists very few options for them to earn money otherwise. Social capital helps to alleviate the financial burdens of a WHH, 29
Only 27 women reported any plans for starting a new IGA in the future. Ali Brown 56
however working outside of the home can decrease social capital. Furthermore, access to credit for women, especially those whom have already sold, pawned, or lost their jewelry during or after the war must rely upon social ties to provide for a second signatory on all loans. Caste, though present, is not as defining of a factor in interpersonal relationships as it is elsewhere on the island or in the pre‐war context, except in the cases where women will not readily take up wider uses of palmyrah as it is viewed as below their own caste. Property arrangements do not favor the female in many cases, and once income is generated within households with male figureheads, income is pooled with the husbands. Though jewelry is considered the woman’s property, it is often the first item to be leveraged for small loans, thus limiting her capital if she should become widowed or husbandless. Women without husbands present have fewer physical assets and less means through which to procure assets aside from the focus of NGOs towards women headed households. Though women have no legal impediments in relation to their rights, the enforcement of rights is left to the local level, where they are often undermined or assertion of them would be disadvantageous. Even if a woman did know her rights were being violated, culturally she might be disinclined to seek any retribution for this as it would lower her social status in the community. Political capital is low, assertion of political agency remains low due to fears of the government silencing individuals and where working too closely with the police can cause suspicion by the villagers as compliance with the government and espionage. Undermining political capital is the governmental positioning of army and navy in the region, their ability to implement ‘forced gifting’ and utilize the pass system at will. Aid and governmental development is highly visible in the villages, however there is no discernible social development occurring in the areas. Aid organizations have helped to relieve the immediate stress of post‐displacement, however have failed in educating women on business practices, thereby questioning the validity of their livelihood intervention efforts. The high presence of NGOs and other aid based organizations has also created a dependence on capital donations in planning the future, but this is further exacerbated by the impression that the war is not truly over. This will be touched upon in the following chapter. Ali Brown 57
Chapter Six: Human Security Notions of Human Security on the micro level involve not only physical safety but the psychosocial domain and social security (Leaning and Arie 2000). Social security can be described best within the livelihoods framework, and as such will not be discussed here. The protracted civil war, in combination with a highly visible military and navy presence has implications on the levels of human security, especially as the vast majority of the army, navy and police are Singhalese men. Of crucial importance to this discussion is that these perceptions are greatly affected by the institutional arrangements discussed in the previous chapter. In the following chapter the spatial manifestations of perceived (in)security and institutionalized law, both formal and informal, and the impacts of these on income are discussed. Perceptions of Human Security in the Village Safety: Physical Security When compared to the period of civil conflict, the safety and protection from life threats is absent in the villages. Women reported feeling content that they were no longer worrying about gun fire or mortar explosion. This does not mean that there are no problems with physical harm, in fact five women I interviewed openly admitted to being abused by spouses or other family members, while another handful have been reported by others as being victims of domestic violence. As stated in the previous chapter, such abuses are often considered within the rights of the male head of household and are therefore go unreported to the police. Compounding this, even if a woman did want to report such behavior to the police, the language divide and lack of trust in the police, as well as social stigma associated with this action could be preventative. The home area, prior to displacement, was considered the safe space of women, however with multiple displacements this concept has eroded and in Illupaikkadavai, at least, has been affected further by reports of attempted rape (Herath 2012). In Tamil culture a woman’s purity is paramount, and rape is seen as a defiling of this purity, thus changing the woman’s social status in the community. The only instances of women discussing attempted rapes involved perpetrators who were police, army or navy officers. Several women recounted forced entries into their homes, late at night by members of the army or navy, with the goal of rape, however no one reported that these attempts had succeeded30. All of these women lived in relatively close proximity to an army or navy base. Theft was also a concern in the villages, particularly for elderly women. Once the woman had left her home area, it was not unheard of for someone to steal chickens, water, firewood, and other items that were not securely locked inside the house. Alternatively, there were no reports of forced entry into homes for the purposes of theft. Because of this, most houses in the community had locks on their doors as well as a fence built around their yard. Those without a yard all spoke about plans to install one to prevent such thefts. Safety: Psychosocial Security 30
It is uncertain if these women were actually successful in thwarting rape or if the rape had occurred but in order to maintain ‘face,’ or social status, they denied it. Ali Brown 58
The psychosocial domains of human security encompass relationships with location, community and time. As discussed in chapter 4, in essence these relationships involve notions of recognition, autonomy, identity and participation. In terms of identity, all respondents were ethnically and linguistically Tamil. Of the forty women surveyed, seventeen are Hindu, twenty‐one Roman Catholic (RC), and the remaining two non‐Roman Catholic Christians. In speaking with Christian women, both RC and not, it was discovered that tensions between the groups exists. This especially affects the non‐Roman Catholics and one woman reported even fearing Roman Catholics and stated that she had previously encountered strong and hateful language because of her religion from Catholics. This tension also made her feel insecure on nights when her husband would be out fishing, and as a result of this insecurity she built a fence around her house during the course of my research. There seems to be little to no tension between Hindu and Christian women, though this could also be caused by caste differences. Hindus would often state that they were higher caste and did not particularly care to mix with Christians, however this perception was either not reciprocated or not expressed by Christians towards Hindus. Recognition of identity is a complicated matter; the state readily recognizes the presence of Tamils, especially in the North and East of the island, however their role in the state, and particular in participation in government is limited. Participation in governmental or leadership roles is low in the area, and a decreased level of agency in the post‐war period has been noted by several researchers. (Silva 2011; Klem 2011) This is exacerbated by alleged kidnappings of pro‐Tamil activists both in Sri Lanka and abroad, causing many people, especially Tamils within Sri Lanka, to fear speaking out against the government (Nelson 2012). Issues of autonomy follow similar patterns insofar as the women interviewed spoke largely of a desire for Tamil Eelam, or the autonomous Tamil State, because, as one woman stated: “[in this area] we have no justice. It is the Singhalese that decide for us, and for them we have no trust.” As such, being a Tamil within Sri Lanka is a tenuous position at present and identity recognition is present, however its legitimacy and rights within the state is questioned by respondents. When questioned about aspects of time, eleven of the fifteen respondents stated that they did not feel that the war was truly over, and it would not be, until Tamil Eelam came into existence. Patterns of long‐term planning followed this line of thought, and most plans for the beginnings of income generating activities were to be implemented either within the next six months or otherwise when an NGO would give them supplies to begin. Also noteworthy is the lack of ambition to rebuild houses into more permanent structures. Building a house is an expensive endeavor for the people of the community, costing 300,000‐500,000 Rs depending upon size and material types. And though some could access loans for this cost, all informants currently without longer term/permanent structures (36 out of 40) were waiting for the government to provide grants in order to rebuild their houses. This is indicative of both the lack of access to capital as well as the sensitivity to the unknown future; they are unwilling to take out money to rebuild houses just to have them destroyed in conflict within a short period of time. In regards to the presence of the army and navy in the community, there is a great deal of tension and it affects each of the elements of security. The large army and navy presence is serving to undermine the Tamil perceptions of reinstating security; there is a lack of common language, long‐
standing ethnic tensions, threats and ‘demanded gifting’ to the army or navy, land loss/grabbing by the navy or army, harassment, and rumors of attempted rape. Fear of rape compounds problems Ali Brown 59
with the pass system, as even when women are allowed to go to catch prawns they fear the large presence of navy men on the six kilometer walk to the prawn catchment area. Women are particularly sensitive to their presence because of the large numbers of unknown men (notably of Singhalese origin) in and around the village. Fear of rape not only involves the physical and mental trauma but also the stigmas associated with being raped; as opposed to being viewed as a crime with a victim and a perpetrator, it is spoken of as a means to diminish credibility and paint the woman as submitting to the will of a man. These factors often take on a spatial dimension, which is the subject of the next section. Summary Physical safety in the villages is relatively high insofar as immediate threat of death or injury is concerned, however fear of and reports of attempted rape are common. The perpetrators of such rape as spoken by informants are members of the army, navy or police. Furthermore, though spousal abuse was spoken of in a direct matter, it was not treated as something more or less inevitable, but this could also be linked with the women’s fears of reporting problems to the police and the concurrent decrease in social capital involved in this process. The psychosocial aspects of human security revealed that the primary tension within the Tamil villagers is religion, however a greater emphasis was placed on the tensions of the villagers versus the presence of the army and navy. Though the war has been officially declared as over for three years, complaints of having a true system of justice for Tamil peoples is of concern to respondents. Incorporated into this is the need for Tamil peoples to seek retribution for post‐conflict misconduct of the army, as in forced gifting of items ranging from fish to land and houses. Temporally, this instability and lack of autonomy, participation, and recognition has resulted in a diminished forward‐
thinking time span and low levels in investment. Such temporal thinking is reinforced by notions that the war is not truly over and that Tamil Eelam is the only solution to their current problems. Social welfare has been elaborated upon the chapter on livelihoods. In essence, though most of the informants had sufficient access to food and water, WHH exhibited a lesser ability to procure the means necessary to feed themselves and their children, let alone pay for additional school fees and extracurricular activities. The ability to participate in certain IGAs has been restricted via the presence of the army and navy through the pass system and perceived fear of rape. The spatial manifestation of this fear will be elaborated upon in the next chapter. Ali Brown 60
Chapter seven: Spatial and Financial Implications of Perceived (In)Security and Institutional Configurations Access to space in and around the community is essential for income generating activities. Though women have the legal right to any common areas, access was restricted by the Navy to fishing areas through the pass system. Though both men and women were required to purchase a pass in order to access ocean resources, women reported that they were much more likely to have access restricted, even if they had purchased the pass. This could be arbitrary at times, though increased restriction is seen after prawn‐season, when women rely upon sea cucumbers and shells as a main source of income. Sea cucumbers and shells are some Map 7.1: Areas of the most profitable resources of Reported Insecurity for women but both have been declared protected in recent years. Unfortunately, this banning is not perceived as a move to protect the ecosystems of the Palk Bay, but rather an attempt by the Navy to deny access to income generation for women, thus furthering ethnic tensions in the post‐conflict setting. The presence of both army and navy bases in the community also affects the access women have to certain areas. Though largely not formally restricted, many women did not feel safe near the army or navy bases as reports of attempted rape were not unheard of. The forest area, where families would collect their firewood for cooking, were located near these bases and as such only two women reported feeling safe venturing into the forest to collect wood.31 Men would often take care of firewood collecting, often with several households renting a tractor and trailer to collect large amounts at once. Some women were in charge of collecting firewood, particularly those women who were either de juro, de facto or quasi‐heads of households. These women would coordinate time to go collect firewood and groups 31
The two women reporting safety in the woods lived in Illupaikkadavai near the main road, next to a forest that did not have a base next to it. They did report that they would not cross the river in the forest, as then it became the Navy’s domain. Ali Brown 61
of five to ten women would go out to collect wood. During their time in the forest these women would stay within eyesight or earshot of the other women. Thus, the perception of the forest area as a potentially hazardous area and restricted access to forest areas through the Navy both have impacts on the livelihood strategies that can and are utilized in Illupaikkadavai and Anthoniyarpuram. Map (10.1) illustrates the areas in which women reported feeling insecure or unsafe, especially alone, in and around their community. Like Sarajini, access to forest areas can be a crucial source of income for the poorest or must vulnerable in the community, Map 10.2: especially women. Overlapping areas of Insecurity and Natural Resources Regarding respect between the army and navy and the villagers, there have been mixed results. One elderly respondent who lives alone said that the navy greatly supported her, often brining her rations and water to help out. On the flip side, there have been numerous instances of the navy taking fish from fishermen or women drying fish. Sometimes they simply demand the fish, other times they will offer money which is less than half of its going rate. If a fisherman or woman refuses, at times they will threaten with fines and tickets regarding minor infractions that may or may not be real. There is also the forced gifting or possession of lands or structures of civilians, with little to no compensation, and giving the owner of the area no say, regardless if his or her livelihood depends on it. Another respondent said that their mere presence after the protracted war made her uneasy: “they are nearby, and if someone gives them an order to kill all of us, they can and will.” When overlapping maps of resource areas and spaces of reported insecurity (map 10.2), it is shown that outside the home there are few areas where women feel comfortable accessing natural resources. These areas of insecurity largely correspond to locations of army or navy bases. There are two army bases which did not elicit a negative spatial response from informants; one is the bases inside the villages, which can be attributed to proximity and visibility of other villagers in passing Ali Brown 62
these areas. Another is the naval bases at the shoreline closest to the village, and this could be because most women would not go there for both the proximity to the navy and the large presence of men. One woman reported being verbally harassed when trying to go to this area, and as such it is only frequented by women during church services or when accompanied by a male family member. This beach area is also over one kilometer from the nearest house, and since only boat fishing is done from this particular beach, there are no reasons for women to go here. This is not purely a human security issue, however, as gender norms also place the woman’s role inside the house, thus she is likely to not feel entirely comfortable venturing out into these areas on her own even without the presence of the army or navy. SUMMARY Through mapping the areas where natural resources are utilized and overlapping areas of perceived insecurity, it becomes evident that areas where women feel unsafe coincide with areas where the greatest amount of natural resources exist. This serves to undermine the opportunities of income generating activities. Though NGOs have been attempting to provide other strategies for IGAs for women, often times they have failed to provide an adequate source of revenue and the sustainability of these projects in the long term are limited. The only opportunity for employment for women without any special skills or tools is work at the crab factory, which is considered a last resort as it involves long working hours and low pay. Because of this, women and especially women heading a household are left in precarious positions regarding income generation, a position which is only exacerbated by their significantly lower income potentials. Though the GoSL has implemented its own version of security in the conflict areas in the North and East of Sri Lanka, in Illupaikkadavai and Anthoniyarpuram, it has been shown through this research that their strategies are actually undermining the micro level human security. The army, navy and police, who are tasked with this undertaking of ensuring security, are nearly entirely Singhalese. Their presence has served to create tension and apprehension about utilizing the resources around the villages in order to secure livelihoods. Their presence is also only exacerbating mistrust in the government, and after a 30 year long war, this is the exact opposite of what needs to happen if peace and security are to truly be obtained. Furthermore, instead of ensuring that the local community has a functioning justice and support system, gendered institutions and years of tension have only created spaces of fear and a lack of trust in the federal government through language and cultural barriers. The outcomes of this incorporate restricted access to income generating activities and thereby undermining women’s livelihoods, diminished political capital, undermined relationships with time and location, and have served to underscore belief that the war is not truly over. Impressions of this sort can only be overcome either through continued fighting or through intensive governmental programs aimed at re‐establishing trust between ethnic groups via community building, local leadership, and empowerment. Ali Brown 63
Chapter Eight: Discussion. Conclusion and Implications In order to answer the main research question, it is useful to address the sub‐questions first. What livelihood strategies do women utilize to earn income and where do these take place? The principle livelihood strategies earned revolve around the home sphere, drying fish or odiyal, raising chickens for egg sale, small stores, and sewing. More lucrative endeavours take place outside of the home, in nearby forests or the coastal area, including prawn catching, firewood collection, and goat rearing. The activities taking place outside of the home are predominantly considered by women heading a household or otherwise women whose husband cannot generate enough income to support the family. Factory work is also present in the village, either working at the crab factory where employment is open to everyone though considered the last option, or the tooth powder factory, in which employment is gained through nepotistic ties. What assets do women possess and to what extent do they have control over them? Many women have jewelry, and only women heading households claimed that their house was their own property. Goats, chickens, jewelry and other potential sources of income are considered the woman’s property until they have been sold, at which point the income generated becomes the possession of both husband and wife. Though most women claim to control the household budget, it became clear that the income they control is actually what they request or declare necessary to maintain functioning of the household and all extra income remains in control of the husband. Asset and budget control were most apparent in women headed households, whereas in asking about married women’s debts, incomes and possessions responses were often combined with husband’s assets, income and possessions. What institutions affect the ways in which women utilize space and natural resources in the community and how do they affect it? Gender is the most pertinent institution for the focus of research. Gender has explicit effects on the spaces in which women can, will and want to work. The ideal place for women to work is in the home area and when leaving the home area social status may decrease. Social status is linked with social capital, which is generally high in the community and many women, especially women heading a household utilize it to generate income, for support when income is insufficient, and in some cases for housing. Social capital is also required for obtaining loans from local CBOs in cases where there is insufficient collateral, and in such cases being a woman heading a household with low income, finding another person to co‐sign a loan through the CBO can be problematic. In such cases low social status negatively affects social capital. Political capital is virtually non‐existent, and utilization of the justice system is often hindered because of mistrust in the police, fear of community suspecting espionage (which also decreases social capital), language barriers, and a general feeling that little will be done to help. Government laws are quite favorable for women, however their enforcement is left at the community level and as such many women are uneducated about their rights, often unable to enforce them, or enforcing them would decrease social status and thereby social capital. Property rights for women are complicated, however there is very little that is considered purely a woman’s property when it renders an economic yield; married women are expected to share such income with their husbands. Caste distinctions, though present are fairly Ali Brown 64
‘subtle’ as an outcome of the war, and do not have major impacts on daily life, with perhaps the caveat that certain income generating strategies are not used because they are seen as below the individuals caste. Aid organizations, both governmental and non, are highly present in the community, however many of the initiatives currently in place in the community do not function properly and therefore have limited longevity and earning potential. The presence of aid organizations has also created a semi‐dependency of individuals on said organizations to pursue future IGAs or housing development. What are the perceptions of human security and how do they security affect space and natural resources utilized by women in the community? Many women reported feeling unsafe in areas outside of the main village, particularly due to the high presence of the army and navy, which are all Singhalese men. They are afraid of rape, which is largely perceived as an act of submission on the part of a woman to another man, and reporting rape would not only decrease social status but also could lead to accusations of prostitution. This fear manifested itself in many women being unwilling or afraid to go to certain areas to collect firewood and catch prawns unless accompanied by a group of other women. Furthermore several women reported being abused by husbands, and this is often seen as within the right of the husband, as in the case of Sarajini from the first vignette. Such instances of abuse are not reported to the police and one woman, who did not claim to be a victim of abuse, commented that abuse could be attributed to a woman not sufficiently fulfilling her wifely duties appropriately. This said, women reported feeling relatively safe in regards to physical safety in comparison to the decades of conflict during which many would often have to be on guard, prepared to flee in the case of conflict igniting in their village. Psychosocial safety involves recognition of identity, autonomy and participation. Though all respondents are Tamil in origin and this identity is recognized by the larger government, they still perceive themselves as a targeted ethnic group, as in the case of women seeing the banning of sea cucumber catching not as an act to preserve aquatic life but rather to restrict their livelihood opportunities. Forced gifting is also problematic, as both men and women are often required to either give or sell at below‐market prices various items from fish to homes and land. Participation in government is restricted. This also reflects autonomy, wherein community members feel that Tamils should be an autonomous group in order to gain access to trusted means of asserting their rights in the justice system. This has manifested itself in the notion that the war is not over and will not be until Tamil Eelam, or the separate Tamil state has been established. Implications of the lack of psychosocial safety have resulted in a lack of planning or investing in the future, which has consequences for creating sustainable long‐term income generating activities and the establishment of better housing structures to replace the temporary shelters donated in the immediate post‐war period. In answering the sub‐questions it is possible to answer the main research question of this thesis. As such, the research question is: How do Institutional Settings and Perceptions of Human Security Impact the utilization of space and natural resources in women’s livelihoods in a post‐war fishing village? Ali Brown 65
My research has indicated that institutions, particularly in the form of the army and navy presence and gender norms have significant impacts on the ways in which women, and particularly women who head a household, construct their livelihoods. Spaces which contain natural resources are vital to income generating activities and are restricted both formally and informally. Informal restrictions are caused through perceptions of unsafely in some spaces through fear of rape from the large populations of male Singhalese military present. This has impacts on collecting firewood in the forest areas bordering the village. Formal restrictions come through the pass system as the navy controls women’s ability to utilize the sea at certain times, and even when able to walk the six kilometers to the catchment area, women walk in groups because of the navy presence. This only exacerbates the perceptions of Singhalese as controlling and not necessarily working towards the best interests of the Tamil population. Furthering this, cultural norms serve to socially stigmatize women who seek employment outside of the home area, and though many women break such norms and engage in activities outside of the home, they are subject to community members referring to them as prostitutes, as in the case of Sarajini. Women’s earning potential is also almost one‐third that to male counterparts and as such viable income generating activities are necessary for the high percentage of female headed households. Apart from the spatial element, women perceive the mere presence of Singhalese in the area as a threat not only to their livelihoods but to their personal safety, and as such ethnic tensions are being exacerbated instead of ameliorated. This decreases the desire or ability for women to invest in future or more capital intensive start‐up IGAs and long term housing. Therefore, perceptions of human security in Illupaikkadavai and Anthoniyarpuram largely relate to what is known as negative peace, where the state is impeding (inadvertently or intentionally) the basic livelihoods and perceived safety. This research is not readily generalizable because it is so heavily context dependent; however it is expected that similar results may be found across the Wanni, where the conflict was most intense and where the army and navy still have a high presence. Aligning my research as I have has allowed me to highlight the complexities of livelihoods frameworks with the explicit focus on institutions in the post conflict setting. In such a context, human security cannot be underemphasized. It is only through collecting data like what is presented here that we can truly see the obstacles of development in an area, and to shine light on what the local population perceives development to be and what their true needs are. National strategies which impose desires and ideals of development upon citizens have great potential to undermine their social development and psychological wellbeing. Information gathered to respond to these issues must be locally embedded, and without spending three months living in the community, located in a house of a reputable community member, it would have been impossible not only to situate the context but to be granted access into people’s desires and worries. In reflecting upon the theory utilized in this research, I find that the addition of political capital is essential in the sustainable rural livelihoods framework. Even in non‐conflict zones the ability to participate in the government and how people feel about their ability to do so will allow researchers and aid organizations more clarity into the obstacles regarding livelihoods. Without understanding the ways in which people feel they do or do not have power greatly dictates the choices that they can and will make. Furthermore, the added element of human security is an essential one in post‐
conflict zones, which allows us to highlight the roles of institutions and individuals’ psychosocial wellbeing, which on a normative level should be a focus when dealing with any group who has experienced such trauma. Expanding upon this, both human security and livelihoods need to take an Ali Brown 66
explicitly spatial orientation; both are inextricably linked to geographical space and the proliferation of both rely upon spatial access, use, and understandings. The goal of this research was to provide a holistic explanation regarding women and the multifaceted roles they must play: mother, wife, socially respected woman, income generator, keeper of the home, and the like. It is imperative in researching any group, and particularly women, not to generalize or trivialize all of the various roles that they are expected to play, how they fulfill these roles, which are most important to them, and what obstacles exist in order to pursue their own needs and goals. Practical implications of this research involve both the micro and macro level. State‐led strategies for security must be reconsidered and a dialogue of inclusion must be undertaken in order to ensure the proliferation of peace. Though I cannot state the “the West is best” in such strategies, it is clear that the civilians and the ‘losers’ of the conflict are not contented and do not feel that their lives and their dignity is being restored through their own government. When this is the case there is often little to expect from the future other than reignited conflict. To what extent the results of Rajapakse’s plan of action in regards to security processes is intentional versus unintended, as Kenney (2007:92) describes, is a matter of debate and one which, though outside of the scope of this thesis, would be of great interest to it. Interventions from NGOs have also inadvertently diminished many women’s potentials for long‐term income generating activities by providing IGAs which are not sustainable in the long term or by not providing adequate training or ownership. Both the government and aid organizations, then, reflect the notion that some of the greatest harm has been done by imposing ideals of development upon a population rather than asking what a population considers development to be and what their priorities are. Ali Brown 67
Ali Brown 68
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claims‐security‐forces‐kidnapped‐him.html Roberts Clark, W. (1998) “Agents and Structures: Two Views of Preferences, Two Views of Institutions” International Studies Quarterly. 42(2): 245‐270. Ruwanpura, K. (2006) Matrilineal Communities, Patriarchal Realities: A Feminist Nirvana Uncovered. Colombo, Sri Lanka: Social Scientists Association. Ruwanpura, K. and Humphries, J. (2004) “Mundane Heroines: Conflict, Ethnicity, Gender and Female Headship in Eastern Sri Lanka.” Feminist Economics 10(2): 173‐205. Schmid, A. (1972) “Analytical institutional economics: challenging problems in the economics of resources for a new environment” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 54: 893‐901. Ali Brown 70
Silva, T (2011) Presentation: “Caste, class and ethnicity in clientelistic politics in Sri Lanka.” Sri Lankan Roundtable: Sri Lanka in the world; the world in Sri Lanka; Zurich 23‐24 Nov. 2011 Thiruchandran, S. (2006) Ideology, Caste, Class and Gender. Homagama, Sri Lanka: Karunaratne & Sons. Tickamyer, A.R. (2000). “Space Matters! Spatial Inequality in Future Sociology” Contemporary Sociology 29(6): 805‐813. UNESCO (2011). World Data on Education: Sri Lanka. 7th Edition. Accessed online 13 June, 2012 at: http://www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Publications/WDE/2010/pdf‐
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Appendices There are two versions of the questionnaire. The first fourteen interviews were conducted with first, then minor changes were made and the rest interviewed with second version. In all interviews, follow up questions to certain responses were given and on more sensitive questions sometimes a round about way of asking them would be made in order to gain the most information. In this process my interpreter, Grace, was invaluable at assessing how best to approach each question, understanding what exactly it was that I wanted from it and why. These interviews would take between one and a half and two hours. The questionnaire itself would only take around 45 minutes, but follow up questions and questions to me from the respondent took an equal or greater amount of time. In‐depth interviews were then conducted with select respondents from the original group, and questions asked at these were based not only on information needed but also to responses given in the first questionnaire. As such, each set of interview questions varied per person, in order to gain the most information, clarity and trust. Ali Brown 73
Illupaikkadavai GS Division HH Questionnaire VERSION 1 To be completed during discussions with the female head in household. This study is undertaken as part of my Master's degree program at the University of Amsterdam, in cooperation with the University of Ruhuna, in Matara. It is also a part a larger project, Reincorpfish aimed at resolving conflict in the Palk Bay area and reinstating fisher rights in Sri Lanka. It is my intention to shed light on the role of women in the fishing community as it is an integral part of understanding how development aide can be most effective, given that women are largely responsible for the daily functioning of the household. ** All information will be kept strictly confidential and all participants names will be changed. To be assessed non‐verbally: What type of house do they live in? (Roof type, wall type) __________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________ Is their house located next to the ruins of an old, wartime house? Yes/ No ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Basic Information 1. Name _______________________________________________________ 2. Age _______ 3. Highest Level of Education Completed _________________ 4. Number of Members in Household ___________ 1. Household Member Info: Age
Sex
Education Level
Relation to
Interviewee
Occupation
M/F
M/F
M/F
M/F
M/F
M/F
M/F
2. Do you have children that do not live in the house? Yes / No (If Yes, 4.2.1) 1. In what village or city do they live?____________________________________________ Ali Brown 74
5. Does your family (siblings and parents) live in Illupaikkadavai? Yes/No 1. If no, where do they live? ___________________________________________________________________________ 6. What is your place of birth?_________________________________________________________ If not originally from Illupaikkadavai: 1. Where are you from originally? ___________________________________________________ 2. Why did you move here? ________________________________________________________ 3. Have you made friends within the community? ______________________________________ 4. Do you consider this your home? _________________________________________________ 5. How often do you get to visit your family? __________________________________________ 7. How many times were you displaced during the war?_________________________________ 8. For each time of displacement, when and for how long were you displaced? _______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________ 9. Do you or any members of your family have any serious health problems? Yes/ No 1. If yes, then what? _________________________________________ 10. What is your religion?_________________________________________ Economic Activities 11. What are your daily activities and responsibilities? ___________________________________________________________________________ 12. Do you participate in any income generating activities? Yes/No If so, what? ___________________________________________________________________________ 1. Where can you sell these goods and how much do they sell for? ________________________________________________________________________ 2. Where do you get the materials for these Ali Brown 75
activities?___________________________________________________________________ 13. Do your activities take place within the house area or in another area? If in another area, then where? ____________________________________________________________________ 14. How much money does the house earn daily? ____________________ 1. Weekly? ___________________________ 2. Annually? __________________________ 15. How much money do you earn daily? ____________________ 1. Weekly? ___________________________ 2. Annually? __________________________ 16. Does all of the income earned go towards household expenses? Yes/No 1. If no, then how much money does not go towards expenses and what is it used for? ___________________________________________________________ 17. Who controls the money and the household budget? ___________________________________ 18. Who are the income generating members of your household and what are their occupations? _______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
__ 19. How much money does the family spend daily? ___________________ 1. Weekly? __________________ 2. Annually? _________________ 20. What are the primary expenses of the household? _______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________ 21. How much do you spend on non‐food items per week and where do you buy them? _____________________________________________________________________________ 22. Are there things that you need to purchase that you cannot buy in Illupaikkadavai? Yes/No 1. If yes, where do you go to purchase them? ________________________________________ 23. Do you have a home garden? Yes/No (If No, then go to 12.1) 1. If no, where do you purchase your food items and how much do they cost? ________________________________________________________________________ 2. If yes, how often do you need to go to the market to buy additional food items and how much do you spend on them? _______________________________________________________ 24. Does your family cultivate rice? Yes/No Ali Brown 76
1. If yes, is it only for consumption or do you produce enough to sell as well? ________ 1. How much rice do you sell per harvest?__________________________________ 25. Do you have any: (If yes, then how many and what are they used for) 1. Goats? _______________________________________________________________________ 2. Chickens? ____________________________________________________________________ 3. Cows or Water Buffalo? _________________________________________________________ 4. Other income/food generating animals? ____________________________________________ 26. Does your family currently have any loans or outstanding debts? (If yes, how much and to whom are you indebted?) _______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________ 27. Are there any tools necessary for income generating activities that you do not currently own? (E.g fishing boat, rice harvester, etc?) Yes/No 1. If yes, then what? ___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________ 28. Are there any money‐making activities you would like to do but cannot? Yes/No 1. If yes, then what are they and why can you not do them? ___________________________________________________________________________ 29. Do you have any plans for starting new income‐generating activities in the future? Yes/No 1. If yes, then what activity would it be? ______________________________________________ 2. And how long before you can begin this activity? _____________________________________ LAND AND RESOURCE INFORMATION 30. Does the family own their land? Yes/No 1. If they own their land, how much could they sell it for? ________________________________ Ali Brown 77
31. What size is the land that the family now occupies or uses (including rice paddy, if applicable)? _______________________________________________________________________________ 32. Where do you access drinking water? _________________________________________________ 33. How much do you spend on drinking water per week? ____________________________________ 34. Is your house located the same place as before displacement? Yes/No 1. If no, then where were you located? _______________________________________________ 2. Why did you change locations? ___________________________________________________ 3. Do you feel that you are in a better location now than before displacement? __________________________________________________________________________ 35. Are there any parts of Illupaikkadavai DS Division that you would not go? Yes/No 1. If yes, then where and why? ___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________ 36. Has the presence of the military or navy affected what land you have access to? If so, then how? _______________________________________________________________________________ NGO, CBO, and COMMUNITY INTERACTIONS 37. Has your family received aide from any NGOs? Yes/No (If Yes go to 20.1, if No, go to 20.5) 1. Which NGOs? ________________________________________________________________ 2. What did they give you? ________________________________________________________ 3. What were the criteria for aide? ___________________________________________________ 4. How did you apply? ____________________________________________________________ 5. (If NO) Is this a choice or have you been prevented from receiving aide? Yes/No 6. Why? ___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________ Ali Brown 78
38. What improvements to your current situation do you desire? _______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________ 39. Do you feel that your standard of living is better now or before displacement? _______________________________________________________________________________ 40. What organizations are you a part of in the community? _______________________________________________________________________________ 1. How often do these groups meet and what is their function? ___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________ 41. Are you a part of a political party? If so, then which one? _________________________________ 42. Are there any tensions between different groups or families in the community? Yes/No 1. If yes, then who and why? ___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________ 43. Do you feel safe in your village? Yes/No 1. If no, why? ___________________________________________________________________ 44. Is there anything else you think I should know? _______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________ 45. Do you have any questions for me? _______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________ 46. May I return to interview you in more detail in the near future? Yes/No Thank you very much for your time, it is greatly appreciated! Ali Brown 79
Illupaikkadavai GS Division HH Questionnaire; Version 2 To be completed during discussions with the female head in household. This study is undertaken as part of my Master's degree program at the University of Amsterdam, in cooperation with the University of Ruhuna, in Matara. It is also a part a larger project, Reincorpfish aimed at resolving conflict in the Palk Bay area and reinstating fisher rights in Sri Lanka. It is my intention to shed light on the role of women in the fishing community as it is an integral part of understanding how development aide can be most effective, given that women are largely responsible for the daily functioning of the household. ** All information will be kept strictly confidential and all participants names will be changed. To be assessed non‐verbally: What type of house do they live in? (Roof type, wall type) __________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________ Is their house located next to the ruins of an old, wartime house? Yes/ No ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Basic Information 1. Name _______________________________________________________ 2. Age _______ 3. Highest Level of Education Completed _________________ 4. Number of Members in Household ___________ 1. Household Member Info: Age
Sex
Education Level
Relation to
Interviewee
Occupation
M/F
M/F
M/F
M/F
M/F
M/F
M/F
2. Do you have children that do not live in the house? Yes / No (If Yes, 4.2.1) 1. In what village or city do they live?____________________________________________ Ali Brown 80
5. Does your family (siblings and parents) live in Illupaikkadavai? Yes/No 1. If no, where do they live? ___________________________________________________________________________ 6. What is your place of birth?_________________________________________________________ If not originally from Illupaikkadavai: 1. Where are you from originally? ___________________________________________________ 2. Why did you move here? ________________________________________________________ 3. Have you made friends within the community? ______________________________________ 4. Do you consider this your home? _________________________________________________ 5. How often do you get to visit your family? __________________________________________ 7. How many times were you displaced during the war?_________________________________ 8. For each time of displacement, when and for how long were you displaced? _______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________ 9. Do you or any members of your family have any serious health problems? Yes/ No 1. If yes, then what? _________________________________________ 10. What is your religion?_________________________________________ Economic Activities 11. What are your daily activities and responsibilities? ___________________________________________________________________________ 12. Do you participate in any income generating activities? Yes/No If so, what? ___________________________________________________________________________ 1. Where can you sell these goods and how much do they sell for? ________________________________________________________________________ 2. Where do you get the materials for these Ali Brown 81
activities?___________________________________________________________________
_____ 13. Do your activities take place within the house area or in another area? If in another area, then where? ____________________________________________________________________ 14. How much money does the house earn daily? ____________________ 1. Weekly? ___________________________ 2. Annually? __________________________ 15. How much money do you earn daily? ____________________ 1. Weekly? ___________________________ 2. Annually? __________________________ 16. Does all of the income earned go towards household expenses? Yes/No 1. If no, then how much money does not go towards expenses and what is it used for? ___________________________________________________________ 17. Who controls the money and the household budget? ___________________________________ 18. Who are the income generating members of your household and what are their occupations? _______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________ 19. How much money does the family spend daily? ___________________ 1. Weekly? __________________ 2. Annually? _________________ 20. What are the primary expenses of the household? _______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________ 21. How much do you spend on non‐food items per week and where do you buy them? _____________________________________________________________________________ 22. Are there things that you need to purchase that you cannot buy in Illupaikkadavai? Yes/No 1. If yes, where do you go to purchase them? ________________________________________ 23. Do you have a home garden? Yes/No (If No, then go to 12.1) 1. If no, where do you purchase your food items and how much do they cost? ________________________________________________________________________ 2. If yes, how often do you need to go to the market to buy additional food items and how much do you spend on them? _______________________________________________________ 24. Does your family cultivate rice? Yes/No Ali Brown 82
1. If yes, is it only for consumption or do you produce enough to sell as well? ________ 1. How much rice do you sell per harvest?__________________________________ 25. Do you have any: (If yes, then how many and what are they used for) 1. Goats? _______________________________________________________________________ 2. Chickens? ____________________________________________________________________ 3. Cows or Water Buffalo? _________________________________________________________ 4. Other income/food generating animals? ____________________________________________ 26. Does your family currently have any loans or outstanding debts? (If yes, how much and to whom are you indebted?) _______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________ 27. Are there any money‐making activities you would like to do but cannot? Yes/No 1. If yes, then what are they and why can you not do them? ___________________________________________________________________________ 28. Do you have any plans for starting new income‐generating activities in the future? Yes/No 1. If yes, then what activity would it be? ______________________________________________ 2. And how long before you can begin this activity? _____________________________________ LAND AND RESOURCE INFORMATION 29. Does the family own their land? Yes/No 1. If they own their land, how much could they sell it for? ________________________________ 30. What size is the land that the family now occupies or uses (including rice paddy, if applicable)? _______________________________________________________________________________ 31. Where do you access drinking water? _________________________________________________ 32. How much do you spend on drinking water per week? Ali Brown 83
____________________________________ 33. Where do you access firewood and who collects it? ‐
_____________________________________________________________________________ 34. Is your house located the same place as before displacement? Yes/No 1. If no, then where were you located? _______________________________________________ 2. Why did you change locations? ___________________________________________________ 3. Do you feel that you are in a better location now than before displacement? ___________________________________________________________________________
__ 35. Are there any parts of Illupaikkadavai DS Division that you would not go? Yes/No 1. If yes, then where and why? ___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________ 36. Has the presence of the military or navy affected what land you have access to? If so, then how? _______________________________________________________________________________ NGO, CBO, and COMMUNITY INTERACTIONS 37. Has your family received aide from any NGOs? Yes/No (If Yes go to 20.1, if No, go to 20.5) 1. Which NGOs? ________________________________________________________________ 2. What did they give you? ________________________________________________________ 3. What were the criteria for aide? ___________________________________________________ 4. How did you apply? ____________________________________________________________ 5. (If NO) Is this a choice or have you been prevented from receiving aide? Yes/No 6. Why? ___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________ 38. Have you or your family received any money from the government after displacement? Y/N 1. If so, how much and what for? Ali Brown 84
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___________________________________________________________________________ 39. Do you feel that your standard of living is better now or before displacement? _______________________________________________________________________________ 40. What organizations are you a part of in the community? _______________________________________________________________________________ 1. How often do these groups meet and what is their function? ___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________ 41. Who do you consider to be a leader in your community and what do they do? _____________________________________________________________________________ 42. Are there any tensions between different groups or families in the community? Yes/No 1. If yes, then who and why? ___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________ 43. Do you feel safe in your village? Yes/No 1. If no, why? ___________________________________________________________________ 44. Is there anything else you think I should know? _______________________________________________________________________________
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_______________________________________________________________________________ 45. Do you have any questions for me? _______________________________________________________________________________
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_ 46. May I return to interview you in more detail in the near future? Yes/No 47. Would you like me to share some of the selected answers with NGOs who are working in the area? Y/N Thank you very much for your time, Ali Brown 85
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