In 1931, Sri Lanka was one of the first among all Asian
countries to give women equal voting rights, setting a precedent for equal and
fair treatment of women. In 1960, Sri Lanka gave the world its first ever
female Prime Minister in the person of Sirimavo Bandaranaike. But since then,
through the past decades leading to the present, the way we treat the women in
our society has not progressed. In fact it has regressed to such a level that
in November 2011, a survey conducted by Legal Aid Commission (LAC) concluded
that more than 70% of women between the ages of 15 and 45 are harassed in
public transport. If such is the level of mistreatment in public, one can only
imagine how much worse it could be behind closed doors.
How did we go from being exemplary in our empowering of
women into a nation and society where women cannot leave the house after dark,
or travel in buses without being groped or feeling violated? The problem here is
clear. We are not constitutionally or legally against women. Our constitution
allows equal rights and our laws offer fair treatment to women. In fact, we
have laws that criminalize harassment of women as an offence punishable by 5
years in prison. So this is not a problem, where we stand back and let the
politicians and policy makers handle it. No. This is a problem which can only
be resolved by public action and proper law enforcement.
Sri Lanka Unites, as a youth movement for hope and reconciliation
has a mandate, which is clearly outlined in its vision statement - "to
unite the youth of all ethnic and religious groups across Sri Lanka in a
movement that promotes reconciliation, creating a peaceful and prosperous
nation for future generations”. In line with this vision, Sri Lanka Unites has
organized many events in the past such as Future Leaders’ Conference, and
continues to do so.


And now, plans are being drawn at Sri Lanka Unites to make
the campaign into a full-fletched island-wide initiative to rid Sri Lanka of
the evil of harassment completely. But
can a movement like Sri Lanka Unites, which is after all a civil movement,
really put an end to harassment? Can it even dare to dream of doing it, for
after all it is a pretty big issue? These are some questions that arise in
response to the rather bold initiative of Sri Lanka Unites. And it is only
right that such questions arise, for Sri Lanka Unites, despite its island-wide
network of nearly 100 schools, cannot really put an end to harassment all on
its own. This is why SHOW You Care is an initiative, just a beginning to
something greater. People coming
together and joining forces against this issue is the only way change is
possible. Sri Lanka Unites simply plays the role of middleman in uniting the
powerful potential of people to make change, and resonating that change
throughout the island.
In line with this vision, Sri Lanka Unites also hosted an
event dubbed “SHOWDOWN” on the 20th of October, 2012 in order to
bring together those interested in bringing this issue to an end, to pledge to
continue its efforts in eliminating harassment from Sri Lanka and to reaffirm
this commitment by passing on the baton to the Sri Lanka Unites chapters of
Kandy to carry out a similar campaign. This was the beginning of an island-wide
effort in ending harassment, with special focus on harassment in public spaces.
On the 30th of November, 2012 the Legal Aid
Commission Chairman S. S. Wijeratne made the revelation that Sri Lanka tops the
South Asian region on women being sexual harassed in public transport. This
revelation only emphasizes the need for an organic effort like SHOW You Care.
This year the SHOW You Care team plans on carrying out 3 more bus campaigns,
and to also partner with other organic efforts in combating the menace of
harassment. Another plan of the team is to compile some feasible policy
suggestions and lobby for proper implementation of the already prevailing laws
against the harassment of women.

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