JUSTICE
JUST VISION OF HOPE
Justice Shiranee Tilakawardane shares her vision for Sri Lanka’s women and female leadership
Since her days as a young law student, Justice Shiranee Tilakawardane dreamed of serving her country as a State Counsel for the Attorney General’s (AG) Department – a dream that has expanded beyond her own aspirations, enabling the lawyer to open doors for women in the legal sphere and elevate the horizon for gender parity in Sri Lanka.
Over an expansive and dynamic career spanning 37 years, the former judge of the Supreme Court and Acting Chief Justice has been a champion for human rights, focussing on women, children and the environment.
Her vibrant career has been decorated by many firsts: the first female State Counsel in the history of the AG’s Department, the first female High Court judge of Sri Lanka and the first female judge of the Court of Appeal, in addition to becoming the first female President of the Court of Appeal.
Calling for changes in attitudes in leadership, she emphasises that “women are different and cannot be disadvantaged. They are entitled to equal rights, dignity and respect. Whether assertive or soft-spoken, their dynamics must be included through transformational changes.”
“Further, the dominant control of power dynamics must not create a toxic work environment where females feel marginalised, diminished or excluded. Organisations must adopt diversity frameworks to meet company policies that go beyond tokenism to include representation at all echelons of power,” she continues.
And Tilakawardane notes: “Many protections like non-discrimination, prevention of impairment or nullification of women rights, prohibiting superiority or inferiority of the sexes – even on grounds of custom, culture and beliefs – are enshrined in law nationally and internationally.”
“However, patriarchy and its attenuate systems insulate these rights from being exercised to benefit women. Sweeping changes in organisations and society with multidisciplined collaborative efforts are vital,” she elaborates.
Commenting on closing the gender gap in Sri Lanka, she notes that women comprise the majority of the population but only 32 percent of the workforce: “We need equal playing fields that address frequently ignored female specific concerns such as the care burden, the female body and violence against women.”
Tilakawardane explains: “Women bear 70 percent of primary and elderly caregiving, and unpaid housework. Studies reveal that men’s time is divided between paid work and leisure, and women’s time into paid work, unpaid work and very little leisure.”
Sexual harassment limits female progress and access to the professional sphere. “The problem is not women’s bodies but the socially determined failure to account for it,” she says, pointing out that only 40 percent of sexual offences are reported.
She continues: “Workplaces must implement strict penalties, sensitive and timely resolutions, and a survivor centric approach to dismantle abuse of dominant power that affects gender. The responsibility lies with the state and employers, to remove gender prejudicial social and cultural conduct that disadvantages female progression.”
“Despite closing 68 percent of the gender gaps worldwide – according to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gap Report 2019 – women in STEM are severely underrepresented. The overrepresentation of men in data mining and design stages of AI raises concerns of bias, impacting efforts to close the gender gap” she posits.
And Tilakawardane shares examples of unintentional discrimination resulting in male standards being used: “The first introduction of the artificial heart suited only 20 percent of women, and the seat belt took 30 years to consider female breast tissues, pregnancy and children.”
“We as women are fully entitled to exercise our rights; we alone must define ourselves and our parameters, within the full potential of our rights and freedoms. We should not be defined by the male patriarchy, myths and stereotypes,” she states, emphatically.
What’s more, she believes that “the corollary of this is that men should not be intimidated by women or by shifting power dynamics towards gender equality. This is a natural progression of humanity, as beautifully put by the Ubuntu Declaration of MenEngage, calling males to transform patriarchal masculinities, dismantle oppressive structures and the impunity of violence against women, seeking justice for all through equal partnerships with females.”
Tilakawardane adds that human evolution follows a male narrative with an occasional chapter dedicated to women’s contributions.
“As we embark on an advanced digital frontier, we must equally involve women’s narratives as part of our ongoing human history; an environment where difference is without disadvantage, and diversity and proportional representation coexist – a civilised world where all humans have equal dignity and respect,” she concludes.
“As we embark on an advanced digital frontier, we must equally involve women’s narratives as part of our ongoing human history
