Chathuri Jayasooriyya - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Uploads
Papers by Chathuri Jayasooriyya
Marriage and motherhood are highly valorised and considered axiomatic, sacred and as defining wom... more Marriage and motherhood are highly valorised and considered axiomatic, sacred and as defining womanhood within the Sri Lankan socio-cultural context. This often leaves women staying single beyond the normative age of marriage being stigmatized, questioned and called to account for their single status. Research suggests that a growing number of Sri Lankan women are choosing to either delay marriage or remain unmarried. Singleness of women however is commonly perceived as more prevalent in the urban context due to socio-economic and cultural changes associated with modernization. Two issues that arise in this respect are explored in this research: how do single women in urban Sri Lanka who have never been married experience and negotiate their identities of singleness? and what role does agency play in their narratives as they account for being single? Viewing singleness as a discursively constructed social category, an attempt is made to understand how single women draw from and respond to historical and cultural constructions of singleness through discourse or ‘talk’, in order to make meaning of their singleness to both themselves and others. For this purpose, the narratives generated through in-depth interviews with fifteen never-married single women from the urban city of Colombo in Sri Lanka have been analyzed using the theoretical framework of Critical Discursive Psychological Analysis (CDPA). Deploying its three analytical concepts of interpretive repertoires, subject positions and ideological dilemmas, the study illustrates how single women in urban Sri Lanka oscillate between positive and negative repertoires, or culturally available ‘ways of talking’ about singleness, in negotiating their single identities while engaging in a debate between ‘choice’ and ‘chance’ in explaining the reasons for being single. While single women employ various discursive strategies to construct a more positive identity of singleness, defend their single status and deal with the contradictions arising from polarized identities of singleness, their expressions of agency denote their interest in presenting themselves as women with choice and control over their lives. The study demonstrates that while they engage in a paradoxical act of resisting and reproducing traditional gender norms and cultural convention, single women in urban Sri Lanka use discourse effectively to represent a positive and agentic single self. Taking this to be indicative of a transformation in the discursive terrain of singleness in Sri Lanka, the study suggests that the expressions of identity and agency of single women are emerging forms of resistance to the hegemonic cultural ideology of marriage, family and motherhood.
Key words: singleness, single women, Sri Lanka, gender, identity, agency, discourse, critical discursive psychological analysis (CDPA), interpretive repertoire, subject position, ideological dilemma, discursive strategy
Resourcing the Rights of Children: Child Centric Budget Analysis Sri Lanka 2011, Jul 2013
The CCBA, also known as the Budget for Children (BfC) analysis was conducted by the Child Rights ... more The CCBA, also known as the Budget for Children (BfC) analysis was conducted by the Child Rights Advocacy Network (CRAN) in 2011 with the technical and financial assistance of Save the Children. It is based on the Concluding Observation no 17 adopted for the government of Sri Lanka in 2010 by the Committee on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The analysis was done under four key thematic areas (education, health and nutrition, development and protection) involving the budget estimates of 19 ministries including the ones most relevant to children such as the Ministry of Child Development and Women’s Affairs, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Social Services. The budget estimates from 2009 to 2011 were analyzed, which covered the budget estimates (BE) of 2009-2011, revised estimates (RE) of 2008-2010 and the actual expenditure (AE) of 2007-2009.
The report was launched on the 15th of July 2013 under the patronage of the Ministry of Child Development and Women’s Affairs and the Office of the Advisor on Reconciliation to His Excellency the President of Sri Lanka.
CRG Series on Policies and Practices (#15), Oct 2007
This paper attempts to frame the predominant and multi-faceted issues given rise to by the Govern... more This paper attempts to frame the predominant and multi-faceted issues given rise to by the Government’s failure in fulfilling its national responsibility towards finding a durable solution to displacement, on the premise of the ideals presented in the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, consisting of 30 principles to provide protection and assistance to the IDPs through all phases of displacement including return, resettlement and reintegration, have been taken as the basis for the analysis because a). of the special emphasis placed upon the protection of the IDPs; b). though they are not legally binding, the principles are based on the binding laws found in international humanitarian law and human rights law , and have fast acquired international standing, moral authority and acceptance, and c). it provides guidance to the United Nations and international and national actors in working with internally displaced persons.
Based on the information on the issues surrounding the return process, this paper will examine the dynamics of the inter-relations among the Government, the People and the Third Party Perspective, critiquing the rise of illiberal democracy, the fallacy of the ‘Power of the People’, and the politics of third party intervention in humanitarian assistance.
The ensuing section will proceed to appraise the gaps in the articulation of the Rights Based Approach and the traps in its application within the context of displacement, with emphasis upon the need for meaningful participation by the IDPs, the gendering of the Approach and the recognition of the ‘Trauma Factor’, the individual and the individual experience.
Lastly, an attempt will be made to assess the potential of the new mechanisms – the Resettlement Authority and the Consultative Committee on Humanitarian Assistance – established to redress the issue of internal displacement and provide the internally displaced with the necessary protection and assistance, in finding durable solutions to ending displacement and for the effective practicalization and localization of universal humanitarian standards on internal displacement.
Books by Chathuri Jayasooriyya
This study which was conducted in 6 districts in the Eastern, Southern and Western Provinces expl... more This study which was conducted in 6 districts in the Eastern, Southern and Western Provinces explores the current status and capacities of the VCRMCs, highlighting the good practices, gaps and challenges, and presenting short and long-term recommendations. The findings of the study have provided the basis for the national forum organized by the Department of Probation and Child Care Services (DPCCS) for developing operational guidelines/standards for VCRMCs.
An analysis of the financial, physical and human resources invested by the government in ensuring... more An analysis of the financial, physical and human resources invested by the government in ensuring the rights of children together with an analysis of the child rights situation from 2012-2015, in the sectors of education, health & nutrition, child protection, ECCD and child participation. This is a research conducted with the aim of advocating with the government for optimum and meaningful resource allocation for children, and the findings have already been fed into the National Child Rights Agenda being developed by the government.
Marriage and motherhood are highly valorised and considered axiomatic, sacred and as defining wom... more Marriage and motherhood are highly valorised and considered axiomatic, sacred and as defining womanhood within the Sri Lankan socio-cultural context. This often leaves women staying single beyond the normative age of marriage being stigmatized, questioned and called to account for their single status. Research suggests that a growing number of Sri Lankan women are choosing to either delay marriage or remain unmarried. Singleness of women however is commonly perceived as more prevalent in the urban context due to socio-economic and cultural changes associated with modernization. Two issues that arise in this respect are explored in this research: how do single women in urban Sri Lanka who have never been married experience and negotiate their identities of singleness? and what role does agency play in their narratives as they account for being single? Viewing singleness as a discursively constructed social category, an attempt is made to understand how single women draw from and respond to historical and cultural constructions of singleness through discourse or ‘talk’, in order to make meaning of their singleness to both themselves and others. For this purpose, the narratives generated through in-depth interviews with fifteen never-married single women from the urban city of Colombo in Sri Lanka have been analyzed using the theoretical framework of Critical Discursive Psychological Analysis (CDPA). Deploying its three analytical concepts of interpretive repertoires, subject positions and ideological dilemmas, the study illustrates how single women in urban Sri Lanka oscillate between positive and negative repertoires, or culturally available ‘ways of talking’ about singleness, in negotiating their single identities while engaging in a debate between ‘choice’ and ‘chance’ in explaining the reasons for being single. While single women employ various discursive strategies to construct a more positive identity of singleness, defend their single status and deal with the contradictions arising from polarized identities of singleness, their expressions of agency denote their interest in presenting themselves as women with choice and control over their lives. The study demonstrates that while they engage in a paradoxical act of resisting and reproducing traditional gender norms and cultural convention, single women in urban Sri Lanka use discourse effectively to represent a positive and agentic single self. Taking this to be indicative of a transformation in the discursive terrain of singleness in Sri Lanka, the study suggests that the expressions of identity and agency of single women are emerging forms of resistance to the hegemonic cultural ideology of marriage, family and motherhood.
Key words: singleness, single women, Sri Lanka, gender, identity, agency, discourse, critical discursive psychological analysis (CDPA), interpretive repertoire, subject position, ideological dilemma, discursive strategy
Resourcing the Rights of Children: Child Centric Budget Analysis Sri Lanka 2011, Jul 2013
The CCBA, also known as the Budget for Children (BfC) analysis was conducted by the Child Rights ... more The CCBA, also known as the Budget for Children (BfC) analysis was conducted by the Child Rights Advocacy Network (CRAN) in 2011 with the technical and financial assistance of Save the Children. It is based on the Concluding Observation no 17 adopted for the government of Sri Lanka in 2010 by the Committee on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The analysis was done under four key thematic areas (education, health and nutrition, development and protection) involving the budget estimates of 19 ministries including the ones most relevant to children such as the Ministry of Child Development and Women’s Affairs, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Social Services. The budget estimates from 2009 to 2011 were analyzed, which covered the budget estimates (BE) of 2009-2011, revised estimates (RE) of 2008-2010 and the actual expenditure (AE) of 2007-2009.
The report was launched on the 15th of July 2013 under the patronage of the Ministry of Child Development and Women’s Affairs and the Office of the Advisor on Reconciliation to His Excellency the President of Sri Lanka.
CRG Series on Policies and Practices (#15), Oct 2007
This paper attempts to frame the predominant and multi-faceted issues given rise to by the Govern... more This paper attempts to frame the predominant and multi-faceted issues given rise to by the Government’s failure in fulfilling its national responsibility towards finding a durable solution to displacement, on the premise of the ideals presented in the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, consisting of 30 principles to provide protection and assistance to the IDPs through all phases of displacement including return, resettlement and reintegration, have been taken as the basis for the analysis because a). of the special emphasis placed upon the protection of the IDPs; b). though they are not legally binding, the principles are based on the binding laws found in international humanitarian law and human rights law , and have fast acquired international standing, moral authority and acceptance, and c). it provides guidance to the United Nations and international and national actors in working with internally displaced persons.
Based on the information on the issues surrounding the return process, this paper will examine the dynamics of the inter-relations among the Government, the People and the Third Party Perspective, critiquing the rise of illiberal democracy, the fallacy of the ‘Power of the People’, and the politics of third party intervention in humanitarian assistance.
The ensuing section will proceed to appraise the gaps in the articulation of the Rights Based Approach and the traps in its application within the context of displacement, with emphasis upon the need for meaningful participation by the IDPs, the gendering of the Approach and the recognition of the ‘Trauma Factor’, the individual and the individual experience.
Lastly, an attempt will be made to assess the potential of the new mechanisms – the Resettlement Authority and the Consultative Committee on Humanitarian Assistance – established to redress the issue of internal displacement and provide the internally displaced with the necessary protection and assistance, in finding durable solutions to ending displacement and for the effective practicalization and localization of universal humanitarian standards on internal displacement.
This study which was conducted in 6 districts in the Eastern, Southern and Western Provinces expl... more This study which was conducted in 6 districts in the Eastern, Southern and Western Provinces explores the current status and capacities of the VCRMCs, highlighting the good practices, gaps and challenges, and presenting short and long-term recommendations. The findings of the study have provided the basis for the national forum organized by the Department of Probation and Child Care Services (DPCCS) for developing operational guidelines/standards for VCRMCs.
An analysis of the financial, physical and human resources invested by the government in ensuring... more An analysis of the financial, physical and human resources invested by the government in ensuring the rights of children together with an analysis of the child rights situation from 2012-2015, in the sectors of education, health & nutrition, child protection, ECCD and child participation. This is a research conducted with the aim of advocating with the government for optimum and meaningful resource allocation for children, and the findings have already been fed into the National Child Rights Agenda being developed by the government.