ABSTRACT
In Sri Lanka at present, the Sinhalese form 74 per cent of the population and Sri Lankan Tamils make up about 13 per cent of the population. According to one observer, ‘At the time of independence spokespersons for the 69 per cent Sinhalese majority, the 11 per cent indigenous Tamil minority, and the 6 per cent Moorish minority shaped a constitutional bargain that provided for a democratic parliamentary system with substantial safeguards for the rights of the minorities.’ Sri Lankan women have enjoyed adult franchise since 1931 and the country has ratified a series of international pro-women treaties. In 1981, it ratified the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women without any reservation. In the case of the borderlands of India and Sri Lanka this dualistic nature of women’s engagements with the national and ethnic collectivities leads to further discrimination against them.
