Braveheart

Faced with death

threats and government harassment, Sri Lankan activist
Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena charges on, focusing on battling
sexual violence and standing u for those who can!t stand
u for themselves"
Sh
e is one of Sri Lanka!s bravest women"
#$ %&'K() %*+)&
Lawyer and media columnist Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena is Sri Lanka!s
outsoken critic of human rights abuses and one of its foremost crusaders"
(er weekly legal columns in ,olombo!s -he Sunday -imes and her several
books have examined decades-long abuse of the rule of law against
ma.ority Sinhalese, minority -amils and +uslims, and the oor in articular"
She has become a formidable and legitimate critic that the government
hasn!t been able to easily dismiss"
'n +arch /, 0123, )nternational 4omen!s *ay, Pinto- Jayawardena was
named by %mnesty )nternational %ustralia as one of the bravest women in
the world, the 5+alalas you!ve never heard of 6 who 5risk their lives every
day through their determination to 7 ght for other eole!s rights"6
Pinto-Jayawardena kees good comany, standing shoulder to shoulder
with Pakistan!s $asmin 8ull, who has de7ed the -aliban!s edict banning
women in her region from working on social issues like education, their right
to vote and access to health care9 and %fghanistan!s &a.ia &asim, country
director of 4omen for %fghan 4omen, which runs shelters for girls and
women escaing forced marriages and violence"
From her home in ,olombo, Pinto-Jayawardena dissolves into intoxicating,
infectious laughter when asked if she can be easily :uieted under threat"
&o, no, no, no,6 chuckles Pinto-Jayawardena" 5;+y courage< it comes from
a very strong sense of stubbornness= ) can!t see why anyone should be
:uieted by whomever"6
She is immediately awkward when comlimented and shrugs o> accolades"
5-his is a country where so many women are brave,6 she says" 5) .ust write"
) write because outrage bubbles out of me" Sometimes ) wish ) could
simmer down" Life
would be so much easier" #ut it is .ust not ossible"6
She fears nothing9 not the insidious, shadowy tentacles of government
roagandists, outright vicious attacks or even the threatening anonymous
letters droed in her mailbox"
)t is this courage, this stubbornness, that has allowed Pinto- Jayawardena to
7ght in.ustices on the frontlines of Sri Lanka!s rotracted con?icts, through
her newsaer column and in courts of law from ,olombo to 8eneva"
(er arents were a strong formative in?uence" (er father #rian oted to
serve on remote farms in Sri Lanka!s rural belt after obtaining a doctorate in
animal husbandry" %fter marrying her mother, Susyma, a senior teacher in
mathematics and @nglish, they moved to Kandy, a city nestled among the
hills" 5-hey hated the hustle and bustle of ,olombo,6 Pinto-Jayawardena
reminisces" 5%nd ) cannot remember any denigration of race or religion
when growing u"6
@ven though her arents were devout ,hristians, 5we had the freedom to
examine things for ourselves, develo our own ersonalities and challenge
the status :uo, even when they did not necessarily agree,6 she says" 5)
studied the in.ustices eretrated by the ,hurch on women and vowed,
after ) became 2/, that ) would not go to church, but instead, have my own
rivate faith" )t took my mother some time to understand this but she did,
eventually"6
(er mother exerted a articular in?uence on Pinto-Jayawardena" 4hen she
assed away in 011A, her 5beloved voice stilled,6 Pinto- Jayawardena wrote,
5+y mother " " " was extremely emowering to both my sister and myself"
4e were brought u without any awareness that there were any limitations
imosed on us because we were female"6
Pinto-Jayawardena was free-sirited, even as a child"
$ou know, ) have always been the diB cult one in the family,6 she says" 5)
take after my mother!s mother who, with two younger brothers in her wake,
ran away from a staid u-country #uddhist family as a teenager and
entered a ,hristian convent" -his was scandalous during that conservative
re-colonial era" ) remember her as being int-siCed, but very tough"6
-he encouragement to think, to challenge, to seak u and to seak out
served her well"
%nd it was the same rebel sirit that rovoked her, as an activist
ractitioner, to boldly go to the Dnited &ations (uman Eights ,ommittee in
8eneva against a 5very olitical6 ,hief Justice of Sri Lanka, Sarath &anda
Silva, when a lay teacher was sentenced to hard imrisonment for seaking
loudly in court" (e was later tortured in rison" -he committee agreed that
an in.ustice had occurred"
)t is hard enough to come to terms with state brutality,6 says Pinto-
Jayawardena" 5#ut it!s worse when those who are suosed to hand out
.ustice behave like this" ) stoed going to court several years ago" ) am
disgusted by what our courts have become9 .udges are now tools of the
oliticians"6
Pinto-Jayawardena has also challenged the status :uo by utting en to
aer in the country that the ,ommittee for the Protection of Journalists
ranked the fourth most dangerous in 0123"
)n an oinion iece for -he Sunday -imes, Pinto-Jayawardena wrote about
the chill that has fallen over free exression" 5)n this country, ublic oinion
commentators may write if they wish but at their own eril, always
conscious of the invisible line which, if crossed, would result in inevitable
conse:uences"6
Pinto-Jayawardena crossed that 5invisible line,6 writing to the newsaers
as a teenaged girl" She continued to do so while comleting a law degree
with honours at ,olombo!s Faculty of Law" She was lucky in 7nding mentors
from Sri Lanka!s golden age of olitical .ournalism, a time 5when the media
really was owerful enough to bring down governments,6 she says"
4e had freedom of exression then,6 she says" 5Serious eole
encouraged me" -hat kind of encouragement, ) think, is not all that
common now" @ncouragement of the young to exress views that are very
dissident, very, very anti-establishment, very anti-status :uo"6
%lthough Pinto-Jayawardena has been on the receiving end of threats and
insults, she remains undaunted"
) know that ) am doing right in my own conscience,6 she says" 5So many
eole areciate the fact that there are still some who are seaking out"6
%nd now, as Pinto-Jayawardena turns her gaCe to Sri Lanka!s future, lending
her vast exertise on Sri Lankan law to international organiCations
like ,anada!s )nternational *eveloment Eesearch ,entre and the
)nternational ,ommission of Jurists, she believes that the threat of sexual
violence and the light of the oor are the greatest in.ustice facing her
country today"
)n recent years this ;sexual violence< has been coming out very much into
the oen, and that!s a ositive sign,6 says Pinto- Jayawardena" 5Particularly
in the South %sian context, women often kee :uiet because of the social
stigma"6
%ccording to Pinto-Jayawardena, Sri Lanka is art of a rising chorus of
international .ournalists, exerts, and ordinary men and women decrying
calculated sexual attacks on women around the globe, from the refugee
cams of Syria and the *emocratic Eeublic of ,ongo, to the barricades of
the %rab Sring, and articularly in South %sia, where violent assaults have
sarked widesread ublic outrage and forced governments to take action"
#ut it is by no means the only in.ustice taking lace in Sri Lankan society
today"
%nd when it comes to in.ustice, Pinto-Jayawardena does not mince words"
-he greatest in.ustice, ) think, is very much against the oor of -amil
ethnicity, of Sinhalese ethnicity and of +uslim ethnicity,6 says Pinto-
Jayawardena" 5-hose who are rich and are owerful, even if they are of
minority ethnicity, can lay the system and get away with it"6
For this Sri Lankan voice, the struggle is not yet won" )t may never be won"
5#ut for the moment, seaking out is necessary,6 she says"
She recalls the words of +artin Luther King, which are hanging on the walls
of her study as an every-day reminderF 5'ur lives begin to end the day we
become silent about the things that matter" )n the end, we will remember
not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends"6
)sabelle #ourgeault--assG is a -oronto-based writer, formerly with the
)nternational *eveloment Eesearch ,entre in 'ttawa, ,anada"
#$ )S%#@LL@ #'DE8@%DL---%SSH
PD#L)S(@* )& -(@ (@%L-( I 4@LL&@SS )SSD@JSD++@E 0123
Faced with death
threats and government harassment, Sri Lankan activist
Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena charges on, focusing on battling
sexual violence and standing u for those who can!t stand
u for themselves"
Sh
e is one of Sri Lanka!s bravest women"
#$ %&'K() %*+)&
Lawyer and media columnist Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena is Sri Lanka!s
outsoken critic of human rights abuses and one of its foremost crusaders"
(er weekly legal columns in ,olombo!s -he Sunday -imes and her several
books have examined decades-long abuse of the rule of law against
ma.ority Sinhalese, minority -amils and +uslims, and the oor in articular"
She has become a formidable and legitimate critic that the government
hasn!t been able to easily dismiss"
'n +arch /, 0123, )nternational 4omen!s *ay, Pinto- Jayawardena was
named by %mnesty )nternational %ustralia as one of the bravest women in
the world, the 5+alalas you!ve never heard of 6 who 5risk their lives every
day through their determination to 7 ght for other eole!s rights"6
Pinto-Jayawardena kees good comany, standing shoulder to shoulder
with Pakistan!s $asmin 8ull, who has de7ed the -aliban!s edict banning
women in her region from working on social issues like education, their right
to vote and access to health care9 and %fghanistan!s &a.ia &asim, country
director of 4omen for %fghan 4omen, which runs shelters for girls and
women escaing forced marriages and violence"
From her home in ,olombo, Pinto-Jayawardena dissolves into intoxicating,
infectious laughter when asked if she can be easily :uieted under threat"
&o, no, no, no,6 chuckles Pinto-Jayawardena" 5;+y courage< it comes from
a very strong sense of stubbornness= ) can!t see why anyone should be
:uieted by whomever"6
She is immediately awkward when comlimented and shrugs o> accolades"
5-his is a country where so many women are brave,6 she says" 5) .ust write"
) write because outrage bubbles out of me" Sometimes ) wish ) could
simmer down" Life
would be so much easier" #ut it is .ust not ossible"6
She fears nothing9 not the insidious, shadowy tentacles of government
roagandists, outright vicious attacks or even the threatening anonymous
letters droed in her mailbox"
)t is this courage, this stubbornness, that has allowed Pinto- Jayawardena to
7ght in.ustices on the frontlines of Sri Lanka!s rotracted con?icts, through
her newsaer column and in courts of law from ,olombo to 8eneva"
(er arents were a strong formative in?uence" (er father #rian oted to
serve on remote farms in Sri Lanka!s rural belt after obtaining a doctorate in
animal husbandry" %fter marrying her mother, Susyma, a senior teacher in
mathematics and @nglish, they moved to Kandy, a city nestled among the
hills" 5-hey hated the hustle and bustle of ,olombo,6 Pinto-Jayawardena
reminisces" 5%nd ) cannot remember any denigration of race or religion
when growing u"6
@ven though her arents were devout ,hristians, 5we had the freedom to
examine things for ourselves, develo our own ersonalities and challenge
the status :uo, even when they did not necessarily agree,6 she says" 5)
studied the in.ustices eretrated by the ,hurch on women and vowed,
after ) became 2/, that ) would not go to church, but instead, have my own
rivate faith" )t took my mother some time to understand this but she did,
eventually"6
(er mother exerted a articular in?uence on Pinto-Jayawardena" 4hen she
assed away in 011A, her 5beloved voice stilled,6 Pinto- Jayawardena wrote,
5+y mother " " " was extremely emowering to both my sister and myself"
4e were brought u without any awareness that there were any limitations
imosed on us because we were female"6
Pinto-Jayawardena was free-sirited, even as a child"
$ou know, ) have always been the diB cult one in the family,6 she says" 5)
take after my mother!s mother who, with two younger brothers in her wake,
ran away from a staid u-country #uddhist family as a teenager and
entered a ,hristian convent" -his was scandalous during that conservative
re-colonial era" ) remember her as being int-siCed, but very tough"6
-he encouragement to think, to challenge, to seak u and to seak out
served her well"
%nd it was the same rebel sirit that rovoked her, as an activist
ractitioner, to boldly go to the Dnited &ations (uman Eights ,ommittee in
8eneva against a 5very olitical6 ,hief Justice of Sri Lanka, Sarath &anda
Silva, when a lay teacher was sentenced to hard imrisonment for seaking
loudly in court" (e was later tortured in rison" -he committee agreed that
an in.ustice had occurred"
)t is hard enough to come to terms with state brutality,6 says Pinto-
Jayawardena" 5#ut it!s worse when those who are suosed to hand out
.ustice behave like this" ) stoed going to court several years ago" ) am
disgusted by what our courts have become9 .udges are now tools of the
oliticians"6
Pinto-Jayawardena has also challenged the status :uo by utting en to
aer in the country that the ,ommittee for the Protection of Journalists
ranked the fourth most dangerous in 0123"
)n an oinion iece for -he Sunday -imes, Pinto-Jayawardena wrote about
the chill that has fallen over free exression" 5)n this country, ublic oinion
commentators may write if they wish but at their own eril, always
conscious of the invisible line which, if crossed, would result in inevitable
conse:uences"6
Pinto-Jayawardena crossed that 5invisible line,6 writing to the newsaers
as a teenaged girl" She continued to do so while comleting a law degree
with honours at ,olombo!s Faculty of Law" She was lucky in 7nding mentors
from Sri Lanka!s golden age of olitical .ournalism, a time 5when the media
really was owerful enough to bring down governments,6 she says"
4e had freedom of exression then,6 she says" 5Serious eole
encouraged me" -hat kind of encouragement, ) think, is not all that
common now" @ncouragement of the young to exress views that are very
dissident, very, very anti-establishment, very anti-status :uo"6
%lthough Pinto-Jayawardena has been on the receiving end of threats and
insults, she remains undaunted"
) know that ) am doing right in my own conscience,6 she says" 5So many
eole areciate the fact that there are still some who are seaking out"6
%nd now, as Pinto-Jayawardena turns her gaCe to Sri Lanka!s future, lending
her vast exertise on Sri Lankan law to international organiCations
like ,anada!s )nternational *eveloment Eesearch ,entre and the
)nternational ,ommission of Jurists, she believes that the threat of sexual
violence and the light of the oor are the greatest in.ustice facing her
country today"
)n recent years this ;sexual violence< has been coming out very much into
the oen, and that!s a ositive sign,6 says Pinto- Jayawardena" 5Particularly
in the South %sian context, women often kee :uiet because of the social
stigma"6
%ccording to Pinto-Jayawardena, Sri Lanka is art of a rising chorus of
international .ournalists, exerts, and ordinary men and women decrying
calculated sexual attacks on women around the globe, from the refugee
cams of Syria and the *emocratic Eeublic of ,ongo, to the barricades of
the %rab Sring, and articularly in South %sia, where violent assaults have
sarked widesread ublic outrage and forced governments to take action"
#ut it is by no means the only in.ustice taking lace in Sri Lankan society
today"
%nd when it comes to in.ustice, Pinto-Jayawardena does not mince words"
-he greatest in.ustice, ) think, is very much against the oor of -amil
ethnicity, of Sinhalese ethnicity and of +uslim ethnicity,6 says Pinto-
Jayawardena" 5-hose who are rich and are owerful, even if they are of
minority ethnicity, can lay the system and get away with it"6
For this Sri Lankan voice, the struggle is not yet won" )t may never be won"
5#ut for the moment, seaking out is necessary,6 she says"
She recalls the words of +artin Luther King, which are hanging on the walls
of her study as an every-day reminderF 5'ur lives begin to end the day we
become silent about the things that matter" )n the end, we will remember
not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends"6
)sabelle #ourgeault--assG is a -oronto-based writer, formerly with the
)nternational *eveloment Eesearch ,entre in 'ttawa, ,anada"
#$ )S%#@LL@ #'DE8@%DL---%SSH
PD#L)S(@* )& -(@ (@%L-( I 4@LL&@SS )SSD@JSD++@E 0123