Informality is highly prevalent in the Sri Lankan apparel industry in the Katunayake export processing zone where there has been a labour shortage since the 2010s (Ranasinghe et al. 2016). Against this shortage, informal labour plays a key role in guaranteeing uninterrupted production in the free trade zones (Skanthakumar 2019). Yet, the implications on informal… Continue reading ‘Living for the Day’: Informality, gender, and precarious work in the Sri Lankan apparel industry – Shyamain Wickramasingha
Author: ssalanka
Policing the Patriline: Reading the Current Economic and Political Crisis through the Plantation – Mythri Jegathesan
In late December 2021, the Ministry of Plantation Industries announced that it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Industries, Mine, and Trade of the Islamic Republic of Iran to settle a US$250 million outstanding debt of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation with the National Iranian Oil Company. The settlement outlined that… Continue reading Policing the Patriline: Reading the Current Economic and Political Crisis through the Plantation – Mythri Jegathesan
No Magic Bullets on Women’s Waged Labour – Chulani Kodikara
As part of Sri Lanka’s economic bailout, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is telling us that we should increase women’s labour force participation. It is part of a recommendation about ‘growth-enhancing structural reforms’ including reducing youth unemployment, liberalising trade, developing a wide-reaching and coherent investment promotion strategy, and reforming price controls and State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs)… Continue reading No Magic Bullets on Women’s Waged Labour – Chulani Kodikara
Women’s Labour Force Participation: Choice Versus Necessity – Ranmini Vithanagama
The benefits of women’s labour force participation (LFP) have been broadly discussed along two strands. The first is its utilitarian value. According to International Monetary Fund estimates, increasing women’s LFP can boost the national output levels by as much as 35% in developing countries. Globally, this increase can be as much as 26% (Orlando et… Continue reading Women’s Labour Force Participation: Choice Versus Necessity – Ranmini Vithanagama
‘Is there an Asian Bioethics? Alternative Understandings of Ethics in Medicine’ – Bob Simpson
Untitled – ‘Chitra’
The bedMade from wood of a tree, nurtured in the Vanni forestThe tree bears fruits, yellow, plump, small and sticky, very sweetHoney–filled flowers The old carpenter carved its legs and drew motifs The sweet aroma and taste stem from the bed mixed with the scent of my child who sleeps on itI softly touch it… Continue reading Untitled – ‘Chitra’
Outline of a Redistributive State in the Southern Periphery – Devaka Gunawardena
A clear line against political repression is beginning to emerge within democratic opposition forces in Sri Lanka, or broadly speaking, those who oppose the current government of Ranil Wickremesinghe. But the crisis of the old order requires thinking more about the relationship between politics and economics that is materialised in the State. The people’s movement… Continue reading Outline of a Redistributive State in the Southern Periphery – Devaka Gunawardena
Polity Vol.10 No.1
Editorial The #GotaGoHome Protest Movement: Significance, Potential, and Challenges – Jayadeva Uyangoda Our Broken Nation Lies Before Us – From the Galle Face Aragala Bhoomiya “People Are Starting To See That We Were Right” – Two University Students interviewed by Hasini Lecamwasam “The Act of Protest is a Privilege” – Serika Siriwardhana interviewed by Treshan… Continue reading Polity Vol.10 No.1
Economic Crisis and Resistance in Batticaloa, Eastern Sri Lanka – Thavarasa Anukuvi
IntroductionThe question whether ‘the people’ of the North and East should or could protest in solidarity with the #GotaGoHome protest movement has been the subject of much debate (Pundir & Kanapathippillai 2022; Sandranathan 2022; Ellis-Petersen & Sandran 2022; De Soysa 2022; De Sayrah 2022). Since the end of the war, people in the North and… Continue reading Economic Crisis and Resistance in Batticaloa, Eastern Sri Lanka – Thavarasa Anukuvi
Solidarity among Women in Politics in Sri Lanka: Potentials and Challenges- Nadine Vanniasinkam and Viyanga Gunasekera
Given these shared challenges, in this article, we ask whether the quota for women in local government can foster solidarity among women within parties and across party lines to address gender discrimination and increase women’s representation and participation beyond local politics. Or is the idea of solidarity among women politicians to further their shared interests… Continue reading Solidarity among Women in Politics in Sri Lanka: Potentials and Challenges- Nadine Vanniasinkam and Viyanga Gunasekera