Implementation of International Conventions is limited due to cultural, social and religious attitudes. Socio-economic, cultural and religious factors take a prominent place when implementing International Conventions in Sri Lanka, as Sri Lanka is an Asian country as well as a multi religious and multi racial country. Sri Lanka is also a patriarchal society.

1. By Arundathie Abeysinghe
Lecturer
International Aviation Academy
SriLankan Airlines

2. What is an International Convention?
International Convention is an agreement under
International Law entered into by states
“An international convention can be compared to
agreements where willing parties assume obligations
among themselves”
(Article 2 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of
Treaties)
A convention is an official document which expresses an
agreement in words

3. What is CEDAW?
• CEDAW - an acronym for the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women
• It is the first international treaty that addresses
discrimination against women comprehensively
in all areas
• It is also referred to as the international bill of
rights for women
• It was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979
and came into force on 3 September 1981

4. • CEDAW calls on states to respect,
protect, and fulfill women’s human
rights and requires states to expressly
consent to take on obligations to
implement the treaty through the act of
ratification
• The ratifying state is referred to as a state
party to the Convention

5. What hinders the implementation
of CEDAW?
• Socio-economic, cultural and religious factors
• Sri Lanka is an Asian country as well as a multi
religious and multi racial country
• Sri Lanka is also a patriarchal society
• Thus, implementation of international conventions
is limited due to cultural, social and religious
attitudes

6. • These attitudes cannot be changed
easily
• Sri Lanka has values peculiar to the
Asian region
• These factors conflict with
conventional provisions

7. Constitutional provisions
• Article 12 (1) of the 1978 Constitution of the
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka provides
that “All persons are equal before the law and are
entitled to the equal protection of the law.”
• Article 12 (2) of the Constitution provides that "No
citizen shall be discriminated against on the grounds
of race, religion, language, caste, sex, political opinion,
place of birth or any one of such grounds.”

8. Provisions in CEDAW
• Article 1: Defines discrimination against
women as any “distinction, exclusion or
restriction made on the basis of sex which has
the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying
the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by
women, irrespective of marital status, on the
basis of equality between men and women, of
human rights or fundamental freedoms in the
political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any
other field.”

9. CEDAW specifically explains
‘discrimination against women’ and
women’s inequality is present in all
spheres; political, legal and social
aspects of life and are entrenched in
religion, culture and tradition

10. Article 2: Mandates that States Parties
condemn discrimination in all its forms
and ensure a legal framework including all
laws, policies and practices that provides
protection against discrimination and
embodies the principle of equality

11. Article 3: Requires States Parties
to take action in all fields: civil,
political, economic, social, and
cultural to guarantee women’s
human rights
Law in the field is different from
the law in the books

12. • CEDAW is unable to have them
amended to fit international obligations
• Why….?
• There are deep rooted cultural practices
that have been incorporated into
statutory provisions

13. • Customary laws such as Thesawalamai Law
and Muslim Law are such examples
• There have been no significant agitations
from women subject to Thesawalamai Law
as they have accepted such discriminatory
rules for generations and they do treat
them with respect considering them to be
the culture they have inherited from birth

14. • According to Thesawalamai Law, a married
woman has no capacity to transfer her dowry
property without the consent of her husband
even when the spouses are living in
separation
• Rasammah V. Karthigesu, “Mr. Chelvanayagam
contends that under that law a married woman
had no capacity to transfer her dowry property
without the consent of her husband even
though they were living in separation”

15. • In support of this, he relies on the following
statement of the law in Part IV, Clause I
of the Thesawalamai(Cap.51)
• “When husband and wife live separately
on account of some difference, it is
generally seen that the children take the part
of the mother and remain with her
• In such a case, the husband is not at liberty
to give any part whatsoever of the wife’s
dowry away, but if they live peaceably, he
may give some part of the wife’s dowry away

16. • If the husband on his side wishes to give
away any part of his hereditary property
which he has brought in marriage, he may
then give away one tenth of it without the
consent of the wife and children, and no
more, but the wife, being subject to the will
of the husband, may not give anything away
without the consent of her husband, as she
is subject to the will of her husband”

17. • The laws governing marriage, divorce and
maintenance for Muslim women pre-date the
current Sri Lankan Constitution
• The present laws violate CEDAW principles
• Muslim women have unequal rights in marriage
and divorce
• Polygamy is recognized in the Muslim Personal Law
• Muslim women have unequal rights in marriage
and divorce under Muslim Personal Law

18. • There is no minimum age of marriage and
polygamy is legal
• In theory, a woman’s consent is necessary for
marriage
• But, in practice, she can be married off without
her consent
• Husband can divorce his wife without giving a
reason or compensation
• To divorce the husband, the wife has to prove
fault
• Muslim women cannot be appointed as family
court judges or registrars of marriages

19. • The current Muslim Personal Law has several
discriminatory provisions which need to be
reformed if women are to enjoy full equality as
guaranteed by the Constitution of Sri Lanka
• There is no minimum age of marriage for
Muslim girls

20. • Many areas of Muslim family law in
Sri Lanka are governed by the Muslim
Marriage and Divorce Act No. 13 of
1951 (the Act)
• While the Act recognizes that consent
of both parties is essential for a valid
marriage, there is no space in the
marriage register for the signature of
the bride

21. In the Act, there is no obligation on the
Quazi to find out whether the husband is able
to treat all his wives equally and justly or even
obtain the wife’s (wives’) permission to get
married again
Instead, the husband is only required to give
notice of his intention to marry a subsequent
wife

22. • Under the present provisions of the Act, a husband
who wishes to divorce his wife need not give any
reasons for doing so
• A Muslim woman is only entitled to maintenance for
the period of iddah
• The Qur’anic verses on maintenance, however, make
it clear that a Muslim woman on divorce is entitled to
that which is equitable or responsible

23. • Only male Muslims can hold the offices
of Quazis and marriage registrars and
therefore they have amended laws
according to their favor
• There have been many attempts for
legislative reform of Muslim Law

24. • Yet, they have been unsuccessful due to a
growing Muslim lobby which has preferred to
see reform as an interference with the
religious identity of the Muslim community
and there have been attempts to attribute
such reforms as contradictory to the “will of
God”
• If a legal principle is based on a religious
concept or a deep rooted religious belief, the
legislators would not attempt to enact
amending laws unless the request comes from
the religious sector itself

25. • Muslim Law in Sri Lanka has been reformed on
the initiative of male elites of the community in
1929 and 1956 in an attempt to bring the law
more in line with the ‘true spirit of Islam’
• Recent attempts by Muslim women to reform
these laws to give justice and equality to women
have however met with little success

26. • There are provisions in CEDAW to end
discrimination against women
• How can we transform these principles from mere
declarations in to living law?
• Are there enforcement mechanisms and
procedures? Are women aware of their rights, if
not, what measures can we take to make them
aware?

27. • We have to take affirmative action to end
discrimination taking place on the pretext of social,
cultural and religious practices
• For generations, women’s rights have been
suppressed and they have been considered as
inferior to men
• In terms of human rights, we have to ensure equality
and take measures to maximize the individual and
collective participation of women in all spheres of
life while maximizing their individual and collective
potentialities

28. • Thus, they can contribute to the community
enormously which in turn will help a country
develop economically
• According to Justice C.G. Weeramantry
“Legislation is not merely declaratory of the
rights of women but it should provide access to
courts, tribunals, committees and other forms
of relief

29. • It should grant redress, impose penalties, make
investigations and inquiries, make
recommendations, establish institutions for
promoting the advancement of these norms,
educate the public, inaugurate reporting
procedures, so the various violations can be
reported back to the central authority
• There should be a method of enforcement”

30. • In Sri Lanka, steps have been taken towards
this end
• But it is most important that wherever possible
we do not merely rest content with formulating
these principles into the statute books
• We have to translate this in to something
meaningful which makes a real impact upon
the lives of women as they live in their daily
lives

31. • There are those psychological and attitudinal
problems and traditions coming down from
generations that treat women as subordinate
members even in the marriage relationship,
prejudice against women holding high
positions; there is an interlocking web of
oppression caused by law (Thesawalamai and
Muslim Law), tradition, history, custom, social
practice and ideology

32. What can we do to eliminate discrimination
against women? According to the General
recommendations made by the Committee on
the Elimination of Discrimination against
Women following measures should be taken by
States parties to eliminate discrimination against
women:
“ Establish and/or strengthen effective national
machinery, institutions and procedures, at a high
level of Government, and with adequate resources,
commitment and authority to advise on the impact
on women of all government policies

33. Monitor the situation of women comprehensively
Help formulate new policies and effectively carry out
strategies and measures to eliminate discrimination
Undertaking programs including conferences and
seminars to publicize the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women in the main languages of and providing
information on the Convention in their respective
countries

34.  Inviting national women's organizations to cooperate in
the publicity campaigns regarding the Convention and its
implementation and encouraging non-governmental
organizations at the national, regional and international
levels to publicize the Convention and its implementation
There are cultural, religious, attitudinal, political and
economic constraints to women achieving their full
potential
These are the challenges Sri Lanka faces in implementing
international conventions

35. Thank you!