By Parvathi Ram-Bandaranayake –
The Royal tweet from the Presidential scion about Anarkali Akarsha is nothing less than sexual harassment. A young woman is sexualized as an object and reduced to her body parts; the arrogant young man in question shrugs off shocked comments by claiming it was all a joke. But is the joker laughing alone? Apparently not, since the objectified lady has joined the joker in assuring those concerned about her that she too, is laughing.
Since both the joker and the object of his joke have joined sides why cannot we walk away from such a situation? By drawing attention to an issue which the young lady in question has closed, would we be violating her privacy by directing our gaze once more into the situation? It is in the background of this apprehension that I write.
We cannot walk away from this situation because of the power this young man possesses. As the scion of the ruling house he is honor bound to uphold norms of decency, especially when it comes to the privacy of a young woman. Reducing a young woman in public to her body parts is sexual harassment; it is demeaning behavior which contains at its core, a misogynistic arrogance passed off as a harmless joke. A joke that seeks to reduce and demean is not a joke, but an act of violence. The inability of those at the highest echelons of power to see this as an inappropriate act, to condemn it and push the young man to withdraw the offensive tweet speaks to the powerlessness of these advisors, and to a growing impunity at the center of power; an impunity that lacks even the minute grace of decency. What respect can women in the nation expect we wonder when such vulgarity is condoned and treated as a laughing matter.
And what of the objectified young woman who requests the shocked to back off and chill out? For her, it is a situation of double jeopardy. Not only is she objectified once, she is objectified over and over again by those who point at her lack of outrage as lack of virtue and dignity. She is caught in a fast paced game of politics in which power is concentrated into a tight central core of a handful of individuals. A game in which hierarchical patron client relationships trump horizontal networks in which power is distributed with more equality. Does not her survival within this structure require her to downplay friction, and play homage to the center of power? We should not forget that it is her dignity that has been compromised. Let us consider the obvious alternate. What indeed would have become of Anarkali had she had made this tweet an issue?
The Sri Lankan woman has always possessed the courage to rise up for her rights. We witness this on a daily basis with the women around us. Our tiny county was the first to boast of a woman Head of State way back in 1960. Numerous women’s rights groups have sprung up on fertile soil. Yet, this act of vulgarity is an insult to this grand legacy, originating as it does from the center of power. It sets, indeed, a dangerous precedent for the future.
Related posts;
Sexist Jokes: What Namal And Anarkali Fail To Grasp
Three Days After Anarkalli Meme: No Apology, No Regrets And No Deletion From Namal
Namal Rajapaksa Tweets Meme Of Himself Making Offensive Remarks About Anarkali
Rohan / March 11, 2014
Sadly, Princes don’t have a sister (I wonder what EXACTLY happened to the one they used to have). They don’t realise the feeling of the girls (well, let’s leave the Beauty Queen mother out of this).
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Ben Hurling / March 11, 2014
“Crown Prince” Wannabe understands nothing about women’s rights or emanicipation, of course.
The victim is of his dumb tweets is a major recipient of serious perks and privileges through association of this regime.
Therefore she is willing to look away and gloss over horrible sexism. Even pretend as if she is not utterly offended and insulted.
Indeed a very sad state of affairs. Where human freedom and dignity is surrendered for influence in the regime.
Cheers!
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Sama / March 11, 2014
Apple never falls far from the tree.
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Sama / March 11, 2014
right these days those who care for human rights keep asking about how MR regime conducted those crime investigaitons with not even a single report of any of the crimes made accountable to the parliament yet…. criminals by birth – these Rajapakshes are
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SUN / March 11, 2014
Mervin´s inhuman abuses towards Kelaniya people have deliberately been ignored by president for specially reasons. These reasons are connected with the secrets that Mervin as close one to Rajapakshes are well aware – the danger of them to be leak in case Raja would go against him. So impunity cases are none issues for Rajapakshes. There are evidence that Rajapaskshe had been a brutal criminal in the past.
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Native Vedda / March 11, 2014
Ben Hurling
“Indeed a very sad state of affairs. Where human freedom and dignity is surrendered for influence in the regime.”
Sexual harassment one form or another is rampant among the Lankies.
You better speak to any working women in this island they will tell you thousands of real life stories about their life in work place, in public transport, etc. This is only one form of harassment that women are forced to put up with.
The problem is deep rooted.
You should question the the ugly men whose behaviour that should change not this poor women who has no choice but to put up or shut up.
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JULAMPITIYE AMARAYA / March 12, 2014
What respect you expect from a heinous family with the history of thefts and crimes.
And from the associating whores and part time prostitutes.
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Bum Wrap / March 12, 2014
What is all this hullabaloo about a young twenty-odd year fellow making a jovial remark (to a friend ofhis) about a part of a woman’s body that every red-blooded male assesses.
Anarkali is no shy and unassuming village damsel who is unused to sex and sexual remarks. From what we know, she is well experienced and she “sells” sex appeal.Feminists should not forget that Anrkali lives by marketing her sexuality.
The remark about her posterior is like a buyer commenting about a motor vehicle.
Feminists should realise they can’t have it bothways. If Anarkali’s rear end is so precious, they should ask her not to display it so blatantly.
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Native Vedda / March 12, 2014
Bum Wrap
“If Anarkali’s rear end is so precious, they should ask her not to display it so blatantly.”
I got it.
You want her to leave her posterior at home whenever she steps out of her house.
It is a brilliant piece of advice.
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Palayang yako! / March 13, 2014
Native Veddah:
Thank you for the accurate description (as usual!) Mervin is only the Kelaniya representative of this lot of hooligans. They support him because like him they are all Vermin!
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JULAMPITIYE AMARAYA / March 13, 2014
Oh my,
So It is An Artificial Posterior gadget, [NOT AN INSULT TO Our LADIES]
She wears to Show and Get squeezed by Young Hambanthota LOW YERs and later got to wash, replace and cover the original Tiber planks One?????????? .
Deyiyo SAAKKI?????? They love LIKE this PXXA??.
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Lasantha / April 2, 2014
I myself have seen a 16 yeas old girl stuffing her Bras with clothes to make her breasts looks bigger.
This is similar to cosmetic surgery in the West.
I think women are genetically programmed to make themselves attractive to men and they do all kinds of things to be attractive.
Today the cosmetic industry is only second to automobile industry.
Women are Genetically programmed to attract males and subsiquent the most suitable partner.
That’s why in muslim countries they are kept hidden behind black garments. Women are vulnerable and weak. They get trapped easily.
All the rest are vulnerable and they come with the highest bid……I mean the market economy.
Anarkali like Geetha are seasoned ones. They don’t mind a spank by the King pin.
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burt / March 12, 2014
This is what she had to say. So go figure. She wants to be on the gravy train everything else is secondary.
““Namal was Brave Enough to face all the Criticism by Admitting that he Tweeted the Meme with all three of us” – Anarkali”
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mj / March 11, 2014
The UPFA candidate for Western Province Hirunika Premachandra says that the next President of Sri Lanka should be undoubtedly Namal Rajapaksa.is she crazy.
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Pakya / March 11, 2014
Not that she is crazy, indirect way of bribing by boasting to his face expecting more and more favorations by the local Royal family.
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mike / March 11, 2014
mj – Horanika is aspiring to become the next First Lady with our synthetic lawyer as “President”, my foot!
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Sama / March 11, 2014
that says the general knowledge of so called going to be lawyers in the country.
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whywhy / March 11, 2014
mj
“The UPFA candidate for Western province,Hirunika……..”
Our country will never get out of the precipice it is in,
as long as they remain who they are today.Buildings and
highways are not born out of your hard toil,they are
forced upon you by wasteful thinking patterns deep rooted
in “monkey see monkey do”culture.Imagine Duminda was an
ordinary soul without any political,financial or social
background and got seriously involved in that day light
shooting of Hirunika’s DARLING father!Where do you think
he would be taking his supper today?If Duminda becomes the
president tomorrow and offers Hirunika the prime minister,
what do you think Hirunika will do?She’s not crazy to
suggest Namal baby for presidency,it’s just the culture of
boot licking for luxury survival.Ordinaries are without
exception,licking for ordinary survival.You are not ready
to boot lick,then in Srilanka the only place for you is
the cemetery.Schools,Hospitals,Police,Banks,you name it.
Think,Think,Think who wants to stop it?How and When?
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SUN / March 12, 2014
If she sits with dogs, the problems with ticks will the next.
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KD / March 11, 2014
Tweets say more about the upbringing than anything else. What respect do they have for their own Mothers?
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Piyumi Welikala / March 11, 2014
You expect decency from the royal scion? You are joking! The Rajapakses have thrown all the rule books and are running wild like the BBS balu sena and Ravana jokers. The scion is the bogus lawyer who was “passed.”
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ela kolla / March 11, 2014
piumi [Edited out]
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mike / March 11, 2014
Thana kolla, what you were trying to say has been edited out!
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georgethebushpig / March 11, 2014
Spot on. Is this your 1st article on CT? Please write more.
Thanks
GTPB
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Javi / March 11, 2014
“Our tiny county was the first to boast of a woman Head of State way back in 1960.”
Sihala Buddhist only exhibited stupidity by voting for the dead and it was reconfirmed by the daughter.
The writer too feels guilty so much so that she is unable to differentiate between a woman and lady.
“She is caught in a fast paced game of politics in which power is concentrated into a tight central core of a handful of individuals.”
This woman who now lives at Elibank and may have attended the school up the road at dickmens end so she would definitely have known what power was when she had a long drawn out affair with Kudu Duminda- She wanted vertical thinking and became an MP so that she does not pass through security checks.
Indian movie business is still Muslim and they all (men and women) look for gora girl to expose but when an Anglo Indian (Muslim) Kafi takes center stage they do their best to deflect.
Anyway there is nothing beautiful about Akali just another rotten MP.
Look at Julia Fiona Roberts an American actress and producer. She became a Hollywood star after headlining the romantic comedy Pretty Woman. We don’t hear things like these.
” As the scion of the ruling house”
What is this applied ornamentation?? The writer must be just another frog croaking for the regime built on murder drugs and guns.
The islands pseudo problems can be solved by forfeiture of Passports and DPL postings- or handing over sovereignty to India as before 48- then you come to earth.
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burt / March 11, 2014
Sri Lankans boast about everything. The question you should be asking is was she elected for sympathy or the credentials she carried?
Is it any different today? Sympathy and nepotism has been replaced with beauty and popularity not integrity and qualification.
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Javi / March 12, 2014
“not integrity and qualification”
Spice Colony Lankans always boast like the Africans of Spice colony West Indies. Why So?? because they both have killed the indigenous people.
Remember the two men NM Perera and Colvin?? NM made us burn our hard earned cash and Colvin took our property and now you see stupid old hag GL. What is interesting is BBC cricket commentators throughout the ages looking for christian sounding names and whiteness to identify themselves with only Lanka.
The rich always “run”;
the rich always win;
the rich always have power;
the rich always get the best;
and, most of all, the rich always break their promises to the poor fools who voted for them.
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Halt / March 11, 2014
They were given power at very young age. its the stupidity of the voting base in the country. still go behind the drama and vote for the attraction. this will never change in SL. so do not expect the respect from Sri lankan present day politicians.
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Katmai / March 11, 2014
Oh brother…
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We the People / March 11, 2014
The author says: “As the scion of the ruling house he is honor bound to uphold norms of decency”
We the people say: “There is zero honour among thieves, including this baby scion of a thief in chief”
QED
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Priya / March 11, 2014
This woman is a bum sucker of Pseudo- Royal family for her own personal benefit.Even if the crown prince rides on her in broad day light she will claim it is a joke and she is not offended.. Shameles characters.
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burt / March 11, 2014
I saw this on line and thought of sharing the laugh.
“The UPFA candidate for Western Province Hirunika Premachandra says that the next President of Sri Lanka should be undoubtedly Namal Rajapaksa.
Participating in an interview with a weekend paper she has stated that the person she hate in the party is Duminda Silva who killed her father.”
Seriously?
LOL
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Goraka / March 11, 2014
Is the author living in the real world? Watch media to see how women as treated as sexual objects. The issue you are complaining about is only a symptom.
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Thrishu / March 11, 2014
If Hirunika has been misled into believing that she is a contender for the heir apparent’s hand in return for burying her hatchett regarding her pa, then she better be careful. She should know how the young manaalaya’s mind work, going roaming after other girls botties!
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Sun / March 12, 2014
I really wonder why she failed to leave the country for Canada ?
She has betrayed the nation that hers is an another example.
So long Rajapaskshes are in power – she could be away from lanken politics. I have the feeling that this disgraceful bunch will have no much time, even if they repeated… it… it can be within days.
My wish is- UN resolution should work on them not on the poor nation.
They should isolate Rajapakshes not poor people.
Rajapakshe income – collections should be frozen. So should be done towards any other Rajapske clans too. Mervin should be brought before the court and his assets should be taken by the state. With that sums, poor masses should be served.
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K.A Sumanasekera / March 12, 2014
What is the big deal about calling Anarkaki and Hiruni Hot ?.
Aren’t the Diaspora chicks even in the West love to be called that?…
Native stock being called hot by even influential dudes nowadays , is a sign of Economic progress . Isn’t it?.
Shouldn’t these anti Buddhist , anti Sinhala brigades focus on serious issues of women’s rights and dignity?.
The likes of Massage Parlours ( Isn’t this a Diaspora term for places providing happy endings ) in the newly liberated land in the North.
The restaurant which provides extras for the well heeled diners and run by the TNA supporters..
And the TNA member who sexually abused the little kid in a Temple on Maha Shivarasthri day.
Now please don’ ask me to name names.
I am just repeating what the Mayor of the Vellala run NPC said in the main English Media today.
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casim sivardeen / March 12, 2014
The chief makes his comments at the body parts of dressed women whilst his soldiers kill them,strip them, make comments and go even furthe
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Rama / March 12, 2014
The “Royal Prick” is too cocky
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Kutti Machan / March 12, 2014
Government’s strategy to distract the feminazis and tigresses during the Geneva Inquisition seems to be working pretty good. It needed only two non-existing things: Prince Namal Raja’s brain & Anarkali’s butt.
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mike / March 12, 2014
Our playboy prince and synthetic lawyer has a penchant for Paba’s butt too!
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sama / March 12, 2014
WHY SHOULD WE DISCUSS THESE LOW LEVEL DESIRES OF OFFSPRINGS OF THE RASCALS ON THIS FORUM ?
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