The ‘Julia Gillard Kentucky Fried Quail’ menu is the latest sexist attack on the Australian PM. But it’s the same for women in politics everywhere., writes Emine Saner. In her Guardian column she included Kumara Welgama’s sexist attack on Rosy Senanayake in last December.
Sri Lanka’s ‘beauty queen’
Rosy Senanayake
Rosy Senanayake, member of Sri Lanka’s opposition United National party, has been involved in politics for more than 20 years, serving as a UN Goodwill ambassador and Sri Lanka’s high commissioner in Malaysia. And yet, when asked a question by her in parliament, Kumara Welgama, the transport minister, said he was “choked” by her beauty. “I am so happy to answer a question by a beauty queen,” he said (Senanayake is a former Miss World). “You are such a charming woman. I cannot explain my feelings here. But if you meet me outside Parliament, I will describe them … My thoughts are running riot … I don’t want to reveal [them] to the public.”
Senanayake, who is a vocal activist for women’s rights, was strangely not impressed: “I’m still being recognised as a beauty queen, but I’ve been a high commissioner and in politics for such a long time. As a woman you are not recognised as a person who has done so many portfolios, but always referred to as the beauty you were in your heyday.”
To read worst 10 examples click here
Asanka / June 15, 2013
Proud to be a Sri Lankan
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Asanka / June 15, 2013
But this is wrong. It doesn’t have Argentinian President she is the hottest in politics.
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JULAMPITIYE AMARAYA / June 15, 2013
She is The prettiest of all the women in politics in th world.
At least, We should be proud of that.
Not only that, we have the most morons and killers, blood suckers in the parliment, when considering and compearring of world’s other parliments.
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Dude / June 15, 2013
Time for the shameless clown Ranil Wickramasinghe who has lost so many elections to step aside and let Rosy take over as party leader of the UNP.
Rosy will give Sajith, Ravi etc who are corrupt, brain dead and power hungry like Ranil – a run for their money and sweep the next Presidential elections as leader of the UNP and joint opposition!
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mohamed fazly ilyas / June 24, 2013
Dude.. and the name ‘Senanayake’ could spell magic with the masses…for name attract them as bees to honey… i am sure Rosy can pull off the biggest coup if RW calls it day and let RS the lady take over!Who knows how many will jump back the fence with those many wanting a place to hide their HIDES!
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Sama / June 18, 2013
See how decent, how intelligent she has been not attacking uneducated minister´s vulgar behaviours. He did say – what he feels about her is he would say, if he could come out of parliament or what.. that alone – shows the indecent manner of the minister. In my days, two three decades ago in SL,as a former citizen, I knew parliamentarian had a set of rules specially against the indecent behaviours. But today, all these come to the levels, that our young ones would see as not second to PETTAH manning market. Why the deputy speaker further allow happening all ill uncivilized forms of verbal exchanges, specially to a female fellow parliamentarians is against civlized set of laws. If anything like this was the case, in EU countries, what could be action ? nothing else than warnings and finally asking them to resign if they would not come to that levels by themselves. We discuss aobut the sets of ethics on Media and other events these days, but just watching this alone, I felt – ours today is a far uncivilized Society than no other times in the past.
But we can be proud of Rosi Senanayaka – she is after all very intelligent – the few words she added to this short video alone proved that :) All the very best for such women in our society.
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mike / June 15, 2013
Rosy, beware of Kumara Welgama ??
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susilpremawathie / June 17, 2013
This fellow Welgama seems to be a sex maniac. MR’s choice is maniacs, for him to control them easily. The whole cabinet except for a very few are real mutts like Maruvin, not even GCE. Who is the idiot gave a doctorate to a idiot like this?
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Sama / June 18, 2013
Those are not doctorate, just honorary tiles – but you re right saying such committees should be mad to award them with highest degree titles disgracing and cursing entire intelligent people those who earned them through their hard sweat and sacrifice.
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Amarasiri / June 15, 2013
Sri Lankan MPs and Legislators, need to be sent to Sexual Orientation Training.
“As a woman you are not recognised as a person who has done so many portfolios, but always referred to as the beauty you were in your heyday.”
All Sri Lankan women and Sri Lankans should be prod of Ms. Rosy Senanayake, for her intellect and composure. Besides she is the mother of three children. What a great role model for a Sri Lankan women.
What is the current status of the other beauty queens?
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Osanda / June 15, 2013
Amarasiri,
But you miss the full story and see just the dangled part of it! This ungrateful, opportunistic and house-undermining woman should never have been introduced to UNP politics. MR devised a plot to destroy UNP; part of it was the fishing of UNP parliamentarians to government benches with false and adverse remarks on UNP leadership as a cover up to their traitorous act. The other part of the ruse was to create a riot squad within the party claiming various alleged reformist demands aimed at assaulting and undermining the leadership. This faction of traitors was led by Sajith and Karu. Knowingly or unknowingly Rosy was a cog in this faction. These uneducated foolish compromised conspirators caused immeasurable damage to the image and reputation of UNP and its leadership. Rosy cannot absolve herself from the blame. This woman was nothing except skin deep and sexy looks after she became married beauty queen. It was Ranil who gave her a chance and a responsibility to do a service to the country and also to advance her personal career as a goodwill ambassador. But she kicked the ladder that supported her. These type of characters are really “Halies” in politics that can never be trusted.
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Netizen / June 18, 2013
The subject is sexism, not politics. Rosie is just an example. Her politics should be the topic of another subject line. The point here is, are the comments permissible, appropriate, legal??
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Sama / June 18, 2013
All these further prove, that lanken male dominated society, even to this date has not learnt to respect their own female colleagues. This has come the this appalling levels – cant become much worst :(
Why the bugger who leads country – in this particular case – speaker of the parliament just ignoring all these to become much worst is not at all acceptable. If they would punish them going through the set of regulations that all members there should adhere to.. incidents like this would not repeat – my question is why they ignore these steps ?
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Lester / June 15, 2013
The fellow is praising her beauty, in the Parliament itself. Unprofessional, but not necessarily “sexist.” Well, there is a simple solution to Rosy’s “masculine woes” in the Parliament:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Burqa_Afghanistan_01.jpg
Althought she might to have to speak rather loudly to make her voice heard…
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Deamon / June 15, 2013
Hah…hah…haaaaa!
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Amarasiri / June 16, 2013
Lester.
Interesting solution. The Wahhabi Solution. No cat calls, no improper gestures,no exist remarks.
May be make men wear too.
Cover from head to toe. Focus on the business at hand.
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Sama / June 18, 2013
but our country is not a radical muslim state ? why to compare it at all with them ? grr
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Netizen / June 18, 2013
Lester won’t miss a fragment of an opportunity to drag in islam .. so boring. The topic is sexism in Sri Lankan politics – so why doesn’t CT also present us with the example of Dr Mervyn Silva’s fantasies about Upeksha Swarnamali’s form, where everyone, including host Kamal Addararachchi, applauded with giggles…. replay that too, here
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Lester / June 22, 2013
So boring, yet Netizen feels obliged to respond with irrelevent references to Mervyn Silva.
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Rod Atkins / June 19, 2013
Lester, this is what I said, its Budhism and Sinhala the problem here. If the Gay Monks and Men get married to 4 wifes like Muslims, it would not happn like this. Rosy is a sexy no wonder still lot of ministers trying on her but she gives only to the best she likes.. its a dream to have one like her. unbeatable to any women ministers in the world.
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Lester / June 22, 2013
Most of your Islamic nations are filled with gays… that is why burqa and niqab is a bad idea.
Vibrant communities of men who enjoy sex with other men can be found in cosmopolitan cities like Jeddah and Riyadh. They meet in schools, in cafés, in the streets, and on the Internet. “You can be cruised anywhere in Saudi Arabia, any time of the day,” said Radwan, a 42-year-old gay Saudi American who grew up in various Western cities and now lives in Jeddah. “They’re quite shameless about it.” Talal, a Syrian who moved to Riyadh in 2000, calls the Saudi capital a “gay heaven.”
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2007/05/the-kingdom-in-the-closet/305774/
Kingdom in the closet.. brilliant title!
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Anura / June 15, 2013
In civilized world, If a male parliamentarian or any public figure talks to a woman like this, that will be the end of his career. You need to have a good understanding on Sinhalese culture and language to know what those words and tone really means. I guess some of you noticed enthusiastic and happy responses from other males in SL parliament as well.
Oh poor Sinhalese Sri Lankans.. Miracle of Asia
Anura
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Sama / June 18, 2013
You know Anura, why they the seniors just ignore all these today is unthikable to me. For what they should have a speaker or his deputy if they are not able to work according to a set of regulations where they are. Just have their arguments only, they call it – uththareethara parlimenthuwa – the noblest place – but protection its respect not allowing to repeat these low levels incident – they seem to be ignoring.
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Safa / June 15, 2013
It is not strange that a married man (??) and a responsible member of the govt can voice such feelings in parliment under parlimentary immunity. On the streets even a 6 year old child was not spared by a brute and reports of fathers and grandfathers molesting their children is common place. Maybe such people need to be castrated and given hormonal therapy to control their urges. Maybe JHU / BBS can look into this.
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Arun Vincent / June 15, 2013
Rosy was never a Miss world but Mrs World in 1985. As a politician or as an ambassador she had done nothing to come out of her Mrs world fame. Three kids. That is a great sacrifice she had done to her beauty.
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Pol Kudu Chandrika / June 15, 2013
My!. My!!… These foolish men are fighting over what another man said about Rosys ‘beauty’ in parliament. Foolish men. Little do they know that Rosie herself likes the publicity and will now do her best to attract even more comments from the men in the parliament.
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Gajaman Nona / June 15, 2013
I can remember one newspaper article read years ago, about Rosy [Edited out]
This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.For more detail see our Comment policy
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@Gajaman Nona – Please provide evidence – CT
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Pai sali / June 16, 2013
I know Rosi is a ..
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Yehiya / June 16, 2013
Pls correct She is Mrs. world queen.
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Lakshman / June 16, 2013
Great!!!! Great!!!!! Great!!!!!
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soni / June 16, 2013
As a srilankan woman I am apalled at the sexist behaviour of our male miniters and also at the ignorant sexist comments on this comment board. So many of the male miniters in parliament have reputations for having extra marital affairs and being involved in sordid activities but no one insults them for their poor behaviour. However everyone sees it fit to insult the one female minister who was a beauty queen. What a backward country we are when it comes to equality for bothe men and women. We have a long way to go….I hopethe next generation of mothers will raise their sons to be more progressive!
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Michelle / June 17, 2013
Judging by the alarming way some young men are behaving, i doubt if their mothers and fathers are teaching them anything good
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Sama / June 18, 2013
This you can compare with those behaviours come to light in minsterial families there. Most of them seem to have lot their control over their children today. What can you expect from a society whose rule of the law and order is already sunk to the levels that any citizen could loose their lives easily even on broad day light. The victimized parties would have no chance in courts, since politician´s mediation in those trials end up advantageous to them – mean real perpetrators are not convicted according to the rule of law as given on the paragraphs. In a society, senior police officers fearlessly threatening criminal investigator officers – shouting at them for revenges on their return, what justice we can expect from them today.
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Rod Atkins / June 19, 2013
Soni, Let them be MUSLIM so they can marry 4 wifes and enjoy daily :) you like to be Muslim women? or Halal women :)
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sam / June 17, 2013
what a joke ahh…. Rosi can you tell us, do you fight for ranil or sajith??/ because today your party had broken in to two parts…so we should know who is the biggest fool in your party … don’t publish yours foolishness….
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Appubaba / June 18, 2013
what an idiot are you not to see the problem here clearly.
No matter she woulde even work for MR or RW -what matters is anyone who is elected to work for the nation should be exemplary.
The uncivilized transport minister is absolutely a low level person to use that kind of verbal expressions harming the respect of a female candidate. If I were the SPEAKER, I would have warned, but speakers are today, just silly guys.. we had nice personalities inthe past.. the progress is moving to backward.. that is clear to everyone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTwC_bJ3KgI
This audio will give you the gravity of the problem that the nation facing in SL today.
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Rod Atkins / June 19, 2013
Transport minister is a Private Bus elephant Horn tooting Bus, beetele chewing Driver, so no wonder he behaves like this.
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Appubaba / June 18, 2013
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8ZFfgk3X_s
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Dushan / June 20, 2013
You all may watch to day news. Mr Sajith Premadasa MP asked question about women participation in the parliament, violence against women and domestic violence in Sri lanka. When give answer to that Mr Dinesh Gunawardana MP said ” in this Parliament no any issue about VIOLENCE AGAINST women so not need to talk about that. From his answer i have serous issue.
How much violence against women happen in our country it is not a issue until not happen in parliament.
He may promote this VAW even in the parliament with this kind of vulgar like Mervin, Chandima, Duminda, Welgama, Champika etc.
it’s serous issue ……….
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Sirimal Jayatissa / June 20, 2013
You see, the president of srilanka would not utter a word, even if anyone is assualted. He is such an ignorant person – that has lost his respect as the president of the country. I really dont think that CBK had reached to this levels in her two terms.
So does the minister of justice. So who would speak for the people ?
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Dushan / June 20, 2013
Mr MR Married a women, he have three Son and when he travel to village he Cary babies so he so gender sensitive person?????????????????????????? and ” Maha Kakuluwa Haraata gihin petawunta kohomada kelin waren kiyanne?”
the vulgar MP’s behavior are most MEN’s behavior in Sri Lanka!
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