News

Tougher laws called for to halt maligning of female candidates in social media

Published

5 years ago

2020/12/31

Sahan Weerasooriya

… sexual misconduct insinuated to scare them off

Text and pix by PRIYAN DE SILVA

Former member of the Election Commission of Sri Lanka Prof. Rathnajeevan Hoole said that tight laws were needed to curb maligning of women in social media, or no woman would come forward and contest an election. He added that accusing female candidates of sexual misconduct was a terrible thing.

Hoole said such baseless allegations had been levelled against female candidates in the Eastern Province, and TNA National List candidate Ambika Sathkunanathan had also been a victim.

The victims of libel could not resort to legal action due to the cost factor, Prof. Hoole said, suggesting that the parties they represent come forward to have the culprits brought to justice. Mangaleshwari Shankar who possibly led the popularity ratings among the females in the Batticaloa District of the Eastern Province, nominated to contest the 2020 parliamentary election, said it was not easy for women to engage in politics.

“It is terrible” she said, noting that even months after the election there were attacks on her in social media.

A lawyer by profession Mangalaeshwari, better known as Mangala Shankar, is a human rights activist, a former Legal Manager at Transparency International Sri Lanka; she also worked for the Centre for Human Rights Development (CHRD) and at present is a visiting lecturer at the Open University of Sri Lanka. She also worked extensively with women’s organisations in the district, and this prompted her to take to politics. She made her intention known to the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), which did not show any interest, but a few days before nominations closed she was invited by all the main parties including the TNA to contest.

She opted to accept the invitation of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pluvial (TMVP), even though it was not the most popular party. Thereafter, a smear campaign was launched against her.

“In early July a fake Facebook page in my name was created by someone and initially it duplicated the posts on my actual Facebook page but later on posts appeared defaming other candidates.

“Everyone thought, I was behind those attacks, and I complained to the Police, the Elections Commission, the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) and subsequently to Facebook itself, she said. The page was removed by Facebook in the first week of September but the damage had already been done.

She also said that there were hundreds of other social media accounts that posted insulting, humiliating and abusive posts in Tamil.

In Batticaloa, Mangala Shankar was not the only female candidate to be defamed in that manner. Senior Lecturer at the Eastern University Dr. Chandra Mahendran said that there had been a sinister campaign to prevent her from contesting. She had to overcome many obstacles even before she was able to sign the nomination papers.

Ambika Sathkunanathan was on the TNA National List. Baseless allegations were made against her, as well.

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Landslide Early Warnings issued to the Districts of Kurunegala and Ratnapura

Published

1 hour ago

2026/04/23

Priyan

The National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) has issued Landslide Early Warnings to the Districts of Kurunegala and Ratnapura effective from 16:00 hrs on 23.04.2026 To 16:00 hrs on 24.04.2026

Accordingly,

Level 1 landslide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Rideegama in the Kurunegala district and Kuruwita, Kalawana, Ratnapura, Nivithigala, Pelmadulla and Eheliyagoda in the Ratnapura district.

Latest News

Advisory for Severe Lightning issued for the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, North-western, North-central, Southern, Uva provinces, and Ampara and Batticaloa districts

Published

3 hours ago

2026/04/23

Priyan

Advisory for Severe Lightning
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre of the Department of Meteorology
Issued at 12.00 noon 23 April 2026 valid for the period until 11.30 p.m. 23 April 2026

Thundershowers accompanied with severe lightning are likely to occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, North-western, North-central, Southern, Uva provinces, and in Ampara and Batticaloa districts after 1.00 p.m.

There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers. General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity.

ACTION REQUIRED:
The Department of Meteorology advises that people should:
• Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees.
• Avoid open areas such as paddy fields, tea plantations and open water bodies during thunderstorms.
• Avoid using wired telephones and connected electric appliances during thunderstorms.
• Avoid using open vehicles, such as bicycles, tractors and boats etc.
• Beware of fallen trees and power lines.
• For emergency assistance contact the local disaster management authorities.

News

Compensation payments and reconstruction activities related to the Ditwah relief measures must be expedited with special attention at the district level – PM

Published

13 hours ago

2026/04/23

Priyan

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya emphasized that compensation payments and reconstruction activities related to the Ditwah relief measures must be expedited with special attention at the district level. She further stated that all necessary allocations have already been made to Provincial Councils and instructed that the progress of disaster damage assessments and reconstruction efforts be closely monitored at the provincial level.

The Prime Minister made these remarks at a discussion held on Tuesday (21) at Temple Trees under her patronage, aimed at informing Chairpersons of District Coordination Committees and public representatives from disaster-affected districts, in order to accelerate the implementation of the “Rebuilding Sri Lanka” programme. The discussion focused on expediting disaster relief and compensation payments, as well as the swift restoration of infrastructure damaged by the disaster.

The Prime Minister emphasized that Rs. 500 billion has been allocated for damages caused by the Ditwah cyclone, and that all relevant development activities must be completed before the end of 2026. The Prime Minister also instructed officials to pay special attention to resolving issues at the local level that are causing delays in compensation payments.

Senior Additional Secretary to the President, G.M.R.D. Aponsu, stated that the estimated cost for reconstruction following the Ditwah cyclone is approximately USD 3.4 billion. Accordingly, funds have been allocated for compensation across several sectors including housing and social infrastructure, agriculture and livestock, fisheries, industry and livelihoods, and irrigation. He further noted that 99% of the Rs. 25,000 allowance has already been disbursed, while 95% of the Rs. 50,000 resettlement allowance has been paid. Compensation for fully and partially damaged houses is still ongoing, and 99% of temporary relief centres have been closed.

Additionally, attention was drawn to several other measures, including providing Rs. 25,000 to affected schoolchildren, paying Rs. 1 million as compensation for each deceased individual, compensation for children who lost one or both parents, support for persons with disabilities affected by the disaster, compensation for agricultural losses, and expediting resettlement of displaced families. Measures such as allocating land for new housing construction and accelerating the issuance of reports from the National Building Research Organization were also discussed.

Focus was also placed on the reconstruction of affected schools, hospitals, and daycare centres, improving the accuracy and speed of data collection at the local level, and accelerating infrastructure development.

The event was attended by Minister of Plantation and Community Infrastructure Samantha Vidyarathna, Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government Dr. Chandana Abayarathna, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Namal Karunaratne, Deputy Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperatives R.M. Jayawardena, Deputy Minister of Education Dr. Madhura Senevirathna, Members of Parliament, Chairpersons of District Coordination Committees, Chief of Staff to the President and Commissioner General of Essential Services Prabath Chandrakeerthi, Additional Secretary to the President Jayantha Bandara; and officials of the Prime Minister’s Office.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]