Impact of tsunami in the East – Muslim women's perspective

Abstract

The coastal belt of the east was hit hard by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami and worst affected were the Muslims who faced marginalization in the post-tsunami reconstruction. The women of this community faced more divergent challenges in the immediate aftermath and in the subsequent rehabilitation and reconstruction stages than their counterparts – Tamil and Sinhalese women – due to their cultural, religious and social background. This paper analyses the impact of the tsunami on Muslim women of the east and the role they played in rebuilding their society. It also looks at the rigid and discriminatory systems and social fabric of this society that negatively impacted the space claimed by these women in the immediate aftermath of this disaster. The case studies in this paper narrate these women's success and painful experiences. It specifically points to the fact that only a few women from this community servived the backlash against their post-tsunami activism while recognizing the fact that these women lack an environment that nurtures and strengthens their newly claimed stature.