6 April 2022 by Collective
Sri Lanka is facing the worst economic crisis in its post-independence history. Widespread food and fuel shortages are crippling the lives of people. Such a situation that has already lasted several weeks is now resulting in widespread protests which are being repressed violently. We anticipate escalating violence in the context of the spread of peaceful protests by average citizens to express democratic dissent against this unjust situation. On the whole, we are witnessing the unfolding of a humanitarian crisis. These conditions will contribute to more people falling into poverty and increasing inequalities, setting the country back by several years. Women are at the forefront of dealing with this crisis in gas queues, queues for essential food items and in protests.
There is now a monumental political crisis even as the economic crisis remains immediate and primary for ordinary people. The urgent need in order to perform those duties is for a civil, democratic governance system that can restore the confidence of the people. In spite of the imminent collapse of the existing government, the state mechanisms should perform their fundamental duties of ensuring the rights and welfare of the people. All measures demanded below are based on the premise that the government must prioritize the basic needs of the people. We recognize that people feel a deep frustration with the political class and emphasize the urgent need for the citizens of Sri Lanka to have governance systems that can restore their confidence in the people. In this context, urgently launching a humanitarian operation, with a focus on preventing national level starvation and chaos is imperative. The government in all its negotiations within and outside the country, to emerge from this crisis, MUST address these needs by allocating and reallocating resources accordingly.
While the impact of the economic crisis is felt across all corners of the island, it is daily-wage earners, those dependent on micro, small and medium enterprises, the urban working poor and other communities living in poverty along with communities already marginalised for their ethnic, religious, caste, gender and sexual identities that are the worst affected by this deepening crisis. There are people facing homelessness and destitution. For those who were living on subsistence wages, even before this crisis, the rising prices of essential items have depleted monies in hand. Communities affected by repeated tragedies - the long-drawn-out war, tsunami, Easter bombings and the Covid-19 pandemic- are yet again facing a blow to their efforts to rebuild their lives. This while life-consuming quests for truth and justice are ongoing every day.
The burden of a flailing economy invariably falls on women as economic risks are pushed into the home sphere. Women face the double burden of earning an income while performing unpaid care Care Le concept de « care work » (travail de soin) fait référence à un ensemble de pratiques matérielles et psychologiques destinées à apporter une réponse concrète aux besoins des autres et d’une communauté (dont des écosystèmes). On préfère le concept de care à celui de travail « domestique » ou de « reproduction » car il intègre les dimensions émotionnelles et psychologiques (charge mentale, affection, soutien), et il ne se limite pas aux aspects « privés » et gratuit en englobant également les activités rémunérées nécessaires à la reproduction de la vie humaine. work at home. Women struggle to ensure the well-being of their children due to obstacles to education, domestic violence, and inefficient and unjust systems of maintenance payments to single mothers. Frustrations and fears of uncertainty, hunger and the lack of basic comforts often translate into violence directed at women and children at home. The limited existing services to address such violence are further stunted due to the pandemic and now the economic crisis.
Deliberate choices made by consecutive governments in Sri Lanka have placed us in this calamity. This country has been overwhelmingly dependent on women’s labour, including for the country’s foreign exchange, through the plantation, garment and migrant labour sectors. Simultaneously, Sri Lanka’s economic policy has impacted women’s labour and every sphere of women’s lives - their material conditions, mobility, aspirations, and social status. It is the wealth gathered by exploiting women’s labour that has been squandered. No one is held accountable for this loss. Instead, yet again, women are forced to bear the brunt of an economic crisis.
The Government’s responses so far are limited to obtaining loans to address the debt situation and approaching the International Monetary Fund
IMF
International Monetary Fund
Along with the World Bank, the IMF was founded on the day the Bretton Woods Agreements were signed. Its first mission was to support the new system of standard exchange rates.
When the Bretton Wood fixed rates system came to an end in 1971, the main function of the IMF became that of being both policeman and fireman for global capital: it acts as policeman when it enforces its Structural Adjustment Policies and as fireman when it steps in to help out governments in risk of defaulting on debt repayments.
As for the World Bank, a weighted voting system operates: depending on the amount paid as contribution by each member state. 85% of the votes is required to modify the IMF Charter (which means that the USA with 17,68% % of the votes has a de facto veto on any change).
The institution is dominated by five countries: the United States (16,74%), Japan (6,23%), Germany (5,81%), France (4,29%) and the UK (4,29%).
The other 183 member countries are divided into groups led by one country. The most important one (6,57% of the votes) is led by Belgium. The least important group of countries (1,55% of the votes) is led by Gabon and brings together African countries.
http://imf.org
(IMF) for assistance. We are concerned that actors such as the IMF and others may enforce fiscal consolidation by way of austerity policies. They have often assumed this to be a viable strategy to make debt sustainable. However, regressive tax policies such as the increase of direct tax via VAT, and cuts in public expenditure will only undermine improvements in productivity and deter inclusive economic growth along with a robust social infrastructure. Investment in health, education and care services are imperative to improve human productivity and wellbeing. Analyses of this economic crisis are dominated by neoliberal economists and mainstream macroeconomic narratives. These have largely dehumanised the crisis thus yielding responses that do not address the pressing concerns of women, working people and marginalised communities. We are seriously concerned about the long-standing causes of the crisis, such as corruption in public enterprises and failure to introduce progressive tax policies. While these remain unaddressed, we anticipate attempts to privatise public services which will again transfer the economic burden onto the people.
In this context, urgently launching a humanitarian operation, with a focus on preventing national level starvation and chaos, in partnership with the government and civil society is imperative. All measures demanded below is based on the premise that the government must prioritize the basic needs of the citizenry. The government in all its negotiations within and outside the country, to emerge from this crisis, MUST address these needs by allocating and reallocating resources accordingly.
We urge the Government to take the following steps immediately to address the unfolding humanitarian crisis:
For further information :
Feminist Collective for Economic Justice
Email - feministcollectiveforjustice at gmail.com
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