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Reparative Dancing in Post-War Sri Lanka

Reparative Dancing in Post-War Sri Lanka. DSA – Malta 6 July 2018. Overview. Theoretical backdrop Capabilities approach Legal empowerment Sri Lankan context War, post-war & disability Research Project Dance Methods Preliminary findings. Theoretical Backdrop (1).

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Reparative Dancing in Post-War Sri Lanka

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  1. Reparative Dancing in Post-War Sri Lanka DSA – Malta 6 July 2018

  2. Overview • Theoretical backdrop • Capabilities approach • Legal empowerment • Sri Lankan context • War, post-war & disability • Research Project • Dance • Methods • Preliminary findings

  3. Theoretical Backdrop (1) • Capabilities Approach (Nussbaum) • Central Capabilities • Senses, Imagination & Thought • Emotions • Affiliation • Play • Control Over One’s Environment • Capabilities & Human Rights

  4. Theoretical Backdrop (2) • Legal Empowerment • “enabled to use the law to advance their rights & interests” • What’s missing: PWDs; power within; affective & somatic dimensions • Legal Empowerment as Post-War Reparations • Rehabilitation – includes legal dimension

  5. Sri Lanka: War & Post-War • Legacy of 26-year civil war • Divided communities • Continuing militarization of North • Unresolved disappearances • Stalled accountability mechanisms & no meaningful reparations

  6. Sri Lanka: Disability Context • Estimated 100,000 PwD due to war • Stigma • Weak line ministry  medical/charity model • Weak Disability People’s Organizations • Ratification of UN Disability Rights Convention in 2016 – but weak implementation • PWDs lack rights awareness and access to justice

  7. Project Overview (1) • Action research project on combining mixed-abled dance and rights awareness to empower people with disabilities • War-related physical disabilities • 2 locations: Batticaloa and Jaffna • Key partner: VisAbility • Key funder: AHRC/ESRC

  8. Project Overview (2) • Key activities • June 2017: dance/rights workshops & performances in Batti & Jaffna • July 2017: dance/rights trainings & performances in Batti & Jaffna • December 2017: dance/rights workshops & performances in Batti & Jaffna

  9. Dance in Sri Lanka • Kandyan Dance (Sinhalese) Susan Reed (2010) • Bharatanatyam (Tamil) Ahalya Satkunaratnam (2013), Ann David (2012), Janet O’Shea (2007)

  10. Methods • Observation • Questionnaires • Semi-structured interviews • 10 key participants from workshop one • 8 returned for workshop two • 4 new participants in workshop two

  11. Physical changes • Movement more expansive and experimental • Changes in the use of weight • More grounded and stable • Some disparity between what we saw and how participants felt

  12. Themes and Findings • Increased confidence in contributing to discussions and leading tasks • Increased rights awareness and some movement from rights awareness to action • Some sustainability • Challenging stereotypes about people with disabilities

  13. References 1 Baylies C. (2002) ‘Disability and the Notion of Human Development: Questions of Rights and Capabilities,’ Disability and Society 17(7): 725-739 Burchardt T. (2004) ‘Capabilities and Disability: The Capabilities Framework and the Social Model of Disability,’ Disability and Society 19 (7): 735-751 David, A. (2012: ‘Embodied Migration: Performance Practices of Diasporic Sri Lankan Tamil Communities in London.’ Journal of Intercultural Studies, 33(4): 375-394 ICES (2017) “Sri Lanka: Women Living with Disabilities,” Shadow Report to CEDAW Committee Kumari Campbell F. (2013) ‘A Review of Disability Law and Legal Mobilisation in Sri Lanka,”’ LST Review 23(308): 1-30 Nussbaum M. (2011) Creating Capabilities: The Human Development Approach. Boston: Harvard University Press

  14. References 2 O’Shea (2007) At Home in the World: BharataNatyam on the Global Stage. : Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press Reed, S. (2010) Dance and the Nation: Performance, Ritual, and Politics in Sri Lanka. Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press Samararatne D., Soldatic K. & Perera B. (2018) ‘A Study of War-Affected Women with Disabilities in Sri Lanka: Pre-consultation Report’ Satkunaratnam, A. (2013) ‘Staging War: Performing BharataNatyam in Colombo, Sri Lanka.’ Dance Research Journal, 45(1): 81-108 UN (2005) Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparations UNSG (2009) Report of the Secretary General on Legal Empowerment of the Poor and Eradication of Poverty

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