'Cause Pigs can Fly

Yesterday’s ruling that made gay marriage legal in the entire US was a special and important moment for everyone. Profile pictures are being changed and beliefs are being adjusted. And yet, there are still just too many people who don’t see why homosexuality should be accepted and gay marriage legalized. It happened in the US. Why are Sri Lankans so excited? Here’s why. US legalizing gay marriage isn't a country's achievement. It's a right won by people and a hope to many that their day isn't far behind. When the earthquake in Nepal happened, did you keep your mouth shut because it didn’t happen in Sri Lanka and didn’t directly affect people living in Sri Lanka? I’m guessing you did want to help those people, not because they were Nepalese but because they were human. When US legalizes gay marriage, it means that the world is one country closer to being a world that respects and accepts people without discriminating based on factors, especially those humans ha...

Today’s radio discussion was about Magi, instant food and MSG. I didn’t listen to all of it and I didn’t listen very closely because I was reading. However, I did catch a few things discussed. The most important thing that struck me was who was being blamed. Sure, the companies were blamed for manufacturing and selling poison and the government was blamed for allowing this poison-selling to continue, but who was blamed for letting their children consume this poison? Not parents, but mothers. Such a specific person to blame. This isn’t the first time mothers were blamed for social issues. If I misbehave, people will say, ‘ අම්මලා හදලා තියෙන හැටි තමා’ instead of ‘ දෙමාපියන් හදලා තියෙන හැටි තමා.’ Whatever I choose to do, the blame is put on my mother for not doing a good job bringing me up. The man who spoke on the radio basically said something along the lines of, ‘Mothers don’t want to wake up early anymore. So instead of waking up early to cook rice or manioc ...

 Published in The Nation and Colombo Telegraph A story titled, ‘Are Women to be Blamed for Rape?’ was published on Colombo Telegraph on May 26 and was written by Muhammed Fazl, ‘an independent social/political activist.’ The article provides a simplistic analysis of a complex problem and is also a chauvinistic and patriarchal take of a social issue. You are relaxing by a swimming pool when you notice a female in a bikini. You look at her long enough to remember how her body looked when it was so scantily clad. A month later, you are walking on a street when you notice a different female. Her attire doesn’t matter, she could be covered head to toe in two layers or more, but you remember that bikini-clad female you saw by the pool. You rape the female walking on the street and the most you get as a punishment is counseling, because you have the defense of provocation. The lady in the bikini so obviously provoked you to rape a different female. Sounds absolutely cr...

I remember how someone criticized a protester at a demonstration against the increase of prices. The protester had a smartphone with her. I can’t remember exactly what the protest was about. But I do remember this individual’s comment on how the activist, who can clearly afford a smartphone, was protesting against something that wouldn’t affect her or wasn’t something she would really understand. Does this mean that people who have never been raped, abused or harassed can’t protest against rape, abuse or harassment? Does this mean that people can’t fight for the rights of the LGBTQIA community just because they don’t belong to any of the categories? Can we only protest against or fight for things that affect us directly? We all have a voice and we can use this voice to focus the spotlight on important issues. Some would even say that we absolutely must, but it is up to the individual. It may seem selfish to not fight for the rights of other people, but not everyone has th...