remain dismally low; not exceeding six percent of elected representatives. o Various Minority Women Groupings  Tamil women, muslim women ,Burger women  Minorities within minorities- Fragmented identity  Less than 6% female elected representatives even though women won the right to vote in 1931- Jaffna in 2009 was 13.4 but today at the local election it is only 4%- women were given opportunities by political parties when it was dangerous to contest- women and youth scenario  During the war women took the unconventional social role however the DDR process does not recognise that with female ex-combatants  Women‟s domain didn‟t extend beyond their households during nowar periods  In difficult times minority women has become as symbolic markers of purity and respect to organize and mobilize decent  Clubbing youth and women in one category  Effective DE-militarization is talking longer than anticipated which is an impediment in the women‟s participation in all forms of life and has a greater impact on political participation in the context where culture of suspicion of the other is very prevalent  Current context and Problem o Impact of Post-War on Exclusion and Inclusion o Negotiating Space in Winners Take It All Context After years of lobbying, local government reforms currently being discussed include a quota of 25% for women and youth. This provision is however clearly inadequate because it combines women and youth with no guarantee of an exclusive quota for women, and also because non compliance will not attract any penalties. The government has justified this weak provision on various questionable grounds including marinating that very few women are interested in politics and that women‟s political

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