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Miss World Sri Lanka 2018 World Peace Ambassador (WPDO) Nadia Gyi[/caption]
Everyone is well aware of the Mrs. Sri Lanka 2020 pageant fiasco that took place all throughout this past week. For anyone who is a little fuzzy on the details, on Sunday, 4 April 2021, Pushpika de Silva was announced the winner of the competition, however just as soon as she was crowned, she was stripped of her title, on stage, by reigning Mrs. World Caroline Jurie who claimed that Pushpika de Silva is a divorcee and is therefore not qualified to be crowned according to pageant rules, then proceeded to crown the first runner-up.
Since then, the technicalities have been addressed and at a press conference held on Tuesday (6) at Shangri-La Hotel Colombo, and amidst the presence of Mrs. World National Organiser Chandimal Jayasinghe, de Silva was re-crowned.
Understandably, there was quite a lot of social media noise about this incident. It was entertaining, dramatic, and superficial enough that everyone could get in on the fun. There were deplorable actions and it was in an unpalatable way that everything was handled. It was easy to get outraged; here stood a woman, a global ambassador for our country, taking her perfect opportunity to display class and decency and using it to quite literally tear down a fellow woman.
It suffices to say that we are all in collective agreement that regardless of what the circumstances may have been, whether de Silva was a divorcee or separated as it later transpired, the way that she was humiliated by another woman in a live event celebrating women remains disappointing.
However, when we reached out to the many women’s rights activists in this country, outspoken women who are known to never miss an opportunity to take a stance against discriminatory action against women, their take on the matter was slightly different. Speaking about the incident, and us having reached out to them for comment, one activist, who wished to remain anonymous, shared: “I think it is a whole lot of superficial entertainment, it is in no means a women’s empowerment debate. It is silly, it is petty, and it is unnecessary when it comes to women’s issues. This is just pageant nonsense and I wish to have nothing to do with it.”
The rest who followed shared similar sentiments, with many stating that, if at all, this is a concerning display of an incredible lack of normal human decency rather than a women’s issue, it is a matter of a person with delusions of a misguided sense of justice acting in a way they possibly regret now, and a few others getting caught in the crossfire, as people often do.
Feminist writer, researcher, and activist Sharanya Sekaram commented that this is exceedingly upsetting as a women’s rights activist, particularly as someone who works with women facing violence, to see this issue being taken apart by the media when in fact this is in no way the biggest issue faced by Sri Lankan women by a long shot. She said that she’s not making any statement at all because she wishes to take the time to draw attention to the protests happening in Polonnaruwa, which nobody is talking about.
[caption id="attachment_129538" align="alignleft" width="297"]
Former Miss Sri Lanka Universe 2005 Rozanne Diasz[/caption]
It would seem that we as persons in the media have latched on to the shiniest, loudest, most attractive issue at hand and ran with it. However, we believe that both issues can exist in the same sphere, and so we reached out to Miss World Sri Lanka 2018 World Peace Ambassador (WPDO) Nadia Gyi to give a brief breakdown of the issue and to share her thoughts on the matter as somebody who has been a part of the industry and to use the remainder of our time to draw some attention to the aforementioned protests happening Polonnaruwa just in case you hadn’t heard about it.
Gyi shared with us her thoughts on the overall incident and how it is important that we reserve judgement of these women until everyone has had an opportunity to have their say.
Gyi:
“It goes without saying that the actions taken by Caroline Jurie during the finale has not only brought disrepute to herself and the crown but to our country.
What is most disheartening to see is people drawing up battle lines and tearing each other down, when in actuality we should be looking at the gaping holes in the system that allowed for such an incident to take place. The same people that celebrated her win last year and made her a national icon are today tearing her down without first attempting to understand or validate without doubt what exactly has transpired.
Certain media have taken it upon themselves to do this task but do they realise that their excessive reporting on this incident is not only taking Caroline (Jurie) down but our country’s reputation down with her. There is absolutely no shame in divorce. For far too long have we been stigmatised for such things and I believe it’s in Caroline’s best interest to issue a public apology to the women and men she has offended. However, it is also important to note that Caroline is not only “our” Mrs. World but she is the global ambassador for the pageant and the reigning queen.
As such I believe it is indeed part of her responsibility to ensure that the pageant is conducted in accordance with Mrs. World’s rules and regulations. It is clearly stated on the official site that the participant needs to be married at the time of the international event. It is accepted by Pushpika de Silva that she is currently separated and going through legal divorce proceedings; which then begs the question as to what happens if Pushpika’s divorce is granted by the courts prior to the international event? In this case, Pushpika will not be able to represent Sri Lanka and either the local organisers will have to send their runner up or have Sri Lanka sit out of the competition; which in fact they will be hosting for the very first time.
Sri Lanka is scheduled to host Mrs. World 2021 in December 2021. As a former Miss World Sri Lanka (2018), I speak from experience that our local pageants lack the structure or the support system that is required for contestants and that to me is the real problem we need to address here. Every citizen has a rightful voice and Caroline’s voice deserves to be heard too before you can make an informed opinion. She needs to come out and state her reasoning for her actions in a clear manner to the public. I believe we should all reserve further judgment on either of the women till then. Favouritism and influence has always reared its ugly head in competitions of this nature and if it was indeed favoritism that Caroline was protesting against, let’s not forget the 20 other hopeful women who lost out. Where is their justice?
We do not mean to trivialise the experience had by these women, Pushpika de Silva was unjustly humiliated, and commenting on the incident former Miss Sri Lanka Universe 2005 Rozanne Diasz also stated that if there was a concern of her not qualifying for the global competition, it is a clearly indicated instruction that if the reigning winner is unable to carry out her duties then the role will organically be passed on to the first runner-up. She said that there was no need for this spectacle.
The Hingurakgoda Satyagraha, Polonnaruwa On International Women’s Day (IWD) 2021, at the Polonnaruwa Raja Sabha Mandapaya, women sat down to begin a satyagraha against the microfinance debt that has crippled rural economies and left them helpless. Current statistics say that more than 2.8 million people are victims of predatory lending, a majority of whom are women. Nearly 200 have taken their own lives as a result of this debt. The women feel that companies target women specifically for these loans, considering that they have a better understanding of the needs of the home and will not hesitate to borrow money to purchase items or to contribute to the family income. Therefore, lenders hone in on rural women. Gathered regularly at the protest are women from Polonnaruwa, Mullaitivu, and Vavuniya. Women from Anuradhapura, Matale, Hanguranketha, Jaffna, Trincomalee, Kandy, and Nuwara Eliya have joined in batches over its course, indicating the islandwide spread of the issue of debt. They ask that the Government take action in addressing this predatory microfinance debt.
Miss World Sri Lanka 2018 World Peace Ambassador (WPDO) Nadia Gyi[/caption]
Everyone is well aware of the Mrs. Sri Lanka 2020 pageant fiasco that took place all throughout this past week. For anyone who is a little fuzzy on the details, on Sunday, 4 April 2021, Pushpika de Silva was announced the winner of the competition, however just as soon as she was crowned, she was stripped of her title, on stage, by reigning Mrs. World Caroline Jurie who claimed that Pushpika de Silva is a divorcee and is therefore not qualified to be crowned according to pageant rules, then proceeded to crown the first runner-up.
Since then, the technicalities have been addressed and at a press conference held on Tuesday (6) at Shangri-La Hotel Colombo, and amidst the presence of Mrs. World National Organiser Chandimal Jayasinghe, de Silva was re-crowned.
Understandably, there was quite a lot of social media noise about this incident. It was entertaining, dramatic, and superficial enough that everyone could get in on the fun. There were deplorable actions and it was in an unpalatable way that everything was handled. It was easy to get outraged; here stood a woman, a global ambassador for our country, taking her perfect opportunity to display class and decency and using it to quite literally tear down a fellow woman.
It suffices to say that we are all in collective agreement that regardless of what the circumstances may have been, whether de Silva was a divorcee or separated as it later transpired, the way that she was humiliated by another woman in a live event celebrating women remains disappointing.
However, when we reached out to the many women’s rights activists in this country, outspoken women who are known to never miss an opportunity to take a stance against discriminatory action against women, their take on the matter was slightly different. Speaking about the incident, and us having reached out to them for comment, one activist, who wished to remain anonymous, shared: “I think it is a whole lot of superficial entertainment, it is in no means a women’s empowerment debate. It is silly, it is petty, and it is unnecessary when it comes to women’s issues. This is just pageant nonsense and I wish to have nothing to do with it.”
The rest who followed shared similar sentiments, with many stating that, if at all, this is a concerning display of an incredible lack of normal human decency rather than a women’s issue, it is a matter of a person with delusions of a misguided sense of justice acting in a way they possibly regret now, and a few others getting caught in the crossfire, as people often do.
Feminist writer, researcher, and activist Sharanya Sekaram commented that this is exceedingly upsetting as a women’s rights activist, particularly as someone who works with women facing violence, to see this issue being taken apart by the media when in fact this is in no way the biggest issue faced by Sri Lankan women by a long shot. She said that she’s not making any statement at all because she wishes to take the time to draw attention to the protests happening in Polonnaruwa, which nobody is talking about.
[caption id="attachment_129538" align="alignleft" width="297"] Former Miss Sri Lanka Universe 2005 Rozanne Diasz[/caption]
It would seem that we as persons in the media have latched on to the shiniest, loudest, most attractive issue at hand and ran with it. However, we believe that both issues can exist in the same sphere, and so we reached out to Miss World Sri Lanka 2018 World Peace Ambassador (WPDO) Nadia Gyi to give a brief breakdown of the issue and to share her thoughts on the matter as somebody who has been a part of the industry and to use the remainder of our time to draw some attention to the aforementioned protests happening Polonnaruwa just in case you hadn’t heard about it.
Gyi shared with us her thoughts on the overall incident and how it is important that we reserve judgement of these women until everyone has had an opportunity to have their say.
Gyi:
“It goes without saying that the actions taken by Caroline Jurie during the finale has not only brought disrepute to herself and the crown but to our country.
What is most disheartening to see is people drawing up battle lines and tearing each other down, when in actuality we should be looking at the gaping holes in the system that allowed for such an incident to take place. The same people that celebrated her win last year and made her a national icon are today tearing her down without first attempting to understand or validate without doubt what exactly has transpired.
Certain media have taken it upon themselves to do this task but do they realise that their excessive reporting on this incident is not only taking Caroline (Jurie) down but our country’s reputation down with her. There is absolutely no shame in divorce. For far too long have we been stigmatised for such things and I believe it’s in Caroline’s best interest to issue a public apology to the women and men she has offended. However, it is also important to note that Caroline is not only “our” Mrs. World but she is the global ambassador for the pageant and the reigning queen.
As such I believe it is indeed part of her responsibility to ensure that the pageant is conducted in accordance with Mrs. World’s rules and regulations. It is clearly stated on the official site that the participant needs to be married at the time of the international event. It is accepted by Pushpika de Silva that she is currently separated and going through legal divorce proceedings; which then begs the question as to what happens if Pushpika’s divorce is granted by the courts prior to the international event? In this case, Pushpika will not be able to represent Sri Lanka and either the local organisers will have to send their runner up or have Sri Lanka sit out of the competition; which in fact they will be hosting for the very first time.
Sri Lanka is scheduled to host Mrs. World 2021 in December 2021. As a former Miss World Sri Lanka (2018), I speak from experience that our local pageants lack the structure or the support system that is required for contestants and that to me is the real problem we need to address here. Every citizen has a rightful voice and Caroline’s voice deserves to be heard too before you can make an informed opinion. She needs to come out and state her reasoning for her actions in a clear manner to the public. I believe we should all reserve further judgment on either of the women till then. Favouritism and influence has always reared its ugly head in competitions of this nature and if it was indeed favoritism that Caroline was protesting against, let’s not forget the 20 other hopeful women who lost out. Where is their justice?
We do not mean to trivialise the experience had by these women, Pushpika de Silva was unjustly humiliated, and commenting on the incident former Miss Sri Lanka Universe 2005 Rozanne Diasz also stated that if there was a concern of her not qualifying for the global competition, it is a clearly indicated instruction that if the reigning winner is unable to carry out her duties then the role will organically be passed on to the first runner-up. She said that there was no need for this spectacle.
The Hingurakgoda Satyagraha, Polonnaruwa On International Women’s Day (IWD) 2021, at the Polonnaruwa Raja Sabha Mandapaya, women sat down to begin a satyagraha against the microfinance debt that has crippled rural economies and left them helpless. Current statistics say that more than 2.8 million people are victims of predatory lending, a majority of whom are women. Nearly 200 have taken their own lives as a result of this debt. The women feel that companies target women specifically for these loans, considering that they have a better understanding of the needs of the home and will not hesitate to borrow money to purchase items or to contribute to the family income. Therefore, lenders hone in on rural women. Gathered regularly at the protest are women from Polonnaruwa, Mullaitivu, and Vavuniya. Women from Anuradhapura, Matale, Hanguranketha, Jaffna, Trincomalee, Kandy, and Nuwara Eliya have joined in batches over its course, indicating the islandwide spread of the issue of debt. They ask that the Government take action in addressing this predatory microfinance debt.