By Naduni Madumali While everyone from infants to the elderly are impacted by the ongoing crisis in Sri Lanka through economic hardships, lack of essential goods, and shortages of medicine, women who comprise 52% of the population bear a higher burden. The traditional roles expected from women as wives and mothers are coupled with the weight of ensuring cooked food, ready-to-drink tea and medicine, attending to the needs of children, elderly, and others at home, despite how difficult the economic realities are. New Year (Avurudu) The Sinhala and Tamil New Year is often showcased in the media as one that is centred around women and the stereotypical roles performed by them – from cooking sweetmeats and cleaning the house to making new clothes and ensuring the continuation of the bonds with relatives. Despite this year being far from prosperity, happiness, and abundance, most media stations continued their annual saga of festivities during the New Year in an attempt to secure sponsorships. While the actresses and social media personalities at these events, dressed up in matching batik attire, were dancing, singing, and busy posing for photographs, most women at home were worrying about being able to cook a meal on New Year day.  Green gram, wheat flour, sugar, rice, and coconut, which are essentials in preparing the New Year food menu, have become luxuries to most families this season as their prices skyrocketed. Most houses barely managed to make a pot of milk rice this year; that too was either to please the young children at home or because it was cultural to do so, not because they were able to afford it. And of course, added to this is rising costs of gas, kerosene oil, or firewood.   Colour washing the houses, changing curtains, bedsheets, and cushion covers for the New Year may not even have crossed the minds of most women the same way as previous years, and buying new clothes for relatives and family members was also likely a very costly affair.  Commodity prices The burden of meal preparation borne by women comes hand in hand with the difficult choice of selecting what those meals would contain. However, the question at present has changed from what each member of the family would like to eat, to what the family can afford depending on their income.  Families that would consider eating out occasionally or buying a snack from ‘choon paan’ bread trucks have been compelled to now manage all meals at home with leftovers and available ingredients. Mothers have opted to either provide their children with herbal porridge (‘kola kenda’) or a plain tea before they are sent off to school, since milk powder is not only unaffordable to most but is also a rare commodity to find these days. The price hike of vegetables was felt since the beginning of the year and continues with rising cost of fruits, coconut oil, and dairy items. The small packet of biscuits, chocolate, or jujubes  brought at the end of a round of grocery shopping for the children had to be cut down to meet the cost of the main meals. Women who would have considered cooking something special for those at home, over a weekend or a holiday are now relying on the same basic food throughout the week. The cooking gas controversy is still not solved at the cost of lives for some women in the country. Expectant mothers, mothers carrying infants, and elderly women are seen in queues to purchase a cylinder of gas, of which the price continues to increase. While the men are at fuel queues, many women struggle to find medicines for the sick and the elderly at home as health authorities issue warnings on shortages of essential medicine. Social media posts requesting information about a pharmacy that sells Panadol syrup for children can be seen circulating.  It need not be said that the increase in fuel prices inevitably impacts the bus fare, train fare and the three-wheeler fares. Women in Sri Lanka rely more on these systems of public transport than men to travel to work, to take children to schools or hospitals, and to fulfil other household needs. While there are a lower number of vehicles than before, the increased fares have forced women to limit the number of trips to and from home. Protest marches Several protests can be seen around the country against the rising cost of living and the incapability of the Government in power to meet the basic needs of the people. Although bringing issues to light through protests and demonstrations is not new to Sri Lanka, the use of social media and the newly-found interest amongst communities that have not taken part in such demonstrations before is evident this time.  Women of different social classes, religions, ethnicities, and occupations can be seen at most protests held, along with young children. This has sent a message that women are very much a part of this struggle for equality and justice, despite such efforts being often seen as more suited for men and their desires to fight, shout, and exert violence at times. The mothers, wives, and daughters of those forcibly disappeared; of those whose land rights were taken away; of those who were impacted by the decisions on fertiliser, are the voices on the roads and public places. One can only hope that the momentum seen at the protests will be equally translated for those whose voices we have failed to hear until it was difficult for the majority to keep their house fires burning.   We are a nation drowning in debt, lacking means for basic necessities, and one that has failed to look after the vulnerable and the marginalised. While the women of Sri Lanka wait for the power to come back to put the children to sleep, they are wondering what’s to be cooked for the next day, thinking of cutting down costs, and praying they won’t have to attend a funeral, wedding, or a coming-of-age party (‘kotahalu magula’). We also need to reflect on the decisions that led the country to these everyday realities.  The women who sell green leaves at the fair, the ones who sell lottery tickets, the teachers, nurses and housemaids have all contributed to the economy in honest means to their fullest capabilities under unfortunate circumstances at times. Yet the majority of the population, including families and children, has been left feeling betrayed by systems that were supposedly set up for their protection and betterment.  What we keep failing to understand is that while women bear the bitter end of the stick when it comes to reasonable wages and occupational recognition, they have always contributed to the continuity of the economy both directly and indirectly throughout history. Women have lived in a world with different forms of crises and will continue to do so beyond the current situation we are in, unless multiple structural changes are brought in.     (The writer is an Attorney-at-Law.)