Outside the net: Intersectionality and inequality in the fisheries of Trincomalee, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Inequality and conflict in Sri Lanka have frequently been analyzed along ethnic lines. However, many scholars have stressed the importance of other dimensions of identity, such as gender, caste and class, in studying social tension. This study uses intersectionality theory to examine how a combination of the social categories of gender, race, ethnicity and location creates structural inequality. This article draws upon in-depth research on Muslim, Tamil, Sinhalese and indigenous/Veder women who catch and market fish in the conflict-affected eastern district of Trincomalee, Sri Lanka. The focus was on intra-group differences among these women and the different sources of power they use to subvert existing power structures. Although multiple inequalities affected the respondents' daily lives and participation in activities, they were not passive victims; they used their own agency to negotiate for their livelihoods. Nevertheless, the women who comprise the focus of this study appeared to be completely invisible to government fisheries management bodies. The lack of institutional representation has disadvantaged them in their negotiations for space to engage in livelihood activities. Registration of these women by the government department of fisheries among those who make a living from fishing would provide them with a first measure of recognition and empowerment, strengthening their chances of negotiating access to the fishery livelihood resources.

Women’s experiences in influencing and shaping small‐scale fisheries governance

“…Although these women did not belong to the cooperatives, In some other cases, the roles women performed were beyond the regular tasks that typically characterize governance orders such as decision-making, resource monitoring and attending meetings. For example, in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, small groups of women informally negotiated their access to male-dominant lagoon space through their male kin even though it was not clear how the lagoon fishery was governed (Lokuge & Hilhorst, 2017).…”

“…Mexican fisheries policies) was also discussed as key issues of concern in relation to current legislation (Lokuge & Hilhorst, 2017;Soejima & Frangoudes, 2019;Torre et al, 2019).…”

A Rising Tide Does Not Lift All Boats: Intersectional Analysis Reveals Inequitable Impacts of the Seafood Trade in Fishing Communities

“…In this case, less powerful actors leveraged their relationships with more powerful and resourced actors to access trade benefits; for example, married women gained access to motorboats through their husbands. Such nuances in the distribution of benefits would have been masked by an analysis that narrowly focused on gender and therefore highlights the importance of intersectional analysis in small-scale fisheries contexts (e.g., Kusakabe and Sereyvath, 2014;Lau and Scales, 2016;Colwell et al, 2017;Lokuge and Hilhorst, 2017;Rohe et al, 2018;Yingst and Skaptadóttir, 2018;Gustavsson, 2020). Furthermore, while many women in Palau may have accrued indirect financial benefits from their men family members' earnings from the sea cucumber trade, such indirect benefits do not yield the same advancements in gender equality (U.N.…”

Equity of our future oceans: outcomes and practice in marine science research

“…Equity is understood differently again by a range of marginalised groups experiencing intersecting forms of inequity (Kleiber et al, 2017, Lokuge and Hilhorst, 2017, Cohen et al, 2019, Saunders et al, 2020. Acknowledging this pluralism of understandings of equity, we start by first defining equity and highlighting the limits of Western equity theory, before discussing the role of science production in exploring equity under future ocean conditions.…”